Genova - Simonsen Christmas Travels P2

Part 2 of our Simonsen Christmas Travels took us up to northern Italy and to the place that I now call home, Genova (aka Genoa).

Our train ride was a lovely 5 hrs long.  Why the train and not a plane you ask?  The cost would have been pretty comparable but flying within Italy, cheaply, can highly depend on airline, flight availability, location, etc.  Many times when friends and I fly to destinations outside of Italy from Genoa we: a) fly from Genoa for a higher cost and limited flight availability (meaning you can't leave when you want), or b) we train it to Milan where there are more options at a better price.  Plus taking the train meant we got to see some beautiful scenery, when not going through the mountains.

The ride didn't seem that long when you're with others and the conversation is flowing, snacks are enjoyed, bevies are had and card games are played.  It actually afforded us some great quality time together, and dad could have a nap. ;)

5 out of 6 seats in the carriage were occupied by us.

Poor person who got stuck with the Simonsen clas ;)

Close to arriving in Genoa I had warned my family that they'd only have a couple of minutes to get off the train, so we needed to make sure we gathered things together and were ready for disembarking prior to the train stopping.  At this point, I'm pretty sure my mother thought I was exaggerating at the length of the disembarking time.  However, she secretly timed the event and after getting everyone off, my sister and I handing suitcases off the train like an assembly line, and the train started to leave I think she realized that I indeed was not exaggerating (she timed it as 2:30 minutes).  You know that feeling when a moment lends itself to "I told you so".......very sweet. ;) lol (Although I'd definitely never say it aloud to her).

At the train station we took a couple of cabs to Piazza San Matteo where we were to meet the lady of our next apartment rental place.  I got a kick out of walking out of the train station to the cabs only to be told "no" with a finger wag that the guy couldn't take all of us because of too much luggage and then he started to walk away.  Of course, in my newly acquired sense of not going to be pushed around aka Italian way, I said yes he'd take us but we could take two cabs.  Oh my, the problem solving abilities some days.

In true Genoa fashion, the cab could take us only so far as the narrow winding streets didn't allow them to drive all the way to the piazza.  So with suitcases bouncing haphazardly over the cobblestones, we made it to the piazza (a new one to me so it was fun to see this different part of downtown Genoa), met the lady in charge of our rental and headed to the apartment.

One can only imagine the looks on our faces when, as she opened the door to the building, we stepped inside and....saw the mountain of stairs before us.  Thankfully there was a one person/one suitcase tiny elevator just up the first flight of stairs.  So, 7 loads/lifts later we made it into the apartment.  You know that moment when you open a door and what lays behind does NOT match the exterior?  That was it for us.  Tired, sweaty, sore we walked into a beautiful, clean, spacious apartment that we came to find out (Whitney hid this info from us - she was our accommodations booker for the holiday and had done a marvellous job!) ...... had 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a living area and dining room.  It was a great Christmas treat!

Once unpacked, a cup of tea had (the spread before us was amazing!) we ambled out for dinner.  I took them to a quaint little British pub nearby where we enjoyed a lovely Christmas eve time together with cider, Guinness, fish and chips, burgers and wurstel.

Oh boy! I think jet lag was really kicking in here lol,

Christmas day brought with it a wonderful sleep-in and a lazy, relaxing day with no hurry on our mind.

Our day started with a trek to my place so they could see the place I call 'home'.  It was fun to share that with them, and to have them get a better understanding of where I spend my time (this is true for all aspects of Genoa).

Piazza de Ferrari

Only a few months ago I had my first picture here too!

We were very grateful that the buses were running that day, limited routes of course but main ones still a go.  I'm very appreciative of the workers whose time away from family allowed me to share Genoa with mine.  

Waiting on the 17.

Next we headed to Nervi as I wanted to take them to the seaside and share the beauty of the Ligurian Sea with them.  Nervi is great for this as there's a beautiful walkway right alongside the coast.  We enjoyed a leisurely stroll to the sea through Nervi's main district and had fun window browsing along the way.  A few blocks later, we made it....the "boardwalk" and a spectacular view that can take your breath away.

And what a nice day we had for this outing!  A crisp breeze was present but the sun was out in full force and waves were lapping rhythmically against the rocky coast.  It was a beautiful Christmas day for a stroll by the sea.

Sibling love

The boys taking a break

Merry Christmas! :)

The best people in my life!  Don't know where I'd be 

without these two :)

We capped off our time there with an aperitivo while watching ships come and go, and hearing the water caress the rocks below.  The perfect ending to a perfect outing.

Keeping an eye on the ships

Catching the bus back home we popped back into my place to grab materials for our Christmas dinner.  Thanks to some Genovian friends, I had a menu planned out for a traditional Christmas meal for my family: proscuito crudo/cheese/breadstick appetizer, trofie with pesto, roast meat (in this case a roast beef), and a pandoro cake. Yum!  Unfortunately the meal took a little longer to make than anticipated (it was the roast's fault) so our dinner ended up being at 10:30pm :o  Oh well.  Eating late is very typical in this country, not really that late though haha, so at least we were keeping the spirit of the country alive in our adventures.  And we gladly passed the time away while waiting with rousing cards games and bubbly bevies.  It was so much fun to have a non-typical North American Christmas this year.  However I am going to have turkey, cabbage rolls, stuffing, rutabagas, mashed potatoes and gravy when I'm home next, regardless of the time of year.

Causing shenanigans while we waited

December 26th started off with another trip outside of the centre for us to see my school, the International School in Genoa.  I kinda felt a little like I had my own paparazzi going here today.  Again it was fun showing them the place that I spend most of my days, and having them see exactly what I meant in my dialogues over the past few months.

Showing where we each currently reside in the world

Next we headed back into the centre for a walk down to the port.  Another nice day befell us and we meandered our way through winding streets, past street sellers and artists, while taking in the flavour of the city and finally ending up at the old harbor area.

Bellissima!

After enjoying the view and grabbing a bite to eat at one of the restaurants nearby, we headed to the aquarium.  Genoa's aquarium is the largest in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.  I honestly can't remember the last time I'd visited an aquarium.  I want to say Vancouver as a child? And we all know that that was a LONG time ago.  Needless to say the building was nice and everything was laid out so well.  The variety of sea creatures there was amazing and we had a great time just leisurely strolling through, taking in the various critters that are hidden in the briny depths of the sea.

So many comments.... ;)

In the room where you could see the fish below AND touch them.

Nemo!

The aquarium was unfortunately the last stop in Genoa for us.   We had to head back to pack up and get ready to leave in the morning.  The sense of pride that came over me as I was sharing my new place of residence (school, casa and the city) these few days was quite intriguing to me.  Those moments together in Genoa finally capped off the move for me and I was able to completely grasp the idea of calling Genoa home now.

Tomorrow we head off for our 3rd stop in the Simonsen Christmas Travels adventures.....Venice!  SO excited for this leg.  I think it's my most anticipated of all!

Genoa Links:

Rental Accomodation
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/VacationRentalReview-g187823-d4914699-Casa_Ripa_Maris_Marvellous_5_bedroom_apartment-Genoa_Italian_Riviera_Liguria.html

Acquario di Genova
http://www.acquariodigenova.it/en/

The International School in Genoa
http://isgenoa.it/

Ms. Simonsen's 3rd Grade Purple
http://rsimonsen.blogspot.it/

10 Reasons to visit Genoa
http://slowitaly.yourguidetoitaly.com/2015/01/10-reasons-to-visit-genoa-next-time-you-are-in-italy/

Roma - Simonsen Christmas Travels P1

A two week Italian adventure awaited the Simonsen troop for the holiday season of 2014, and this was all going to start in ROMA (the Italian way of saying Rome).

After making our lovely welcoming scene at Fiumicino Airport in Rome, we proceeded with bountiful bags to find Pino, the person who's apartment we were renting for the next few days and who also graciously offered, for a slight fee of course, to pick us up at the airport and drive us to our home-away-from-home.  (Let's just say that this offer was great as the airport was a slight distance from the place and there was no other way we could have easily gotten there at that time of night or so cost effectively).

After such a long travel day, or day and night for those who had an international flight on their itenerary, it was beyond relief to finally reach a place where bags could be dropped and dismissed from thought for awhile.  Even better: there was a Christmas tree set-up just for the season. Yay!  Up to this point, the only Christmas tree I'd seen was in the foyer of the school.

We quickly agreed that we were famished so Dad and I headed out to find some take away, pizza no less.  Lucky for us our apartment was in a quiet, quaint neighbourhood that had restaurants nearby - like 2 doors away.  While waiting for our pizza Dad and I just had to partake in the Italian culture and have a glass of wine while we waited. Ahh, this was the beginning of a beautiful relationship between Dad and wine for the next few days. ;)

We look pretty darn good after our travel days, if I do say so myself. ;)

Of course there is a soccer game on in the background, lol.

Fed, watered, my jeans and goodies delivered (yes, I had to get my family to buy me jeans in Canada so that I wouldn't have to deal with up to my belly button, skin tight pants that seem to be the Italian way), conversations and news caught up we all fell into a deep, well deserved slumber with smiles on our faces cause we were finally where we needed to be: together.

The next morning, as I was the only one not suffering from jet lag, I was up and at 'em at 7am whilst the others were still working on catching up on their beauty rest.  Thankfully there was a grocery store just across the street from our place so I headed over there, grabbed a few things, made a lovely cup of cappuchino and enjoyed my first real day of relaxing holidays sitting outside with a warm beverage, enjoying the sun and beautiful weather while reading a good old Mary Higgins Clark Christmas novel. Yes, this was the start of a wonderful holiday already.

Happy Holidays!

Banana tree outside on our patio area.

Once the rest of the crew began to stir, around noon, we decided to take time to explore the neighborhood.  In no rush with no exact plan, we headed out and strolled around the urban Roman neighborhoods - taking in the various stores, restaurants, architecture, automobiles, etc.  Tyler especially had to point out all the Smart cars he saw.  As opposed to Canada, this visual was mentioned OFTEN lol.  I think I had the most fun watching my family experience the Italian culture, reliving through them what I felt four months ago when I first started encountering a very different lifestyle from that which I was used to.  This was especially prevalent when we had to hang out waiting for a restaurant to open since it's rare for one to do so before 7:30pm.  Thank goodness they got their first taste of aperitivo. ;)

Dad and his love for Italian cappuccinos brewing.

The next day was our first main tourist, sightseeing day in Rome.  After much effort, and having to stop at numerous tabacchis to buy bus tickets since the first 3 were oddly out of them, we headed via bus into the downtown core of Rome.  We decided to start with walking to our first destination: Piazza Navona. We noticed that there were quite a few fountains in this piazza.

After a quick bite (love that there are numerous restaurants to be found around/near these piazzas in Italy), we moseyed on to the Pantheon. Wow!  The architecture, art, symbolism, etc. of this structure was truly remarkable.  I loved how it was cylindrical, which made for some very curious musings about the creation of it and how the interior was constructed.  We then proceeded to the Trevi Fountain, which to our dismay is closed for renovations.  :(  Whitney and I were utterly disappointed at this as we'd seen it in movies and SO wanted to throw a coin in. Apparently it's going to be closed until next September for repairs; however in my knowledge of Italy I'll be impressed if it's completed by next December.  

Pantheon

Tomb of Umberto I

Raphael's Tomb (Italian painter & architect)

Pantheon exterior

Trevi Fountain :(  Notice: no water.

Well, after that disappointing endeavour we decided to take the "Hop On Hop Off" bus.  In my previous travels I've found these to be really beneficial to hitting the main tourist sites (if that's what you're into) quickly and efficiently.  Plus the tickets are usually good for 24-48 hours, just watch the hours they operate.

We took the HOHO bus to: the Colliseum and Roman Forum.  It was amazing to see the ancient ruins and architecture, both there and in the surrounding area.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late to gain entrance to either place however just standing alongside the Colliseum, looking up at its grandiose and thinking of all the history it encompassed was awe inspiring.

Where the lions were kept (I believe)

After taking time to really delve into the magnitude of the place we were at, we hopped back on the bus and headed to our next destination.  One of the great things about being in such a culturally rich city such as Rome is that even while on the bus you get to see so many historical places.  As someone who comes from such a young country, I still marvel at the length of history of these places I'm at.

Area where chariot races were once held

Altare della Patria, aka Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II

(monument in honour of Victor Emmanuel, first king of unified Italy)

We took the bus to our next point of interest.....The Vatican.  It's kind of neat to say that we did get to go to another country while on our vacation. ;)  Due to the extremely long lines, we did not get a chance to go in but instead got to marvel at the beauty of the outside.

That brought our first day of actual, tourist sightseeing to a close.  And to top it all off, the Simonsen clan got their first taste of excellent, Italian made, scrumptious, creamy gelato. Yum!

The next day we resumed our sightseeing adventures, which were a lot easier since we now had bus tickets and an understanding of the public transportation system of Rome.  Our second day of Rome sightseeing brought us to Piazza Garibaldi and a view of Rome from above.

Garibaldi monument

(similar ones can be found in 

most Italian cities)

My favourite brother

Manfredi Lighthouse

(gift from Italian immigrants in Argentina to Rome)

Tyler keeping an eye on Rome ;)

Next we headed to another popular destination spot, one that both Whitney and I had wanted to encounter since we've viewed it in movies and tv shows (most memorable was its appearance in The Amazing Race)....The Spanish Steps.  Funny thing, whenever you see it on tv there don't seem to be as many people as there were when we were there. Hmmm...lol.

The top

Heading down....

Of course it's renovation season here too.

Love the advertising, prime place.

Family, left hand corner.

These feet touched each and every step.

Home where poet John Keats died.

After all the different Italian resturants we'd been too, we went off course, followed a typical North American stomach rumble, and headed for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.  But I must tell you.....ribs, burgers, wings, potato skins, food of all sorts that I knew, loved and truly missed made this one of the best lunch choices ever.  A drink made with clamato (ie ceaser) would've made it perfect!  Too bad that's something that will elude me until I step foot in Canada again.

One more jaunt around the city to see a few more sights and then back to our favourite Rome gelato place to cap our final day in Rome off with a lovely desert, and to pick up some souvenirs at a nearby shop.  Plus, it was also where we knew how to take the bus home lol.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Oh, the family photobombing that started

Tiber River

The crew! :)  Best family ever!

December 24th....Christmas Eve, and the day we depart Rome.  Pino graciously offered to drive us to the train station this day, which was really great in more ways than one.  First, the ease of getting to the train station was so nice as we didn't have to worry about how to call a cab, costs, space (5 of us with lots of luggage proved to be a taxi challenge game during our holidays).  Second, Pino stopped at a couple of places along the way to make sure we got in a few more sights before our departure.  Thanks Pino!

Mouth of Truth

(Notable from Roman Holiday)

It was closed so the closest Whitney could get to getting her hand in its mouth

Overall, Rome was a beautiful city!  I would love to return some day and see more of the sights, especially those off the beaten path, and perhaps have a chance to go into the Collisseum and Roman Forum.  Regardless, we sure got  to see a lot while we were in Rome.

Now, Frecciabianca bound, the Simonsen Christmas Travels continue in . . . . . Genova.

Rome Links:

Rental Accomodation
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/VacationRentalReview-g187791-d1966154-CHEAP_and_COMFORTABLE_your_HOME_in_Rome-Rome_Lazio.html

Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour
http://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/rome-bus-tours?_$ja=cgid:3254565797|tsid:36801|cid:84540797|lid:11486560898|nw:search|crid:30148446437|dvc:c|adp:1t1&gclid=CNvHp5OnlMMCFaIIwwodtnUA1A

Trenitalia (Train Tickets)
http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=4ddd1a035296f310VgnVCM1000005817f90aRCRD