Woke up late Saturday, so I missed breakfast again. Checked out and walked to the train station to border my train. Shared a six person cart with an elder couple and a younger couple. The
train to Genoa wasn’t bad, it thankfully didn’t make too many stops. Once you get into the Genoa area it was amazing to see all the homes in the hills and stuff. Than once you get to the Station it was pretty hectic. Google maps pointed out a very confusing route for me and the main street it led me on had to have been the immigrant hub of Genoa, filled with Berbers, Indians, Chinese, and African people alike. Thankfully a lot of tourists were on the streets, albeit they were Italian. 
After ending up at San Lorenzo Church, and sort of near the Piazza I had no idea where I was and my Italy book gave me a very vague map of Genoa that didn’t really help. I then walked down this major street thinking it was heading the right direction, but nope, I just needed to go down a street to the left of it and I would’ve been at my hotel, except I took this major street way down to the eastern part of the city. 
After back tracking, I finally found the right street and my hotel was right there. I was kind of pissed off after that. Checking in was no problem, the best western has all the amenities of an American version hotel. After this I went to you guessed it for lunch. Being in the region where Pesto Sauce was invented, where sea food is prevalent, I ended up at you guessed it. Mcdonalds. The lady didn’t understand what it meant when I said I wanted a #4, the chicken nuggets meal and started giving me 4 of everything, so that was kind of annoying to fix that. After this I headed down that main street I got lost on, since that’s the way to the soccer stadium. Once I eventually got there which wasn’t hard to find, it was closed, and the team stores were closed but I did find a little store that sold some swag. After this I decided I would walk back and head to the Naval Museum of Geno
a. Since Genoa has had a famous port since the Roman times, the museum is also brand new. The first floor had some cool Christopher Columbus artifacts since he was born there, from letters to objects from his voyages. 
They had displays of Genoese cannons and a display of a Galley. The other floors were dedicated to the port’s history and how ships had evolved, how cannons got bigger, etc. It was alright seeing the other stuff, mainly the models of ships and the old drawn maps were the coolest things. Then at the top floor they have an exhibition on the Italian experience at Ellis Island which was interesting seeing the boat point of view there. I’ve been to Ellis Island before in 2008 where you got to see how it was liked when you got there, so I guess I have seen both parts of the story now. It was interesting reading about the Italian voyage from Genoa to New York City. After this, I decided to go to what Genoa is famous for, in its Aquarium. It’s kind of expensive, but I realize that most of the cost is going to conservation, and not to profits so it’s alright in my eyes. Plus seeing live animals after looking at lifeless objects and paintings is a sight for sore eyes. They had some West Indian Manatees, some Sandtiger sharks, some seals, etc. The dolphins weren’t visible since they were in another tank. 
The fish tanks were the same as other aquarium’s except they did have special exhibits on Finding Nemo, Madagascar, the Red Sea, and Mediterranean tanks. They had this gigantic sea turtle too in one of the tanks, probably the biggest I’ve seen since we saw them in Kailua. 
They also had a ray pond where you could feel them. The museum wasn’t that impressive, it’s deceptively long because it makes you follow a certain path. Sea World and the Monterey Bay aquarium are obviously miles above it, but they had unique exhibits that neither of those aquariums had. Then you are let out into the harbor on this pier, and you walk down and get a scope of the harbor which is gigantic. You get an awesome panoramic view of Genoa. What’s awesome about Genoa is rather than 
expand outward, they just u
sed the natural terrain and expanded upward. So its homes above homes above homes, etc. I can’t stress how awesome the view of the city it is from the docks. The weather is also perfect because it’s nice and cool by the sea. Then I had trouble finding a restaurant for dinner, I was going to eat something with pesto sauce, but the place I ended up stopped serving them like 30 minutes prior. So I ended up with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, which is funny, because when other people in another house cooked for us they made this and I didn’t like it really cause I don’t like tomatoes. And this is what I was forced to have for dinner, at least they gave me a lot of bread which was delicious. I got surprisingly full from the meal, and it’s probably one of the healthiest I’ve eaten here, but I’m disappointed I never had seafood since I was actually looking forward to it. Genoa is awesome, so glad I came here. Day 4-Genoa. Missed my morning alarm clock from my cell phone thinking I could fake up at 8:15. Luckily whoever stayed there the morning before had set the alarm for 8:30. The breakfast wasn’t bad, a typical Italian breakfast, but I live for fruit at breakfast anyways. After this, I headed out down my hotel down Via Garibaldi since it’s a tourist street and UNESCO heritage sight. After this, I bought a museum ticket that gets you into the 3 Palazzo’s on the street. The first Palazzo’s art was mainly dedicated to Baroque Genovese artists that I knew jack shit about so it was whatever. They had some former royal apartments in their too. Then a security guard person showed me the roof which gives you a good view of Genoa. 
She also pointed out interesting things in Genoa from the Cathedral to the tower to the lighthouse. Genoa is built so high up on hills that we weren’t even close to the top of the city.. After this the next museum had more baroque art, but it at least had a Caravaggio. After this, you got to a third Palazzo, which houses things from costumes to coins to ceramics to Niccolò Paganini. 
The coins here were really interesting since they were from Roman times to to the Doge’s rule over the city. I was impressed by the coin collection. I don’t know much about the musician, so seeing his violin was whatever to me, but apparently annually in some contest, the winner gets to play one of the artist’s song on his violin. After this I decided to go get a Genovese lunch. It took a while to find, but I found a place that served Gnocchi al Pesto. This was delicious, and I have a new respect for pesto sauce, however mom, I don’t want to sample your dish next time we go to BJ’s brewery. Then I cruised around the harbor again, just to stroll since it was very nice over there and I’ll miss the nice cool harbor weather. I walked to where the cruise ships dock, so that was interesting, a lot of day trippers hit Genoa up from the cruises. Also, the aquarium line was packed, so I’m glad I went the night before. Then I rushed back to the hotel to pick up my bags to only realize, my train didn’t leave for another two hours. So I walked back on the harbor to get to the lighthouse 3 km away. The walk was nice, a little breeze here and
there, and I got to pass all the cruises. The lantern is the symbol of Genoa 
apparently, and it’s been there
since medieval times. Y
ou get an amazing view of Genoa, the port, etc. This view shows you how beautiful Genoa really is, and was probably a better panoramic view than the Basilica of Superga in Turin. After this, I walked back to the hotel to get my bags and get to the train. The train is basically all along the coast so you get some awesome views of the Mediterranean, it’s like driving the 101 near Santa Barbara. Except you see the awesome Italian homes in the hills and the beautiful coastline. Going to Genoa is perfect for people who can walk up hills, so that excludes you mom, you’d hate this place, or you'd only stay near the port. It really reminds me of a San Francisco type place, without the fruitcake stuff and my hero Buster Posey! But this train ride is for anyone who likes awesome views of the sea.
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