Genova. Sightseeing, food, good people and a crazy bar...

So here we were, in Ana's house in Genova, who generously offered her house when we were more lost than Jesus in father's day. She was from Romania, living with a friend from Moldova, been in Genova for 10 months after travelling half the world but knew everyone in town, spoke like six languages, loved strong coffee and sleeping til late and had eyes that seemed to look inside of your soul.
The plan was to spend a night and at dawn on the next day start hitching to Vienna. But we were pretty tired, and the perspective of a day of rest, explore the city, good food and even better company seemed irresistible. So we woke up at noon after a long sleep and went with Ana to explore the city.

We walked around town for a while eating really tasty focaccia, and went up by cable car to Castelletto with beautiful views of the city. From there to the breathtaking Chiesa della Annunziata where Ana had the nice gesture of lighting candles for protection on the trip. A walk then to Piazza De Ferrari and their fountains to dip our feet, and to the frequently visited house of Christopher Columbus (which my friend Luca says its fake...) and finally the Cathedral, started in 1100 and partially rebuilt after the bombings of World War II.

We went to the market to buy melons, pasta and few Moretti beers and headed to Ana's house, who cooked a pasta so awesome that even James, who is also a chef, was left more than satisfied.

Then a lovely nap, send some mails and call my auntie María. Ana invited us for some beers and meeting her friends in an atypical bar, the famous Nick Masaniello. James was tired and went to bed, but I wouldn't miss for anything.
The place was hidden in dark and narrow streets in a God-forsaken quarter just outside the city center. Just a door and a ring, without lights or name, but proved to be the highlight of the day. Inside, people of all colors and backgrounds, dogs walking around, some others playing guitar, the older ones concentrated in never ending chess games, and almost everyone smoking those cigarettes that make you laugh ... We were there until almost 5 am, meeting her cool quirky friends, having a few beers and chatting. Then, back to the house, waking James up, prepare the backpack and a good strong coffee and walk for an hour towards the petrol station we chose to start hitching. We said our farewells, took a few pictures and parted. Another little chapter in this little adventure was about to begin ...