Italy – Decision Time in Genoa

Genoa’s youth hostel is an old chateau complete with towers.   It look out over tile roofs and a rainbow of buildings.

 

 

 

 On this hot day I decide the sites of Genoa can wait and  join a group headed for a swim off Boccadasse, the old mariner’s quarter.  The water is clear and blue and calm.    Lying on my back, supported by the briny sea, the view of Boccadasse and Genoa is stunning.

Genoa is ancient.  The Greeks were here in the 6th century B.C. and the Etruscans used its perfect harbor even earlier.  More recently, ship building and steel manufacture made it one of the three hubs, with Turin and Milan,  of Italy’s  post-war  economic miracle.

Even if my budget were grander, I would stay in youth hostels. There is a special camraderie here with other young adventurers, all eager to share experiences and explore together, to absorb everything the day has to offer.  In this hostel they’re from the U.S., Germany, Italy, Venezuela and Argentina.

We set off the next morning for the Piazza di Ferrari, the center of town, with the Opera, thePalace of the Doges and the house where they say Christopher Colombus was born.

We wend our way toward the Porto Antico – the old harbor –  through an incredible maze of narrow streets and allies called caruggi, many too narrow for even the smallest car to navigate.

 

Just when we think we’re lost, a caruggi will open onto a piazza where it’s possible to get our bearings.  Eventually we come to the port and the lineup of seamans’ cafes.  They’re a little rough, but lively.  (Experience the caruggi in the film ‘A Summer in Genoa’ with Colin Firth.)

All day I’ve been putting off the decision I have to make.  I’d been hoping to find someone here to hitchhike around Italy with.  It hasn’t happened and I’m wondering if I should turn back before I get myself stuck further down the boot.

The consensus of my youth hostel buddies is “NO WAY!  DON’T GIVE UP!” Dan from New York makes  a very generous offer.  He’s headed for a summer on a kibutz and offers to accompany me to Pisa and hitch back to Genoa to get his ship.

How can I turn that down?  I take my chances and head for Pisa.

Next:  Pisa – More Than the Leaning Tower