Day 2 in Genova, Italy

Today has been a mad crazy freefall into narrow streets in the old city, into interviews, into the kindness and generosity of a friend and many strangers.

Without Paola there wouldn't have been the magical introduction to her hometown. I might have found these places but over time and without my translator.

This morning was meant to begin with a slice of the best foccaccia in the world and it did but that led to an interview and photographs an hour later. Not only that but we were sent on our way laden down with more of the best-ever foccaccia in the world. Photos to follow when my internet issues are resolved.

We discovered a cafe called Cafe Boomerang where the cappucchino was so creamy and light it had to be marked it down as a favourite.

We wandered the alleyways visiting a soap and ecetera place, an exotic old shop full of mysterious things and ended up conducting an impromptu interview with the owner.

Shoeshops, bookshops and then there was the fresh pasta shop with the cafe through in the other half - better I photograph it than explain, as words fail me here. On to the chocolate shop and we have an interview booked for 2.30pm and the shops ... did I mention how quaint they are, and I use 'quaint' because I'm not sure how else to describe the olde world charm of something that is real and apparently unchanged over decades.

Then there is the habit of aperitif here.
You order a drink at a bar and voila, a huge plate of food appears with it. It might be that I enjoy more than one glass of wine but I'm becoming quite traumatised by the quantity of food that comes with each glass. The waiter understood my 'Dear God!' last night and we all laughed.

So we stopped for a non-alcoholic Shirley Temple drink before lunch and out came the plate of food ... the peanuts, the pistachio, the chips, the salami, the cheese and the foccaccio.

It was only that I was needing to rest my achilles some before lunch.

Lunch was at Da Maria's - interview later this afternoon but it is known as being an authentic and affordable Italian kitchen-type restuarant. Paola chose wild boar while I caught up with an old love ... ravioli.

And somewhere in-between the breakfast foccaccia and the lunch there was also the very special and wildly extragavent expresso with bananas and whipped cream. We went to the original shop and not one of the copycat shops that have appeared since.

Genova is beautiful and warm and welcoming.
It has raced to the top of my favourite places in the world list ... let's see how it goes in the days ahead.

I hope alles goed where ever you are.
Ciao!