Ciao Genoa

I'm excited to start sharing the details of our European vacation!  We took a Mediterranean cruise where we visited six different destinations.  I've wanted to go on this trip for years and am so grateful we finally had a chance to do it. Of course I took a LOT of photos.  I will spare you a four hour slide show, a la middle school science class, so I've narrowed it down to just a few photos from each location that I'll be sharing over the next week.

The first port we visited was Genoa, Italy.  Genoa is a coastal city in northern Italy that dates back to ancient times. It was one of my favorite stops on the cruise, although I'm tempted to say that about each destination.  The old city is full of tiny narrow streets, old buildings, city walls that date back to the 9th century, and even the house where Christopher Columbus was born.  I really fell in love with Genoa and it was so beautiful that it almost seemed like a movie set of an old city in Italy- I couldn't believe it was real!

My photos don't really do the city justice, but here's a small look at Genoa:

Arriving by cruise ship, we were greeted by a wonderful view of the city. 

San Lorenzo Cathedral built in the 1100s

Ancient city walls & gate

Building in the Piazza de Ferrari 

Detail of the opera house building, Teatro Carlo Felice

House where Christopher Columbus was born

Church of Gesu

Narrow streets of Genoa

Doggy in a pizzeria 

Bakery window in Genoa

Old buildings in Genoa

Laundry being hung to dry

Windows of an old building

Isn't Genoa beautiful?  We really enjoyed exploring the city, although there was much more that we didn't have a chance to see.  I'll be back next week with a look at our next port in Corsica.