Genoa

Joe ate a very big breakfast, and I was (only briefly) tempted to see if he wanted to get in a cab and go out on the coast. But the only thing for him to do now is get home with as few mishaps as possible. So I decided to head out alone.

I took a cab to Nervi, about 12 km from the hotel. The walk back was always along the coast, but not always always on a beach promenade. It gave me a good view of normal, non-prettified Ligurian coastal towns. I was surprised that at almost every beach there was what looked like a 70’s era motel-like development that had been abandoned. I was told that these are beach rental cubbies. Though the beaches in Italy are theoretically free, unless you pay for a cubby during the summer , you can’t get on. It really didn’t look like a pretty alternative, especially since the beaches are all rocky. I am very glad I took this walk, and not only because it gave me a chance to get a second gelato at Amadeo. This one was nocciola (hazelnut), my second favorite.

As I expected, Joe was fast asleep when I got back. I am really looking forward to getting him in to see a doctor in Champaign, this is just too weird. I got him to eat and drink, and then he headed straight back to bed.

As I was thinking about what to do for my afternoon “trip,” it occurred to me that I had not yet once sat down in a café in Genoa. All my sitting between activities has been in the hotel room with Joe! On our last Italy trip, since Joe was up and about, we had two or three nice café stops every day for sitting and people watching. So that was my agenda - back to Centro Histórico to just sit in a café. I stopped first in Café des Artiste near the cathedral, and then in the livelier Café do Teatro in the main Ferrari square. And so my touring in Genova comes to an end.

Tomorrow the only thing on the agenda is to get us to the Milan airport hotel. Next day, the only thing on the agenda is to get us home. I am very nervous and worried about the journey and hope hope hope that we will get to the US on Friday. The Italian healthcare system is in chaos and I very much hope to avoid an encounter with it.Läs mer