Italy: Genoa, Turin, Milan

So now I have a chance to fill you in on my last week in Italy. I spend 4 days in Genoa and I can quite confidently say that it is defiantly in my top three Italian cities. Before I went there I expected a city with some old stuff, and maybe some character. What I got was the perfect mix of raw, real and edgy Naples and pretty, historic, enchanting Florence. It was a very cosmopolitan city with heaps of immigrants (which is also fantastic) and had a really neat historic centre with many old buildings and really cool narrow streets. I love Genoa...

.. the old...
.. and the new. In most parts there were more kebab places than pizza joints.

I did a day trip for a hike along through Cinque Terre which is a national park with 5 quintessential Italian coastal villages. It was really cool getting outside and getting some walking done. Some really neat scenery and olive groves... reminded me a Crete a bit, but there were far more tourists and the track was... well, there was a track.

I eventually forced myself to leave Genoa after two excellent couch surfing experiences (one included a night time scooter tour of the city.. I think I might have to get me a scooter sometime). Enough about Genoa already!

So, it was to Turin next. I stayed there for 4 nights (it was to be two..). On the first night Davide (CS Host) introduced me to Aperitif... ok, check out this concept... you go to a bar, in our case Obelisk, and you buy a drink, in our case a tasty beer and somewhat high Italian beer price... then the most exciting thing ever happens. You can eat as much as you want! Thats right.. all the pizza, pasta, salads, cheeses, breads you want! Not just chips and dips like a normal bar, but they have all this amazing food just spread all over the place! Fantastic.

So anyway, did some exploring of Turin, it is definitely the most underrated city in Italy. I almost didn't go here, but I am very glad I did. It has some neat old palaces and castles, a very cool National Cinema museum (has the original Laurence of Arabia costume!). Also a very gothic vibe with gargoyles hidden in heaps of old buildings.

I took the train up into the Italian alps with Ryan (SC Host no. 2) and did some hiking... holy moly it was beautiful. The photo below hardly does it justice. I was totally blown away by the very bright colours, massive peaks, snow, grass, rivers, trees... dam.

From Turin to Milan. My original plan was 2 days in Milan but due to good times in Turin and no couches available I cut that back to 4 hours.. which to be honest was enough. Milan is just a city really, has a cool Gothic cathedral and... well.. that's about all I saw. Oh, and these!

Two Lamborghini's just parked up on the side of the road. Wow.

That marked the end of my Italian adventure. What was originally going to be a two week peek turned into a 6 week adventure, that about says it all really. Arrivederci Italia. Next stop... Switzerland.