Gusty Genova

Back in Italy for our last full day, we stopped at the port in Genoa.  Thankfully, it was the day that we had the least planned because Stinkerbell woke up, but barely.  She was so tired I think she could have pulled a repeat of the Disney Cruise of 2013 and slept for 23 hours.  

Ironically, the place with the least to see and do, was the place that we were in port for the longest.  But just because we did not have a packed agenda, did not mean we had nothing to see.  After our usual breakfast, we sauntered off of the ship at a leisurely pace.  And were immediately greeted by one of the strongest winds I have ever encountered.  At times, it was a challenge to move forward, without also moving sideways.  But the skies were clear and the sun was shining, so that kind of made up for the gales of wind that tried to sweep us off of our feet.  Almost.

The first thing we encountered was Il Galeone Neptune, a replica of a 17th century pirate ship.  This particular ship was built in 1985 for the filming of Norman Polanski's Pirates and, more recently, was used to portray the Jolly Roger on the TV show Neverland.

Heading away from the port (and hopefully some of the wind) we arrived at our first stop, the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo.  Located on the square of the same name, this was the city's only public square for the whole of the Middle Ages.  The church, built in the 5th or 6th century, is still the seat of the Archbishop.

I am not sure she saw much after her initial walk around in the church.

Next up, the Pallazo Ducale.  Now a museum and space for events, including the 2001 G8 Summit, we did not get a chance to get inside since it was closed.  But we did get a few moments to hide from the wind, and sit in the sun while admiring it.

We continued our wanderings, this time passing through the Porta Soprana, part of the Walls of Genoa.  During the long history of Genoa, the city has always been fortified by walls.  The most famous of those that remain is the Porta Soprana located at the top of St. Andrew Hill.

Continuing our walk, we wound our way through narrow streets...

Past the house that is the birthplace of Christopher Columbus...

Past picturesque buildings...

And suddenly we found ourselves in a beautiful park in the center of the city called the Villetta di Negro.  Stinkerbell was past the point of exhaustion at this point, so we sat in the sunshine for a bit before heading in, and up, to see what we had found.  Turns out, the park is quite popular with the people of Genoa since there are few green spaces in the city.  We explored the nooks and crannies and waterfalls that once made up a zoo and took in the panoramic views of the city, before heading back down.  And sadly, back into the wind.

The statue of Mazzini - at the bottom entrance to the park.

Our ship, as seen from the top of the park.

Back down we found MadHatter's street..

A napping spot for Stinkerbell...

Seeing as she wasn't feeling well, and kept laying down where ever we stopped, E took pity on her (and my arms) and gave her a piggy back ride for a bit.

We knew at this point that our time was growing short.  Stinkerbell wasn't going to make it much farther so we had some lunch - Genoa salami and their famous pesto, of course.  We were only a short way from the ship at this point, so we headed back.

The famous Lanterna.  One of the 5 tallest lighthouses in the world.  Between 1543 and 1902, it was actually the tallest.

Our ship.

Our ship with three girls being blown away.

We were back on board with plenty of time to have an ice cream treat, a nap and time to do our journals before heading to our last dinner.  My girls stopped to have their picture taken by the photographers one last time on the "sparkly stairs".

Stinkerbell cut dinner short by falling asleep.  Not much of a surprise to anyone.  But it was ok because we needed to have all of our bags packed and outside of our stateroom doors before bed so that they could have them off the ship for us at disembarkation in the morning.  Which, as always, was fairly early.