A Genovan Swing of Things

I survived my first week of school. Yay!  Now it feels like things are going to start settling down into a routine and before I know it school will be flying by. 

I had a terrific first week with my students!  They are a great bunch of young boys and girls.  We have a class blog and if you're interested, please check it out sometime: rsimonsen.blogspot.it

So this weekend, a few of my friends and I decided we'd take it slow and start discovering more of Genoa and the surrounding area.

Friday night our director and his wife hosted aperitivo at school which was great and a nice way to celebrate the end of the week!  Plus the fact that we all survived and were still standing ;)  This led into a few of us heading over for supper at my neighbour's house followed by a rousing train game, for which I cannot remember the name but definitely want to play again.

Saturday was quite laid back and so a few of us headed to the neighbouring area of Nervi where we walked the streets, saw the sights, and walked along the sea (GORGEOUS!!).

Then we had supper at Solari (??  They keep telling me the name and I keep forgetting it.  Feeling slightly like a gold fish these days).  It was THE BEST pizza I've ever had in my entire life.  Recommendations from other staff members held up! The pizza was Napoli pizza with a thicker, soft crust.  It was amazing and the service at this place was terrific!  Our waiter really went out of his way to help us in english and made for such a great experience that we'll definitely be going back there regularly.

Sunday I met up with a couple from school to have lunch downtown.  Yes, I've also done laundry, cleaned house and done some planning. I'm not shirking on those duties as I enjoy life here in Genoa.

Upon arriving downtown, we did some walking to find a good lunch place and low and behold found a little market.  It was more like a conglomerate garage sale but still super cool.  We browsed for a bit, seeing lots of antiques and things I'd have loved to take back with me and that I know my sis Kait would've loved, then had lunch nearby.

I was SO excited to have something other than Italian for once.  Don't get me wrong - I quite enjoy a good pasta dish but as my previous post says, it can get a little tiring after awhile if you don't have a variety.  So a good hamburger was just what I needed.  However, it definitely wasn't Canadian beef (lol).  But still good! I thought it was interesting that the menu listed "tomato ketchup" but that's exactly what it was - sweet tomatoes and onions mixed together to become a spread for the hamburger.  Things just aren't always the same here but you have to be open to the newness that will envelope your life.  I also tried a "Pimms" drink today as recommended by my friends who drank it when at Wimbledon.  It was quite a tasty treat on a hot day like today!  Serenaded by a violinist during lunch was also quite nice.

All in all it was a great relaxing weekend with some wonderful friends.  Now that we're back into the swing of things, I'm ready to start exploring outside the city on weekends.  Who knows where the next adventure will take me! :)

Arrivederci for now peeps!