Genova – Rich in History & Beauty

Genova felt like a hidden gem amongst the other famous Italian cities. The port city is set against a hilly backdrop, resulting in interesting buildings and roadways constructed following terraces along the hillside. Amazingly the city of Genova is 38km wide running from west to eat, but about 2-3km in its widest portion from sea to hill.

Great place for panoramic views of the city was from Belvedere Montaldo. One can look out to the seaport & iconic “Laterna” and many splendid buildings along the hilly terrain. Genova city is famed for its collection of historic buildings in Medieval, Rennaisance & Baroque styles located amongst its narrow & hilly streets. Interesting sites included 16th century palaces built by nobility along Strada Nuova (New Street), Piazza de Ferrari, little house where Christopher Columbus lived and seafront promenade.

(Looking out to the port & Laterna from Belvedere Montaldo)

(Genova city & its hilly surroundings)

I was fortunate to spend 2.5 days with two Genovese, Senja & Massimo who took time off to show me the sights in and around Genova. Even had the pleasure of spending dinner with Massimo’s family & 2 other friends. Food was excellent – started with Lasagne with Pesto, followed by roast pork marinated with rosemary, fried lamb cutlets and fried potato balls, and finished with walnut cake. The dinner reminded me so much of a typical family back home – everyone was busy talking amongst each other while digging into the delicious fare. Enjoyed how Italians display so much emotions in their conversations with hand gestures.

Spent early part of Tuesday walking around the city centre. One of the highlight was lunch at a simple eatery called “da Maria Cucina Casalinga” located at Vico Testadoro. Very popular amongst the locals, even attracting the office & banking staff. Tasted several marvelous dishes e.g. Seafood soup, Artichoke Quiche, Aubergine stewed with beef mince & tomatoes and their homemade dessert akin to tiramisu. Delish!!

Drove eastwards after lunch towards Portofino, an exclusive village set in a small harbour. Apparently a playground for the rich & famous – the village exudes an air of sophistication and poshness. There are even plans to recreate the entire village, down to the exact shops in Dubai.

(Portofino gleaming with posh beauty)

Next village was Camogli, about 2miles west of Portofino. Preferred this coastal village compared to Portofino, as it was more laid-back and lively. Saw the big pan in the middle of the town centre, which was set up for the Sagra del Pesce (Fish Festival) on Sun 10th May in honour of the patron saint of the fishermen. The 4m wide pan will served up heaps of seafood, attracting swarms of local people because it’s free. Reminded me of the typical crowd back home during ‘buka rumah’ session.

(Camogli with the giant pan ready to cook up its annual fish feast)

Spent the whole of next day exploring the other villages lying to the west of Genova city. Drove for over 2 hours towards Menton, French town just after the Italian border. The drive there was interesting – we passed by some spectacular engineering creations as the motorway made its way through various elevated bridges and long tunnels. Menton itself was a typical French Riviera town – long promenade besides the clean, pebbly beach and town centre filled with restaurants & gift shops.

After a simple lunch of ham & cheese crepe, we headed back to the Italian soil. Nearby was the Hanbury Botanic Gardens – created back in 1867 by Sir Thomas Hanbury (www.amicihanbury.com). Huge garden with plenty to see – it was interesting to see the array of exotic plants thriving there in the mediterranean climate. Always enjoy walking around gardens, only wished i harbour deeper interests with the plants & flowers instead of just enjoying their lovely sight & smell.

(One of the lovely walkways inside Hanbury Botanic Gardens)

Next stop was more fascinating – exploring the abandoned village of Bussana Vecchia. The hilltop village was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1887. It was only in the 1960s when a group of artists began to inhabit the place and slowly created a creative community there. Today there are about 60 people making Bussana Vecchia as their home & workplace – amazing walking along the narrow alleyways and discovering artistic creations in various nooks & crannies. Perfect place to chill out and spend the time taking lotsa photos.

(Alleyway inside the labyrinth of Bussana Vecchia)

Last village stop for the day was Cervo – simple medieval village famous for its music festivals and terraced olive groves. The gem of the village was the Baroque Church of San Giovanni Battista, spectacular baroque style building in this part of the Ligurian region.

(Baroque church in Cervo)

Finished our driving adventure at Savona, industrial port which has been a strong rival to Genoa since the olden days. Didn’t get to see much of the town as we arrived late in the evening. Nevertheless, the main aim was to sample the local specialty – farinata (pancake made from wheat or chickpea flour). Settled at a local eatery famed for its farinata, and sampled other delicious Italian dishes for our main course e.g. uncooked sardines marinated with olive oil & lemon juice and fleshy fish cooked with tomatoes, olives and capers. Food was so good that all the last bits were soaked up with bread.

(Enjoying the farinata in two versions – chickpea and wheat flour)

Genova will be remembered for its wonderful coastal villages and warm hospitality extended by my italian friends. Really enjoyed the fact that over-commercialisation has not hit this city compared to other touristic Italian places. Ciao!

Picture album – http://picasaweb.google.com/wyeyim/CinqueTerreGenoa#

Cinque Terre – Magical villages

It has been an awesome weekend getaway to Cinque Terre, Italy. Meaning “Five Lands”, the area consisted of 5 villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza & Monterosso al Mare. Blessed with warm & sunny weather, our group of 5pax fell in love with the rustic villages, clear blue seawaters and steep terraces filled with farming for grapes, olives, lemons etc.

We arrived late afternoon to Manarola, our base for the next 2 nights after a 2hr train ride from Genova city. Our hostel was Ostello “Cinque Terre” – do recommend it for its cleanliness and eco efforts (www.hostel5terre.com). We even had special tokens for the showers ,which limited it to 5 min for water conservation. Amazing experience since it does make one realise how little time we actually need for a proper shower.

(Manarola basking in the sunset)

The whole area is filled with plenty of trails connecting the coastal villages or leading up to the various hilltops. As we only had one proper day for exploration, we opted to stay on the well-trodden footpath #2 from Manarola to Monterosso al Mare (8km walk), which can be done easily in 5-6 hours.

(Footpath linking the villages between Manarola & Monterosso al Mare)

The footpath is varied in terms of steepness, but definitely well laid out to appeal to walkers from all ages. There was the interesting 382 steps in zig-zag style during the last section leading up to Corniglia. The final footpaths from Corniglia to Vernazza & Monterosso al Mare were more challenging in its steepness, but one is rewarded with the beauty of the olive trees & grapevines on both sides of the trail.

(Zig zag steps leading up to Corniglia)

(View of Vernazza from the harbour)

Arrived at Monterosso al Mare about 3pm, and jumped with joy that our hard walking moments are over for the day. The village was definitely busy for the Sunday – plenty of local & foreign tourists soaking up the sun & warmth. It was also a long weekend for the Italians, who were enjoying a public holiday on Friday for May 1st Labour Day. There were people everywhere looking for souveniers amongst the many shops in the town centre, or relaxing along Fegina beach.

(Il Gigante with Fegina beach in the background)

Took the last ferry trip at 5.50pm from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore and enjoyed the views of the villages and cliffs from the sea. Didn’t really explore much of Riomaggiore as I was indeed tired from the long day of walking. Enjoyed the easy paved footpath from Riomaggiore back to Manarola, which was called Via dell’ Amore (Lover’s Road). The 20min walk was flat all the way – we even had time to fool around with various poses for the camera while savouring the sunset.

(Plenty of love declarations in the form of locks found along the Via dell’ Amore)

Ended the night with a wonderful dinner at Tratorria “Billy” – our table was set on an open balcony where we had a marvelous view of the sun setting in the open sea. Food was excellent, shared the Black Squid Ink Linguini with clams. Didn’t really stayed long at the restaurant, as our group was finding it difficult keeping our voices & laughter down amongst the other diners, mostly couples enjoying the romantic setting.

Definitely enjoyed the village of Manarola the best – mainly because it was quieter and less commercialised compared to the other towns, particularly Vernazza & Monterosso al Mare. It was simply magical exploring the narrow & winding pathways amongst the rustic buildings and out along the farming terraces. Given the opportunity, I will love to return and walk the other trails leading to the many hilltops and drink in the marvelous natural beauty of this national park.

(View of the terraced farming at village of Manarola)

More pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/wyeyim/CinqueTerreGenoa#