ITALY BLOG SEPTEMBER 11th, 2025 - GENOA

 

9/11/25– Yesterday was a complete rest day for us. It was suppose to thunderstorm the entire day but it didn’t rain at all. Very strange. Our AirBnb host also is giving us a 50 Euro refund due to the inconvenience of the hot water (we didn’t even ask for it), so that’s a positive.

I look out the window and I am very happy to see blue skies again. Should be a great day to explore a new city, but first we have to get there. Our host picks us up at 10:30am to drop us off at the train station. There’s about a half hour wait before we board and once we do there’s no place to store luggage. I mean zero! I find a one seat row and throw everything into that space, and luckily after the first stop, the seats around it free up for us to move right next to our bags.

It takes ten stops and forty-five minutes before we get out at Genoa, look for a taxi and arrive at our hotel (So&Leo) around 12:30pm. We zoom up the elevator to the 9^th floor and our host greets us with our room ready (which originally wasn’t going to be until 2pm).

We don’t stay long as we’re anxious to see the sights, so we take the elevator down, step outside into the warm sun and start our journey toward the San Lorenzo Cathedral. While making our way toward the church we realize it’s closed for another hour plus, so we deviate toward Piazza de Ferrari (which is the main square of Genoa). This open area boasts a beautiful fountain with palace-like buildings surrounding it on all sides.

We venture into one of the buildings with elaborate columns and quickly realize there may be a view from the second floor. We locate an elevator and sure enough, through a shudder window, we see the entire plaza from above.

Continuing our stroll, we arrive at the house of Christopher Columbus. We don’t pay to enter as it’s a recreation of it (since the original was knocked down quite a long time ago), but the cloisters next to it are interesting to relax at for a spell.

The Porta Soprana is literally on the other side and is the main towered gate to the city of Genoa since the 12th century. It’s under restoration and not open to the public, but what an awesome find. With some time left, we choose this time to get some burgers (as we haven’t eaten since breakfast) and once 3pm rolls around we head over to San Lorenzo Cathedral.

I’m happy we saved this to do now because there are 125 plus steps to get to the top for the viewpoint of the city. Somehow Sharece makes it through, and luckily there’s a mid-way point that opens up to the upper floor of the inside of the cathedral. So far so good.

Continuing up the stairs, we reach the top that overlooks the roof and enjoy the nice, cool breeze. Even Sharece admits that the climb was well worth the view. Unfortunately, this takes a toll on her body.

After descending back down, we check out the cathedral a bit more with its black and white stripes layered throughout and dome ceiling. But that is all we can muster before walking the five minutes back to our hotel.

 

Side Note: There are many small alleyways around this area, where one can get easily turned around. There was a point where we weren’t sure if we should venture down as it was dark and deserted, but no problem getting through in the end. This city does have a strange attraction to Elvis for whatever reason.