The first time I visited Genova, 20 years ago, I couldn’t leave the city soon enough. We came in through wat felt like a maze of tunnels full of crazy Italian drivers and no parking spaces. Once we stepped out of the car the heat seemed to fall on us, as were the overwhelming sounds of traffic. Cars and vespa’s looked like they were in a battle to the death with us, pedestrians. Luckily we soon arrived in the old historic center with its numerous monuments and typical old neighborhoods and a maze of alleys that form a true shopping and dining paradise, we breathed a sigh of relief. We wandered around, every time we turned a corner, we saw something new and surprising, until we almost stumbled into the décolletage of a scantily dressed woman. Unknowingly we arrived in a neighborhood you will find in every port city, but you don’t expect it in the middle of a touristic area. After that we decided we had seen enough and left the chaos behind us.
Years later, after we moved to our hill, only a bit more than an hour away from Genova, we decided to give it a second chance. Over the years we’ve explored the city several times and discovered a lot of things and places I do like. In part Genova has grown on me, but there is still something about this city that makes me hesitate to react enthusiastically when people ask my opinion on Genova.
Nicolas on the other hand would like to spend more time here, he loves strolling through the old streets, I only have to mention the pastries of Douce and he jumps in his car and he often tells me he could live in the MOG (Mercato Orientale di Genova / a market with bars and food court). Yes, you read that correctly, not near the MOG, but in the MOG. So, I have promised him, as soon as we have the money for it we will spend a month in Genova … not in the MOG of course, but close enough. What people do for love …
