2 August 2017 – Genoa, Italy
After bidding farewell to the Crawfords, we took a short drive north of Milan to spend a couple of days on the shores of Lake Como.
Alessandro is among just a few fishermen who are authorized to fish commercially in the lake. He and his family have a small restaurant in the fishing village of San Giovanni (near Bellagio), as well as a couple of flats for visitors to rent.
Henry joined him one morning at 5 am to pull in the day’s catch, which we enjoyed at the restaurant that evening.
(Next… a “beauty shot” from the park near Bellagio.)
The container ship CMA CGM Vela was scheduled to sail (with us) from Genoa on 31 July, so we made our way there, having planned to spend our last two nights in Europe at a beautiful flat in the old city with a lovely terrace. (The owner is a charming lady also named Roberta!)
Word came, however, that our ship was delayed for a day or two, so we settled into Genoa for a bit of a wait. It was a nice place to be. Its Piazza Dei Ferrari had great people-watching potential (and a cheap cafe!)
Lots of people with dogs (and a sad-looking old cat…..)
Henry purchased a fine timepiece from a street vendor.
It’s a busy port with some interesting ships.
The aquarium there is either the biggest or second biggest in Europe….. very well organized and executed. Lingered for several hours after the children had been herded home to dinner and bedtime:
The dolphins were especially awe-inspiring. Are they a smarter race than we are? Is it cruel to keep them contained in such a setting? All I can say is that their gentle yet playful nature imparted a feeling of peace and contentment. We could lean out of the window of our hotel and see them occasionally surface as they swam and played in their tanks, and all seemed right with the world…. All our petty human concerns fading to insignificance.
We have a lot to learn.
And finally, our “new” ship is in port and we are ready to move on, leaving Europe and heading East.
Emerald Isle to the Norse Lands 
With apologies for the delayed response, do check out “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” if you haven’t already. Douglas Adams is convinced that the real rulers of the planet are the dolphins; you have already discovered why…
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