Genoa to Jesi..... Another New Adventure!!

Piazza di Ferrari
(The famous Italian, not the car)!!

It is a grey, cloudy day here in Genoa, and I'm thinking about my departure tomorrow and getting excited for a new adventure!! I'm leaving a bit earlier than I had originally planned, but I've decided it's best to leave sooner than expected because my knee is hurting from the necessary climbing of hills here!!

I

Medieval "City Gate" leading
into the Genoa historical center!

can't really get out and about much in Genoa to do sight-seeing because it is LITERALLY built on the hillside of the mountain and we are close to the top, so going anywhere requires going down a lot of stairs and hills....then climbing back up!! I think my knee (already injured when I fell down some stairs last fall) might have gotten a bit "stressed" after my hike through the Cinque Terre. I'm okay walking on flat areas or a few hills here and there, but these steep inclines are a bit much!! Soooo, I'm heading off to the Adriatic Sea to stay with a different family (in Jesi - living within the walls of an old, historical town from Roman times)!!

This

Statues built to look like they are
holding up the building!!

new family in Jesi is a friend of someone I contacted through Workaway. They've never tried this experience before (having someone live in their home and help them with their English), so I have no idea how it will all turn out (but I figure it will probably be good because they seem VERY excited to have me stay with them)! The family in Jesi doesn't speak much English, but the mom is a Literature teacher in the high school, so I think we'll be able to figure it out (and her friend/colleague from work that suggested she give it a try has been on Workaway for awhile and has had many people visit/stay with her family - so I'm sure she'll be a big help if we need it)!!

AND...my next family following Jesi (which includes my new friend, Ketty, the mom in that family) will be very close! In fact, when I emailed Ketty and told her I would be nearby, she suggested I come see them on Sunday (which is great because I would really like to celebrate my 55th birthday with someone I kinda "know" and feel comfortable with - someone I already know I will enjoy)!!

Soooo....I will head out on the train Saturday at noon, get to Jesi around 8:00 pm, then head to Fano on Sunday (noon-ish) and spend my birthday with Ketty and her family in Fano (returning Sunday night to my new family in Jesi and settling into a new routine of practicing English and learning all about this new family of five (including 2 teenagers and a 7-year-old)! 

My "Tour Guide" Stefano!!

Ahhh.....what an adventure I'm having for sure (inside and out)!! And now, onto the sightseeing!! Once I told Stefano that I was going to leave early due to my knee problems, he offered to take me to do a bit of sight-seeing in Genoa! 

Saturday, we walked around the historical district (inside the city walls) in and out of a maze-like structure to the famous San Lorenzo Church. This church in the main square (piazza) is built in "Ligurian Gothic" (which, I finally figured out when I saw a sign in front of a church in Monterosso)!! I kept trying to figure out the architectural style of all these buildings that had stripes built into them - such a unique style that I hadn't seen before!! 

This church is especially famous because during WWII, a bomb entered the church through the roof, but it didn't explode....so it still sits in the floor of the church as a remembrance of "God's miraculous power to protect the city!" 

The

Beautiful ceilings in San Luca Church!!

structure inside the church is INCREDIBLE - huge arches, etc!! Unfortunately, we were unable to wander around because there was a confirmation service/mass happening.  But that just added to the mystical experience of being in a church that has been used for centuries - built, I'm sure during the "high times" of Genoa (a prominent banking capital with lots of industry and shipping)!! 

We also saw a much smaller church (San Luca) that had some incredible artwork! Gorgeous scenery painted on the ceiling, marble altars and statues all around - much less grandiose, but very peaceful. (I went ahead and posted lots of pictures because I'm running out of words!!)

My "model" Beatrice (and beside her,
Valentina who wanted to read and walk)!!

On Sunday, I went with the family to Nervi (which is about 30 minutes from here and is considered a part of "Metropolitan Genoa") to a lovely walking path along the sea.  We walked along what used to be the city wall - a protective fortress against invaders, I'm sure!! The views were incredible and with no shade (and finally a sunny day), it got quite hot!!  There were lots of people out enjoying their Sunday afternoon stroll along the Promenade (older couples walking together - some women with their fur coats on - which seemed a bit hot to me - walking along the Promenade after church and before lunch)!!

A picture is worth a thousand words!!

We stopped to use the bathroom and OH MY!!! I walked in and looked around and just saw a shower stall with places for your feet - came back out and said "there's no toilet, just a place to stand and a hole in the floor" - to which my ever-disgusted-eye-rolling-teenage companion scrunched her nose at me and said,  "Well yeah!! You wouldn't want to sit on the toilet seat in public anyway, so why have a toilet?!?!" Hmmm.... good logic, I guess!?!?!  

By

One of our fun nights
playing Scrabble in English!!

that time, Stefano had already bought a cappaccino because the toilet was for "paying guests only" (I missed that sign and they kept reassuring me it was fine to go ahead and use it....and after he bought the coffee I kinda felt obliged), so I gave it a try and it was "interesting" to say the least! It was a bit weird, but it worked - better than a smelly outhouse, but similar to peeing behind a tree!! 

So....off I go tomorrow - leaving behind this family that has done their best to make me feel comfortable and happy! I'm sure I will remember this time fondly as a good learning opportunity, but I'm excited to try someplace new!! So....off to my next family and adventure!! Thanks, as always, for listening and joining me on my journey!!