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Published: August 27th 2013
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Buongiorno a tutti!
These are my last couple of days working here in
Pietra Ligure! Working here at the camping was a nice experience itself, I learned new things and improved my Italian. But working a second time here, I don’t think so. I don't like to say "never", but it wouldn't be an option I'd easily choose again. It’s a family-run camping and it has its annoyances sometimes because there are many things that could be improved here, but it seems those who should care do not care at all so I don't care either, since I’m leaving anyway. I must say that my boss, Daniele, is a very friendly guy and likes to make jokes all the time. I have absolutely nothing to complain about the way I was treated here! Patrizia was also a great colleague to work with, an Italian woman who also speaks fluent Dutch! This week a friend and his girlfriend from Germany will be visiting and also two Italian friends will visit me the last two days....which is great! The weather is already cooling of quite a lot, at night the temperatures are reaching about 16°C so the summer is ending, and the
camping is not busy anymore. Many people left...and it's about time for me to leave too!
During my time off I decided to go to
Genoa (Genova), the capital of Liguria and Italy's sixth largest city behind Rome, Milan, Naples, Palermo and Turin. There was a Dutch family who, by coincidence, was going to Genova the same day so they gave me a ride to the city. They stayed just one whole day while I spent one night there. I really needed to be "away" from the camping for some time. I didn't know what to expect from the birthplace of Columbus and Italy's most important harbour. Most tourists tend to skip Genua and visit Rome, Florence, Milan and Venice. But I must say that Genoa was a pleasant surprise. It’s historic centre impressed me with its narrow streets, the amount of palaces with their huge, high doors of at least 5m and lots of architecture. The city has a big amount of museums, including the house of Columbus. The cathedral of San Lorenzo is also worth a visit and I was a bit impressed by the amount of art inside. Just like Willemstad in Curaçao, Genoa is
also on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The city is also well known in Italy for the "Pesto Genovese", the delicious, green pesto which I love! The aquarium of Genoa was my first stop in the city and it was worth it. The Acquario di Genova is big and there are a lot of species of marine life to be seen, from pinguins to sharks, from piranhas to jelly-fish. Genoa has a small metroline with 8 stations, which I used a couple of times. Near my little hotel there’s a street called "Via di Prè" which is full of foreigners, especially Africans, mostly from Senegal. I wanted a haircut and I asked one of them where there is a good barber. He took me to a random door of a building, opened it, went one floor up, knocked on a door and a Senegalese guy opened….and there they had two chairs, a big mirror, just like a small barbershop. The haircut cost just EUR 10 and I spoke a little but with the barber, Ndiaye, about Senegal and his motives to come to Italy.
When my family-members came from the Netherlands, we decided to take the train and went
to France. First we made a short stop in
Monte Carlo , Monaco. Monaco is the second smallest country in the world (after Vatican City) with an area of just 2 sq. km. The country is ruled by Prince Albert II and it’s a rich country. Once outside the station we saw different luxurious cars driving around and a huge amount of luxurious boats and yachts in the bay….a bit decadent, haha! We walked along the wharf and up a hill nearby you can visit Prince's Palace of Monaco. Monaco is famous for its casino, which is located in a beautiful building towards the east of Monte Carlo and it has a strict dress code. You must dress elegantly to be able to enter. Another famous thing in Monaco is its F1 Grand Prix circuit. It was cool and interesting to spend a little time in the country but since there isn’t that much to see anyway, we continued our journey to Nice.
Nice, France was another great experience. It’s the 5
th largest city in France behind Paris, Marseille, Toulouse and Lyon and has around 1 million inhabitants. It’s located at the south-eastern coast of
France, the so called "Côte d’Azur". I found the city a beautiful one and has a nice ambience. I liked the colourful squares with their terraces and restaurants / café’s. At the Marché aux Fleurs, which we liked the most, we had lunch. We walked through the broad Avenue Jean Médicine, the most important shopping street of Nice, towards its historical centre. The beach here consists mostly of big, flat stones but the water is very clear and blue! Another great thing was that most French people we spoke to or asked something and those who served us at the restaurant or shops, did speak some English which was great. We all know that many French are well known for not speaking or not wanting to speak English, hahaha! A walk up to the Colline du Château was worth it. On the top there are some ruins of a castle, but there isn’t much of it left. The views from the top were great though. The weather couldn’t be better: Clear skies, warm and good visibility, which made us enjoy a great view of Nice and the bay called "Baie des Anges".
During my the last couple of weeks
I had the chance to arrange some other things for the rest of the adventure and I've been searching a lot on the internet about other destinations I'm planning to visit! Coming Saturday I'll be leaving to Milan and Sunday evening I'll catch a flight to ..... !
That’s all for now, thanks for reading and till the next blog!
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Rachael
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Reaction on Genoa,Nice, Monaco and Pietra Ligure visit.
Hi, Mr Elton I am very impressed by the e-mails received, along with the nice images. Italy is one of our favourite vacation destinations and the pictures trigger an urge for a visit in the nearest possible future.