the weather is still mostly grey with some drizzle
I took my time leaving... I knew that leaving a big city like Genova which I had not fully explored would take time... I pretty much walked the same direction I did the day before towards the antique harbor and along the water front, there was a gauntlet of sales men selling knock off bags and umbrellas etc and a rather elaborate looking old sail ship which was a museum...then past various ferry and cruise ship terminals and even a large fancy water front mall...then the highway S1 turned ugly and scary ...barely a side walk at all, but there did not seem any options..it was scary and I did not like this stretch at all...a german tunisian couple stopped their car asking if this was the route to the Tunisian Ferry... I told them I had passed ferry terminals but was not sure which went to Tunisia, they thanked me...this explained some of the interesting waiting car traffic i'd seen a while back...and also made me wonder about being so close to other exotic destinations... but I was on this mission right now... so on I trudged ..finally I realized that there was a parallel street to S1 that I could take...which was more pedestrian friendly and managed to get on that... I stopped in Sestri Ponente for lunch...all these towns near Genova just seemed extensions of it... they were slightly more modern and less interesting than most i've seen on this trip.... my right ankle has started tugging a bit..not sure if I had miss-stepped on it or why...it basically warned me to be careful. Along the coast what beaches there were, were gravel beaches... I saw what looked like grey rocks floating in water...and a different layer of gray on top of the gravel on the shore... I speculated if it was maybe ash from the icelandic volcano coming on to shore? Since I had seen a recent news story of the winds shifting and northern spain now being effected. The next day I saw some italian men examining it and speculating too, so it is not usual for this area....Still towns seemed to appear quicker than expected..around Voltri I started looking for lodging I only saw one sign for a four star hotel so I kept walking ..soon I realized I was almost out of town, I stopped at a friendly little gelataria and was told that best would be if I kept going to Arenzano another five miles down the road... it was six now...but I decided that was the best choice...so on I went... I had to briefly walk without side walk in the darkening sky but then sidewalks appeared again and I felt safe... Arenzano definitely looked more hopeful once I got there...many more lodging signs... I went to the first low star place I could find. The women there had no rooms but called another place..and a man came by and picked me up to go to his hotel the price he quoted was very good and once I finally got to the place the room was very nice... I was tired though... we had passed the pretty interior of the town... it was saturday so lots of people were out and about...there seemed to be a sizable student population here... charming shops...and twice I saw brides and their party... May is wedding month here too I guess... after I got my room I did a quick circuit through town getting some snacks and water for the room... I could hear the sounds of peacocks and other exotic birds throughout the night. There was a private estate across the street that housed them... Arenzano def had unmistakable signs of affluence... for a change, I slept very well thank you!
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