Genoa and Toulouse

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So I'll be backtracking a bit to catch you up. I think I will separate the blogs into chunks, so that you can choose whether you want to read all, some, or none of them. 😉

My last day in Toulouse was pretty uneventful. It was pretty relaxed, with no rushing around. I got up late, had a quick breakfast, and went to the Capitole to meet my brother's friend, Olivier. I got a text saying that he was running a bit late, so I texted back and let him know where exactly I was sitting waiting for him. He found me pretty easily, and we set off walking a bit to start the afternoon. He wanted to show me some spots in the city that I might not have already seen, and he was hard-pressed to find any. I had pretty much combed the city on my own over the last couple of days. We visited a couple of churches, revisited one I had seen, and wandered around with the intent of finding a place to eat that served dishes typical of Toulouse. Most restaurants were closed on Mondays, so we ended up at a pizza place. I think he was a little disappointed not to share Toulouse cuisine with me, but I was a bit relieved. I am NOT an adventurous eater, so pizza was definitely more up my alley! We spoke in French the whole time, or rather Olivier spoke in French the whole time, and I understood about 80% of what he said, and added my own inane comments. I really need to improve my French!!! I could hear mistakes in so many of my sentences, and he told me I had an English accent when I spoke. 😞 Oh well. He left to run a few errands around 4pm, and I tried to go to a Roman amphitheatre ruin that was in the city. Unfortunately, it's only open Sunday afternoons. Oh well. The rest of the night was spent packing, reading, and just hanging out.

I flew the next day to Milan, and while I got to the airport with plenty of time, the agents taking bags at the desk were taking their sweet old time getting people through the line. Some people on an earlier flight were pushed through since otherwise they would miss their flight, and I got through dumping my bag (I already had a boarding pass from before I left Toronto!) with only a few minutes to spare before boarding the flight. I got to Milan fine, got to the central train station fine, and had to wait around for my train to Genoa. It was hot waiting in the train station, but it was fine. Getting to my hotel in Genoa was fine, but all the wandering around after that was difficult!

I checked into my hotel, where they didn't speak any English or French, and got my single private room. I had to share the bathroom, which wasn't a huge deal, but I was upset that I didn't have air conditioning like they had advertised. How does one communicate that to someone who doesn't speak English or French? I didn't bother. I used the map they gave me to start wandering around the city, and discovered that it was easier said than done. Some of the streets were at sea level, others were 3-4 stories off the ground! And there was no clear indication which was which. Also, not all the streets on the map were labelled, so as I came across one that I could find the name of on the street, I couldn't find it on the map. Very frustrating!!!

Eventually I made my way back to a recognizable spot on the map, and consulted one of my guide books about a place to eat. There was one that was recommended that was near the upper viewpoint of the city, so I made my way there. They were supposed to open at 7:30, and when I arrived at 8pm, they weren't ready to serve dinner yet. I was told to come back around 8:30. I made my way up a million stairs to see the view of the city from above, and took some photos. I went back to the restaurant, starving, and it took them another 15 min. to set up a table for one. As I waited to be served, I was given a "present" of bruschetta. It was delicious! I finally ordered my food, got mosquito-bitten, ate a lovely seafood linguine, and got the bill. Much to my surprise, the bruschetta was on the bill! So much for my present! :S I made my way back to the hotel, and much to my delight, got another gajillion mosquito bites that night because I had to leave the windows open with the heat. 😞 Not very impressed with that city, I'm afraid.

Off to Cinque Terre next!

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