Travel Tuesday - Man's 50th Birthday Adventure - Geona, Italy

 Our last port of call was Genoa, Italy.  This was one of the prettiest cities I have ever been to and I would love to have the opportunity to spend more time there.

Our tour started with a short boat ride across the harbour to the old harbour. 

The World's 4th Oldest Lighthouse

Here, is where the adventure began. We did a Segway tour. 

Our group of 8 were all a little nervous as first time riders. However, our guide did a great job at explaining the basics and we got time to practice driving in a big open space. Other than a near crash when I first got on,  it was smooth sailing. At one point the Man said "this is how we are going to see all of Europe!"

In our hour and a half on the Segway, we covered about 1.6km/1 mile.

This is where I got off and forgot to hold my Segway - it didn't roll away

The Rolli Palace

Some of the most beautiful buildings were on  Via Giuseppe Garibald. Here we parked our rides and walked around and in some of the palaces. 

                          

Cathedral di San Lorenzo - Famous for hosting a bomb from WWII that did not explode (it was an accidental friendly fire). The bomb, defused of course, is still in the church. 

One of the most famous violinists of his time, Paganini, was know as the Devil's violinist. It was believed he had sold his soul to play as well as he did. It you look closely, you may be able to see the horns on this statue. He could play up to 12 notes a second, play without sheet music and he also composed his own music.  

We finished our Segway tour back at the old port. Other than having really sore feet (as you steer with your feet and are making micro movements with them, you don't every day), the Man and I went on a quest for food.

Genoa is famous for pesto, so after a short walk, we found an artisan shop that made it. 

Well I can't eat the bread, I scoped some of the Man's pesto out, and let me say, it was one of the best things I have ever eaten. I was tempted to buy a jar and eat it right there. 

Next quest was to find some good gluten free pasta or pizza. We found a little cafe, outside the Cathedral pictured above, where we shared a really, really good gluten free pesto pizza. Italians do gluten free really well. 

Our view

This is one of my favourite pictures from this trip 

We then slowly walked back to the ship, discussing another visit to this beautiful city.

Next week we will wrap up our trip.