On the road | ch3 - blog

0km of 3281 so far…

I slept well, had the basic breakfast of the hostel and took the bus downhill for the center of Genova. As I was cycling into it, I hated it a little bit, because of the heavy traffic, the endless construction sites and then the massive hills. But as I spend a whole day in it, I realized it’s a city full of nice corners and full of history.

I started the day in the port, which is big and densely build with even an overhead big road running across it. The port it self hosts an aquarium along with a biosphere, some modern constructions from the celebrations of the 500 years of the discovery of America and an old ship. Genova proud to be the birth place of Cristoforo Colombo.

: To the sails! Hooray…

: The overhead road by the pedestrianized port

: The facade of the old city

: Tunnels within the city

: Cristoforo Colombo’s home

Apparently Genova has the biggest old city in Europe and it feels to be. It is full of small alleys, the tightest I’ve seen so far and every now and then there will be a small square with a cafe or two, or a church. The alleys apart from apartments, are packed with cafe, restaurants and shop, keeping the whole area alive. I also like the fact that most of the shops are specialized to one thing like the old days. I saw one for keys, one for soaps and candles, one with a frame maker, one with a shoe maker and so on.

: Sant Lorenzo

: A small garden

: Vespas… many of them

: I bet the neighbors play cards across the window

: One of the many little squares within the small alleys

: I need one urgently, but I’ll wait until the end

: Carabinieri and Robin Hoods

After going around the city for a few hours, I visited the Garibaldi street, which is since 2006 is protected by UNESCO. It was build around 1500-1600 and at its entire length has palaces both sides, that were used by the families as luxurious hotels to host big names, politicians and popes.

: Via Garibaldi

: The inside garden of one of the palaces

I had some pasta with pesto for lunch, I bought some supplies for the night and made my way to the hills for an restful afternoon. Tomorrow I’ll have to cross the mountains to make it to the norther parts of Italy.

Cristoforo Colombo

80km of 3281 so far…

miam miam miamm....

I still have trouble finding a bakery with croissants or something similar, so today’s breakfast was two big pieces of creamy pie with stuff full of calories in it. I think I’ve said it before, but food in big quantities is one of the pleasures of cycle touring and probable the main expense.
Once again I followed the costal road to the north east to go to Genova. Until midday I was going up and down the rocky hills by the sea side, but the effort was paid off by the outstanding scenery. The road at times was curved on the side of massive rocks and for most of the time I was cycling next to high cliffs.

Last day cycling by the west coast of Italy

Many bridges mean flat roads, which I am happy for.

My lunch stop was at Savona, which is an industrial city and it also has a big port for transporting goods. It also has an old fortress where I spend some time to wonder around and admire the view from the top.

The fortress of Savona, in between factories and the port

In the fortress

Houses with massive fireplaces

Many things that make other things.

Big, big port

This time I managed to get to my destination before 5pm, to ensure the tourist office would still be open. I wanted to stay in a hostel, as a camp site would probable have been outside the big city. When I asked where it is and how can I get there, they said I have to catch a bus, because it’s too hard on a bike. After my surprise of how hard can it be after cycling across the continent, I think I asked her way too many questions. She wrote the name of the street and the bus number, in which of course I couldn’t put my bike and she shut her window. Great! I forgot to mention Genova is by the sea, but the majority of the city is build on the hills around the port. Both times that I had to ask for directions, they told me to keep going up all the way and wished me good luck. It was indeed a very steep climb that lasted at least half an hour. I am surprised and happy that my knee didn’t complain about it. Genova is very densely build, even on the slopes of the hills, with small roads packed with cars and buses that can barely fit to turn. I decided to stay for two nights and get some rest before going above the mountains towards Milano, so I locked my bike in the hostel and bought a 24 hours bus ticket, so I don’t have to climb this road again.
I had a shower and did my massive laundry, before I went to the town center again for food hunting. I was very lucky to come across that bar that had a super offer for a drink and unlimited buffet which succesfully filled my stomach. 6 euros very well spend!