A magical Meditteranean vacation - the Italy road trip COMPLETED - Page 40 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Isn't that frustrating when there are multi-level roads but you're not on the level you need? I don't think GPS generally can distinguish levels, either, so that is part of the issue.
Seems Genoa does have the feel of a port city, rather than a seaside town, which do have an edgy feel. You are lucky to have found such a gem of a hotel there!
Great job getting out of the city. I'd still be negotiating that parking spot!
So glad the end of your trip ended with the most wonderful hotel. And very good that you hit the aquarium the day prior too!
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Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
Isn't that frustrating when there are multi-level roads but you're not on the level you need? I don't think GPS generally can distinguish levels, either, so that is part of the issue.
That's true.
Quote:
Seems Genoa does have the feel of a port city, rather than a seaside town, which do have an edgy feel.
Great job getting out of the city. I'd still be negotiating that parking spot!
So glad the end of your trip ended with the most wonderful hotel. And very good that you hit the aquarium the day prior too!
Sunday 20 July – part four: are we going to find food?
We were heading for Savona, where I figured we’d have lunch. We came off at Albissola Marina, which is know today as a seaside resort, although it made its money from ceramics originally. It was pretty busy as we travelled through it…
We were soon into Savona, which is another cruise port, although we did think there was a certain sense of irony in the ship we saw…
As we went past, we all wondered how that company is doing now… I bet you can get some good deals with them… Note: they were actually bringing the Costa Concordia ashore while we were in Italy
We drove along the waterfront, seeing one of the city’s medieval towers, the Torre di Leon Pancaldo, the last remnant of the 14th century city walls…
We came to Il Priamar, a fort which was erected on the site of the first Roman settlement. It was completed in 1680 and in the 19th century, it was used as a prison.
We headed into the town, and managed to find a parking space, and even better, it was free from 12:30pm until 2:30pm each day, and we’d arrived just after 12:30pm. We set off with one goal in mind – to find food, although I have to say, I was still stuffed from breakfast, so I was looking for some guidance from the others. We saw various cafés and a couple of gelaterias, but no-one shouted, so we kept going.
Savona is the largest town in this part of Italy, and it has long been a rival of Genoa. In 1528, the port was destroyed by the Genoese, and it was only rebuilt in the 19th century. It then suffered further heavy damage in World War Two, but despite this, it’s still packed with lots of buildings to see.
Still not having found anything we liked the look of, we headed down to the waterfront. There were plenty of places there, but there were only restaurants, and those really weren’t going to work for us now, as it was already 1:00pm, and we really needed to leave to head out to the airport in about half an hour or so.
We figured we’d go back to one of the gelaterias we’d seen earlier and get a gelato from there, so we headed off again, finding Piazza Salineri on the way, which is home to two towers, one dating from around 1100, and the other from around 1200.
We headed back up the main shopping street to the gelaterias, and found they were both closed. I don’t know, but I wonder if they close at 1:00pm? I’d seen a Carrefour Express, a mini-supermarket on the drive in, and it had been open, although when we’d walked past it a couple of minutes earlier, it had also been closed. Ok, so food really wasn’t happening for us here.
We went back to the car, and headed out. My next plan was to find a service area along the motorway, but first we were passing through more lovely country, and again the road was a combination of bridges and tunnels. My goodness, there was certainly some serious investment into Italy’s roads once upon a time.
Hope you eventually find some food! We actually stopped for a meal at what our driver called a 'truck stop' when I was in Italy. I was picturing a US-type truck stop so not very happy to be in Italy and going to a truck stop. Then we walked in. Wow! Amazing fresh food, beautiful sandwiches with fresh meats and cheeses. The vending machine actually had prosciutto-wrapped melon!
Another picturesque town, but odd you can't find food!!
How crazy to see that cruise ship of the same company, knowing a sister ship was... well... where it was.
__________________
Tanya
Every click helps feed .6 bowls of food to rescued animals. Give a quick click every day and help animals in shelters! www.theanimalrescuesite.com
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Hope you eventually find some food! We actually stopped for a meal at what our driver called a 'truck stop' when I was in Italy. I was picturing a US-type truck stop so not very happy to be in Italy and going to a truck stop. Then we walked in. Wow! Amazing fresh food, beautiful sandwiches with fresh meats and cheeses. The vending machine actually had prosciutto-wrapped melon!
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And very good that you hit the aquarium the day prior too!
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I don’t know, but I wonder if they close at 1:00pm? I’d seen a Carrefour Express, a mini-supermarket on the drive in, and it had been open, although when we’d walked past it a couple of minutes earlier, it had also been closed. Ok, so food really wasn’t happening for us here. 
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