I left last night's campsite early to my relief - it was not an enjoyable night! I was off to explore Genova (Genoa in English). I'd read and been told by the campsite attendants that parking in the city was a bit sketchy, that people had come back to vehicles that had been robbed or vandalised! So I had paid online for a parking spot in a garage, and drove into the city in the early morning to drop off the campervan. The garage even seemed sketchy, but they were polite and had a pet cat - how bad can cat people be??
I left the camper and walked into town. It was super early and the only people who seemed to be out were men, which made me a little uneasy. I didn't have any trouble, but I was the only woman wandering around the little alleyways. Because of this, I kept to the main tourist areas until more people started showing up.
Despite the uneasiness I felt in the morning, Genova in full swing was bright and colourful. There was even a brocante on, and I had to stop myself a couple of times from buying stuff that was so cool but not practical to buy on a 6-week roadtrip when I was only 2 weeks in (cinema seats, I'm looking at you!).
Being Sunday, the cathedral of San Lorenzo was not open to tourists until later, but I meandered past as soon as it opened up. It was a really remarkable church, with the black and white marble used on the outside repeated throughout the inside. I'd never seen anything quite like it!
After wandering through the cathedral, it was time for lunch. I just so happened upon this little place called Soul Kitchen, which I liked because they had a decent vegetarian menu - I'm not veggie, but I had been eating more meat than usual so it was nice to have a vegetarian lunch. They also had a 10 euro lunch menu where you got a meal, a glass of wine (or water, but ... wine for me!) and a coffee or fruit. What a bargain. Also, I actually had one of the best pastas that I have ever eaten there, and have been trying to replicate it since (I think I've got it!). It was DELICIOUS!
After lunch, I kept wandering a bit more. Genova was an interesting city - not overly touristy, but there was also a large migrant community there so there were lots of languages being spoken. Eventually, it was nearing 3pm, which was when I had to go pick up the camper, so I made my way back to the garage.
I don't think I even really scratched the surface of Genova, but it was an interesting place to visit. I feel like you need a lot longer than a few hours there to really see it, as it's quite a long city, bending around the form of the land, and I didn't want to trek too far from the camper. But I enjoyed my time there so that's the main thing! I drove off, about 40 minutes to my next campsite at Rapallo. This was another one of those too-touristy sites, but I was next to another English-speaking solo travelling woman, so I was happy enough and settled in for the night.
Campsite: Tourist Village Rapallo
Rating: 7/10. Nice site and good privacy for pitches. Check out is at 1pm if you want to explore in the morning