Italy so far has been interesting…
We have been based in Genoa in the North for 5 days. Our inital plans to move about more were put aside for some in depth travelling. Not long after we arrived, D+N got us up in the mountians behind Genoa for a walk. We visited the forts that were built to defend the area about 300 years ago. While most are locked up, we managed to get in to a couple and look around. If they weren’t 3-4 hours walk, they’d make lovely homes!
We’ve also visited the abbey of San Fruttuoso, which is only accessable by either a 3 hour walk (which we did to get there) or a 25 minute ferry (which we did to get out!)… The views on the way in included some lovely coastline and some WWII bunkers with extensive underground tunnels.
San Frutuoso Abbey
We’ve also managed to eat quite well… Particularly with Naomi’s ability to find great local food. One highlight of the region is the foccacia, which is sold by weight. The foccacia is best bought and eaten hot and straight out of the oven- even though this usually means queuing behind a heap of locals who seem to know when the stuff is just about to come out of the oven (an Italian 6th sense?)
Another highlight has been the pizza. I wont go on, but let it be noted, I will return to Oxford heavier…