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| Some useful sources in all things Italian... |
This may come as a surprise but we decided to settle into the Genoa area without visiting it first. Don't take me wrong: we have been in Italy couple of times for holidays and originally considered Turin/Asti area as a possibility. But we decided to dig deeper. Research is John's passion, and he practically transformed his desk at home into an impressive command post full of guidebooks and maps for months, spending ours on the net on top. Genoa started to feature more and more in our discussions and it became necessary for one of us to visit the place. I volunteered (reluctantly, of course, you understand).
As my Italian is currently limited to a very useful sentence "sono non parlo italiano ancora", I enlisted my Finnish friend Heli to help. She is not only fluent in Italian but also knows a thing or two about the cultural sensitivities. Heli is also an expert in Italian food and she has an uncanny ability to find just the right trattoria with divine food on a side street - need I say more? Fortunately, we also had an Italian friend who was willing to assist, so all that was left to do was to pack the suitcase and go!
As my Italian is currently limited to a very useful sentence "sono non parlo italiano ancora", I enlisted my Finnish friend Heli to help. She is not only fluent in Italian but also knows a thing or two about the cultural sensitivities. Heli is also an expert in Italian food and she has an uncanny ability to find just the right trattoria with divine food on a side street - need I say more? Fortunately, we also had an Italian friend who was willing to assist, so all that was left to do was to pack the suitcase and go!
Rapallo was chosen as the base camp for research, as it was easy to get there by train (only 1/2 hour from Genoa Brignole). The autostrada from Milan/Genoa leads to Rapallo as long as one faithfully follows the signs to Livorno so it was a very suitable starting point for other day trips too.
The spring had just arrived in May, everything looked quite tropical and we had several days of sunshine. Very surprisingly, the climate in Rapallo seemed to favour similar plants we have in Malawi, the same palms, bougainvilleas - I felt instantly at home. Rapallo was very easy to get around by walking. There was also plenty of restaurants. The Elite, very close to the castle of Rapallo on Via Milite Ignoto, is particularly worth a visit. We were asked if a freshly made fish cheviche would appeal as an antipasti. We sat in respectful silence in front of this excellent dish and ate slowly, slowly, enjoying every mouthful.
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| A busy street next to the main seafront promenade |
We stayed at Hotel Italia e Lido, right next to the castle of Rapallo. The hotel has all the best qualities of a family owned place, clearly heavy with tradition. Quite small but clean rooms, and some do come with a seaview too. After this pleasant and welcoming athmosphere, we were ready for the next stop: City of Genoa!
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| The castle of Rapallo is a good landmark |
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| The castle was built to defend Rapallo, after the town was destroyed in 1550s by
a particularly determined pirate called Dragut.
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