Genoa - Thursday 10 October

We were pleased we hadn't organised anything further afield than Genoa today, as it looked very gloomy and had been raining when we looked out the window during our late 8 am breakfast (with the Barrows). Apparently boat trips to Cinque Terre had been cancelled, as had any Princess tours to Portofino, because of the sea conditions, although we'd had a very smooth night of sailing up the coast from Livorno.

The ship's information about Genoa (via TV and the daily news 'Princess Patter') indicated rather a lot of museums and art galleries in this city, but nothing we could really be bothered visiting. We spent the day with the Barrows and were off the ship at 9 am, paying E6 each for the recommended shuttle out of the port (a total rip-off as everyone soon decided, because it was only a 20 minute walk).

We ended up catching a 'Hop on Hop off' bus and riding on the top level for almost two loops of the circuit around the town while we got our bearings and decided where it was worth getting off. The rain started once, as we stopped in Piazza de Ferrari, and we wondered how much of the town we would end up seeing. But it didn't last long, and there were times when the sun shone through and it warmed up a lot, as well as times when black clouds and rain threatened again.

We finally got off the bus at Via XX Settembre to have a quick look at the shops (too expensive), and then our goal was to find the Porta Soprano and the tiny home where Christopher Colombus was born. After getting lost for a short time, I asked a local for directions. He was very helpful, with excellent English, and we were soon on our way again. We found the house, and then wanted to go up one of the lifts or funiculars for a great view over the city. As we walked towards one of these, we found that everything was actually quite close for walking, even though the bus tour made things seem far apart.

David and I bought tickets for the Funiculare di San Anna, while the Barrows walked up the steps. We needed to walk a short distance around to the Spianata di Castelletto for the wonderful views over the city and harbour. Then we walked down the bricked steps to Largo Zecca, and then back down towards the waterfront. I kept thinking how much Genoa reminded me of Wellington, both in the style of the buildings, and in the fact that much of it was on the hillsides surrounding the harbour. There were even overhead cables for the buses, though they weren't connected. Genoa just had a similar 'feel' about it.

By then it was about 1:20 pm and we decided there was no point trying to use the 'Hop on Hop off' or shuttle buses to return to the ship, because we'd been told they both stopped services between 1 and 2 pm. Strangely, we saw the former still operating, but continued our walk back, with rain threatening at times.

We enjoyed a light lunch in the International Cafe, and then made ourselves comfortable, with our books, inside on Deck 7. We enjoyed a catch-up chat with Harvey and Barbara before they headed off to the daily trivia competition. Soon it was time to get ready for our last Formal Night and second to last night of the cruise. We had another lovely dinner, this time chatting to a couple from London who do a lot of cruises because they are so close to everything. Their flight home from Barcelona will be only 1.5 hours!

The show in the Princess Theatre was excellent, with great singing and dancing to music from old shows. Dan, our Cruise Director did a great stunt at the end, with four passengers, which had us all amazed. We'll save it for our next party trick!

The ship was rocking significantly more again after we left Genoa, and we had to hold on to rails and walk carefully. It wasn't bad enough for me to need Sea Legs, luckily. The previous night's sailing had been so calm we hadn't felt as if we were moving at all.