Genoa

Observations:
A bit about banks - they are closed midday, you have to be buzzed in, and once you're inside, you take a number based upon the type of transaction you need.

We took a one hour train ride from Genoa up to Cassella, a small town in the mountains surrounding Genoa.  The scenery along the way was lush and green with little villages tucked into the landscape.  We saw terra cotta roofs, bell towers, paths leading from the train stations for passengers to get to their homes (no cars parked at the stations), vegetable and flower gardens, and the occasional medieval church sitting high up on a hill. 

 This is what the train stations looked like

Cassella is a small, pretty town, but not much going on.  There was a community pool and restaurants that were mostly closed.  We decided to go into one of the few that were open for lunch.  The food was fantastic.  We felt like we were in someone’s home as we chatted with our waiter, whose English was very good as he lived in Poughkeepsie, NY for a time.  He brought us extra things to try that we didn’t order - hot oil (with chili peppers in it) for the bread (delicious), and cookies for dessert (delicious).  He recommended the homemade ravioli filled with meat, which I had in a butter and herb sauce, and a local dish which was sort of a meatloaf which Chris had.  It looked suspect, but it was amazing.

At the restaurant in Cassella

After the train ride we had to find a taxi to get back to Genoa.  The employee at the train station gave us detailed directions where to find one, “piazza, down.”  Okay.  While trying the find the piazza, down, we came upon a recreational area where games of bocce and cards were taking place:

Shortly thereafter, we did hail a taxi.