Genoa and the Italian Riviera

Yesterday we were up bright and early for a rather involved excursion to Genoa. We were anchored in Portofino, which is about 40 kilometers from Genoa in the northern Italian state of Liguria. The town of Portofino itself is quite small and its docks can't accommodate our ship, so we took tenders to reach dry land, followed by a ferry to Rapallo and then a bus to Genoa itself. Whew!

Above is Portofino, which is a posh little town. Apparently very few people live there, and the town reflects that -- we saw Louis Vuitton and Missoni shops, but I'm not sure where anyone would buy milk or eggs. Still, it is very scenic and beloved by millionaires and Hollywood types, and there were immense yachts puttering around.

And here's a glimpse of Rapallo, which is also a beautiful town but much larger and more populated than Portofino.

Before we even started this outing, I said to Dave, "I guarantee you we're going to see at least one statue of Christopher Columbus." He's perhaps Genoa's most famous native son, though he left Genoa as a young man and moved to Spain before setting out on his eventful voyages. Turns out the Columbus fanfare began even before we got to Genoa -- this enormous statue of him is in Rapallo, built by Italians who had moved to the Americas and made their fortunes, according to our guide.

Once in Genoa, we gathered in the Piazza Raffaele de Ferrari, named for a 19th Century Italian nobleman (and not the car manufacturer, as our guide, Daniela, pointed out). From there we took a walking tour of the old town.

We saw the stylish black-and-white striped marble Cattedrale di San Lorenzo, part of which is covered in scaffolding, which is why I focused on photographing just these two doorways. (My mom always joked that everywhere she went, she saw scaffolding, and I sometimes share that feeling.)

We walked through the narrow streets, past shops dedicated to local delicacies like focaccia and pesto, down to the waterfront, where we saw the brightly painted Palazzo di San Giorgio. (I gotta say, I was somewhat distracted by that dad's bright floral outfit!)

After the tour, we had more than an  hour of free time, so Dave and I settled in a cafe and watched the world go by. I had some pesto pasta and a coffee and Dave had focaccia, so we dutifully sampled the local specialties. (Which were fantastic, I can confirm.)

Then we headed to the Chiesa del Gesù e dei Santi Ambrogio e Andrea (and yes, I absolutely cut and pasted that name). Daniela had told us there were some Rubens paintings there, and I wanted to see those. It turned out to be an ornate, eye-popping baroque church, one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, with exquisite marble-inlaid walls and floors.

I couldn't begin to capture such a complex interior with pictures, so I took videos instead. You'll see the Rubens paintings, one of Jesus' circumcision above the altar (an interesting choice for an altarpiece) and one depicting the miracle of St. Ignatius. There are plenty of other fine paintings as well, mainly if not entirely by Italian artists.

And not only was Columbus mentioned again, we actually saw his house! Or what's left of it, anyway. Situated just outside the old city gates (which you can see in the background above), the once-tall house has been shortened and now exists as a two-story museum. We did not go in.

And with that, we boarded the bus and headed back to the ship. Once again I was thrilled to have a shower. Last night we had a very long dinner at a special chef's table aboard the ship, with dishes created (but not prepared) by Chef Daniel Boulud. Aside from the fact that it took several hours, we enjoyed it, and shared the table with a Dutch family -- mom (who was born in Morocco), dad (from Suriname) and their son and daughter. The kids, both older teenagers, obviously wanted to be somewhere else, but we all had a good conversation. It's pretty cool to have the opportunity to meet so many people of different backgrounds.

Today we're in the port of La Spezia and headed to Pisa.