I'm On A Boat

The port today is Genoa, which is Italy’s largest port and a very industrial city as well. We woke up around 9, as usual, thinking we would go into Milan, but we soon discovered that it was about a 2 hour train ride one way. After the day of traveling to and from Rome, we realized we did not want to repeat 4 hours of traveling for 3 hours in a city we knew little about. They offered a bus tour of Genoa for €10, so we decided to do that since we knew less about it than Milan. I have still been feeling a little sick, so a lot of the information that was given to us is a little blurry to me. Basically, there are a lot of palazzos in Genoa and they are beautiful. Christopher Columbus was from Genoa and there are streets and parks named after him all over the city. We drove by his childhood home once or twice on the bus, and I’m not even sure now that I got a photo, so we’ll just see when I get home. Another interesting part of the city to me was the Piazza de Ferrari. It’s a busy circle with an elegant fountain in the middle, and it’s surrounded by several buildings, including the Doge’s palace and an old bank building. After the bus tour was over, we walked back to interesting parts of the city to shop and take proper photos. My view on the bus was obstructed by a family that is actual from Mason, Ohio (aka King’s Island area). It was crazy that we even met them, but Jessica had run into them yesterday when I was sick and told them we’d hang out sometime. There was Alex, an Ohio University bound 18 year old; his sister, whose name I don’t know; and Brent, the 26 year old cousin from Jacksonville. They all seem really great and hopefully we will make friends with them sometime soon.

Tonight, we wanted to do something besides going to Skywalkers, so we wandered around the ship looking for something to do. We were walking around Deck 7, when all of a sudden, we heard this crazy voice, along with claps and happy cheers. It was coming from Crooner’s Bar, at the top of the Piazza area. It’s a bar that specializes in martinis and has a loungey atmosphere. The voice was coming from a seemingly insane British man, who was playing the piano. We decided to sit down and see what all the comotion was about, and it didn’t take long. The pianist, Martin Kaye, specializes in taking requests from the crowd and then dancing around while playing. But that’s not all. Sometimes he has the background music for Sinatra songs, and dances on the tables, couches, and even the people. It is probably the most entertaining thing I’ve ever seen. And he is a very talented pianist. He plays everything from Alicia Keys to the Beatles. We decided immediately to make this a nightly ritual.

Well, tomorrow we are in Cannes, France so it’s time for bed!