Genova / Genoa

Still haven't figured out which way you're supposed to say it.

Either way it's a weird city. There isn't actually all that much here to see. Most of the information the tourist office has to offer involves wandering around and looking at buildings, but there isn't a whole lot of museums to see. Mind you, the tourist map she gave me is in Italian, so I could be missing boat loads.

But Genova has a dirty salty charm to it. Managed to find THE street. The kind of street that every city has. The one where all the local young kids hang out. The ones with the piercings and the wierd hair. The ones that don't fit in. The ones that are shopping for loads of indie music and clothing!

Pity I'm so brutally sick right now, otherwise I would have definitely spent my day there.

So arriving in Genova was interesting. I had my first experience of Italian buses. Woowee. I will never EVER complain again on Vancouver buses. There's nothing like careening around hairpin turns that drop away to sheer cliffs in a completely over crowded bus, trying desperately to get directions from a bus driver that doesn't speak English and quite frankly probably thinks you're scum for even trying. At this point I know only a handful of Italian words:

- Chaio (Hello/Goodbye)
- Scusi (Excuse me)
- Si (Yes)
- No (No, duh)
- Quanto costo (How much?)
- Ostello (Hostel)
- Gratzi (Thank you)

So getting the bus driver to get me where I wanted to go presented a bit of a challenge. However, I also had a huge monsterous pack on my back that pretty much said "Greetings, I am a ignorant backpacker. Please take me to your local hostel." So in the end I managed to make it just fine.