Oct. 7-9, Getting to, Exploring Genova

- October 08, 2025

My First Day in Italy (Wed. Oct. 8)

I’m sitting in the Priority Pass Buena Vista lounge at the Rome Airport as I write this. Because the schedule called for a tight connection between arriving in Rome and catching my flight to Genova, I’ve been checking the history of my DFW-Rome flight the last week or two. Very rarely did that flight arrive on time, and in many cases it was HOURS late, as much as five.

So I was relieved when I got a call over the weekend saying that my early connection was canceled, and my reservation had been transferred to a flight leaving at 1:30 pm. It’s much less stressful to wait four to five hours in an airport lounge than to worry thru a ten hour flight as to whether or not you’ll make your connection, especially considering the long lines and wait for passport control

So, of course my flight from Dallas left right on time and arrived twenty minutes ahead of schedule. I wandered around, exiting the controlled area, then re-entered thru security and found my way to a lounge in Terminal A.

Here is really a great start to my adventure. The first cappuccino,

some delicious free food,

and a relatively quiet place to relax, get some quick shut-eye, and start writing my first blog entry.

A real highlight of today was the flight from Roma to Genova. I was fortunate to be seated at a window on the right-hand side of the plane on a beautiful sunny Mediterranean day. The route took us straight up the coast with awesome views of harbors large and small, towering cliffs and crashing waves. There were a few larger cities but mostly smaller towns and villages. The views were outstanding. I wish we hadn’t flown quite so high, but it was truly GRAND.

Upon arrival, I was able to check into my hotel room, right in the middle of Genova, actually in the harbor. The hotel is very nice and upscale, and I have a very large pirate ship, a tourist attraction, right off my balcony. But the cannons are pointed right at my room.

Finally, tonight, as I’m about to crash into my bed to help fix the jet lag, I have to tell you that our small group had a real Italian dinner at a tiny restaurant in an alley off the main drag, not far from our hotel, very authentic, locals not tourists. I had a penne pasta with a spicy arrabiata sauce. Delish!

Buono Notte!!

Thursday, Oct. 9

After breakfast this morning, our little group of seven (Jeff and Marge, Sally, Lenette, Judy, Jay, and Fran) met with our local guide, Ely, for a walking tour of Genova.

The restaurant of last night’s dinner.

The fresh fish shop

I found a couple of new pins for my hat.

More Genova Scenes

A tasty mid-walk treat for us from our guide, Michaela.

The plaza with the fountain and the Opera House.

Finally, back to the harbor, the famous Aquarium of Genova, our pirate galleon, and our hotel.

Late this afternoon, another walking tour, but different. Michaela took us through some back-alley streets and a tunnel to a kind of a vertical “subway.” It’s an elevator that whisks you up to a higher level in this city that is built into the hills. After paying for our tickets, she led us into the elevator and we came out to fabulous view of the city from high above.