Excursion: Tuesday

Early Tuesday morning we boarded the bus to head to Italy. After some confusion about which roads our bus could take and back-tracking and getting to see much more of Switzerland than expected, we finally crossed the Alps into Italy. {My only regret is that we weren't able to get better pictures of the amazing views we had from the bus...some people were taking pictures from inside, but I've never had much luck with pictures through glass. If I get a chance to borrow any of their photos I will definitely share them.}


We arrived in Genova, Italy in the late afternoon. It is interesting to me that Italy and Switzerland are neighbors. They are sooooo different. Switzerland was beautiful, but almost in a fake way. Italy, though...I'm in love! It's a more rustic, raw beauty. We drove through Tuscany and the hills are filled with vineyards and old homes and sunflowers.  The streets of the towns we drove through and visited were crowded and noisy. The people were much less "refined" than those in Switzerland, and they certainly seemed to be having more fun!


Genova (spelled Genoa in English) is a seaport town nestled between the Mediterranean and the mountains. It is also the home of Christopher Columbus. 


These next two pictures are looking out the window of our hotel in each direction.

Italy was just like what I imagined. The streets were very narrow with tall buildings shooting up right close to the streets. There were cars and scooters zooming in and out of traffic. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to be driving around town there! During our walking around Tuesday evening we stumbled upon a little sidewalk cafe where Jay's professor and his wife were having a glass of wine. We sat down and joined them. It was very interesting because the later it got, the busier the streets got. Families, couples, little kids all seemed to come out once it got dark. 


We ended up taking the advice of a local and eating at a restaurant "off the beaten path". Well, off the beaten path is an excellent description of this place. It was in a narrow alleyway, which I read are called carruggi. The food was delicious and the company was great. I think this was easily our favorite night of the trip.

Trust me, it's as wonderful as it looks. I loved, loved, loved it.


Tot ziens!