Genova

Genova,  Genova that was the place that everyone kept telling us we had to make it to. They said there was really no excuse not to go as it was only two hours away by train, cheap to get too, and could easily be visited in a day. So one day I was sitting in class; I was 100% absorbed in the lecture (so enthralled in fact that I had managed to draw an entire garden on my blank page intended to be my notes),  when Sean and Amy suggest that we go to Genova that weekend. We decided to meet at the station for the train around eight a.m. as this was the cheap one for the morning departures. I was the firstto arrive at the stations, but not long after I was joined by Sean. However Amy and Ross were still no shows. Amy called and asked Sean to buy her ticket, then 10 minutes later to say not to because she missed the bus and wouldn’t make the same train as us. I called Ross to see if he was at least on his way, but he too would have to meet us there. So Sean and I took the train over. Much to my disappointment it was gloomy, cold and a bit rainy when we got there. Sean and I wondered around for a place to get a caffe while we waited for Amy. When Amy met up with us we wondered around some more. Amy needed to pull money out and while she was doing so the building right next to us was suddenly busy with people. We looked up and noticed that it had caught on fire. The top apartment had smoke coming out of the top window and the fire department showed up. Like everything in Italy they didn’t seem to be in any rush either. We stood with the crowed and observed the show. Luckily the apartment seemed to be alright as the fire was contained and no one injured.

After that we went to Christopher Columbus’s childhood house. There was not much there and we opted to admire from outside as the price was a little much for how small it looked. Right next to his house were some castle towers that we looked at. We had no clue where anything was located so while we were waiting for Ross we wondered into a bookstore to find a travel book with a map.  Ross finally arrived and he and Sean wondered around some more while Amy and I went to H&M. I was freezing with the wind and was desperately in need of a scarf. We shopped around and I bought my “sassy scarf” that has become quite the inside joke in Pavia.

We met the boys at this German Hoffman beer place that they had wanted to go to. Little did we know that we were in for the most disappointing meal ever!  While the beer was good, they claimed that they also served “authentic German food”. So excited to take a break from the pizza and pasta spree I gladly ordered a Wurstel. What I got however, was a 10 cent frank from the local supermarket. Oh yes, I am convinced if I had walked into their local Careffour I could have found the same hot dog on isle 4. It was a sad day indeed. Lesson learned… when in Italy stick the pasta and pizza.

The biggest thing that we did in Genova was go to the aquarium.  They house Europe’s largest aquarium and the second largest one in the world after Japan. It was pretty cool. They had a variety of different species. We spent some time ewwing at the eels, ahhhhhing at the dolphins and penguins, and ohhhhing at the jellyfish! After we had admired all the animals and had done our best to interpret the signs we decided to catch the train back to Pavia and have a semi early night home. Overall, It was a pretty relaxing day of sightseeing.