Photos: A rainy Cinque Terre

Local drivers along the steep coastline of Italy’s Cinque Terre honk before going around tight corners.

Since the road is barely wider than a single car in some spots, that honk lets you know not to round that corner.

It was rainy the afternoon we drove through Cinque Terre, a popular region of northwestern Italy that includes a national park and a cluster of towns on a jaw-droppingly beautiful portion of the Italian Riviera. Continue reading

Photos: Genoa, much more than the hometown of Columbus

Though a holiday, America’s capital, a country, and numerous cities are named in his honor, Christopher Columbus set a precedent of genocide, slave trafficking, and abuse of indigenous peoples that was followed for hundreds of years.

For that, I’m not a fan. Apparently neither is his hometown, Genoa, Italy, where I saw only a few small mentions of the late Chris.

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Genoa has all the history of a Florence or Venice, without the throngs of tourists. All the original culinary delight for a good bit cheaper.

Its houses are stacked on hills looking down on the historic port of Genoa, now brimming with yachts, fishing boats, and cruise ships. The stone streets of its Old Town are narrow and sloping.

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dsc_0944 Continue reading