What were you grateful for this week?Having the sea so close and being able to visit! 

What was the most difficult or challenging part of this week?Trying to figure out the train system. Trains are pretty much nonexistent in Idaho, so the whole thing is very foreign to me.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. I helped out with cooking dinner a few times this week. 

Tell us about your week! I finally went on a weekend trip! I went to Genova with a Finnish au pair who is living in Asti (it’s a town about 40 minutes away from ours). We left Saturday morning. 

Genova is only about an hour and a half from Asti by train. It would have been quick and easy to get there, but we somehow got on the wrong train and went in the exact opposite direction than we needed to go. It was a little stressful. But after an extra three hours and €40 for new train tickets we made it to Genova!

We got a hotel in the city center, which is a mildly sketchy area for a hotel. But it was cheap, and we survived, so everything is okay. 

We spent the afternoon walking around the city. We walked in a few churches, did a little shopping, and looked out over the marina. And we obviously got gelato and focaccia. There are foccacerias all over Genova because focaccia originated there. Pesto also originated there, so I ate a lot of that too. 

On Sunday we visited the Genova Aquarium. It was Annastiina’s first time ever visiting an aquarium. I loved it, even though there were a million other people there. 

Then we decided to go to Boccadasse, which is a neighborhood in Genova. 10/10 recommend going there. It’s right on the sea and there’s lots of pastel colored buildings and it might be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Words can’t do it justice. We climbed around on some rocks near the water (and got a little wet from a particularly large wave) and wandered through some of the residential area. We ended the day by looking out at the sunset over the water. Absolutely breathtaking. 

This has been one of my favorite weekends so far!