February 2026. Genoa to Monaco. Four nights in Genoa, never enough, with a final Capricossa from Bacia la Mano. 45 seconds from oven to our room on the second floor of the B & B Hotel at Principe Station. That pizza oven is a design classic, similar to the Pavoni espresso machine we brought back… Continue reading THE PRICE OF AN ITALIAN ESPRESSO
ONE OF THE BEER GUIDES IS MISSING….
February 2026. Genoa. Last Genoa post, I promise, but I know many of you share my evangelical zeal to see hand pumps in developing nations, so I welcome the cask in Scurerria Beer & Bagel. I love a trad pub name, me. If Public House, the other real ale outlet I found in Genoa was… Continue reading ONE OF THE BEER GUIDES IS MISSING….
CALAMARI
February 2026. Genoa. The best way to get a sense of Genoa Old Town is from the Spianata Castelletto, reached by an attractive Art Nouveau lift, or by persuading Mrs RM to take an exhausting half hour zig zag of a walk from Via Balbi. You can see the giant cruise ships from that viewpoint,… Continue reading CALAMARI
PAVIA – COFFEE, CAKE, COBBLES AND CHURCHES
February 2026. Pavia. I was going to skip the architecture of Pavia and go straight back to Italian real ale, but Lana on her Retirement Chapter blog just got a great post out of Shirley, so how could I leave out the castle, the bridge, the cobbled streets, and those beautiful shops. In truth, Pavia… Continue reading PAVIA – COFFEE, CAKE, COBBLES AND CHURCHES
THE BLACK BULL, PAVIA
February 2026. Pavia. I’d booked Trenitalia tickets to Pavia, reckoning a 7pm return* would be ideal to allow us to have a quick pint before a mad 20 minute dash for the train to Genoa (though I would caution against ever making Mrs RM dash for anything). But as we stood outside the Black Bull… Continue reading THE BLACK BULL, PAVIA
WHAT’S THE OPPOSITE OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME ?
February 2026. Pavia. A day trip from Genoa to Pavia, an unsung but beautiful University town of 70,000, nearly 40% of them students. Not that you’d know it’s student-dominated; a bit like Cambridge they must all stay within the ancient cloisters, and all drink at the distinctly untrendy student bar. Mrs RM and I brought… Continue reading WHAT’S THE OPPOSITE OF IMPOSTER SYNDROME ?
PASTA IN PAVIA
February 2026. Pavia. For those bored of foreign muck, here’s a Bass mirror from Turin last night. Quite a bit of travel to go before we get there, though. A week in Italy was enough to confirm the greatness of Genoa, tick a new country, finally see what Turin is all about (food) and revisit… Continue reading PASTA IN PAVIA
THE CAMPAIGN TO GET ITALIAN CASK OUTLETS IN THE GBG STARTS HERE
February 2026. Genoa. Well, this is the post you were waiting for, I guess. Hand pumps in Genoa, according to Untappd. You just need to find the Public House*, tucked behind Piazza Banchi, only 5 minutes, but hard to follow the map in the drizzle. If you see this you’ve gone too far. Ah, here… Continue reading THE CAMPAIGN TO GET ITALIAN CASK OUTLETS IN THE GBG STARTS HERE
Via di Prè, Genoa. My Favourite Street.
February 2026. Genoa. It was actually that first morning in Genoa, leaving the grandeur of Via Balbi and those World Heritage palaces and descending to the noise and colour of Via di Prè, a half mile of multi-ethnic shops and barbers and even tinier lanes down to the sea, that I suddenly realised why Genoa… Continue reading Via di Prè, Genoa. My Favourite Street.
THE CINQUE TERRE ON THE CHEAP – LUNCH IN CAMOGLI
February 2026. Camogli. Italy. 25 years ago we flew to Genoa, hired a car, and set off around the Ligurian coast towards the Cinque Terre looking for signs saying “Zimmer Frei” “Camera” to stay for the night. In a world before websites and Booking.com, turning up at 4pm with two toddlers without accommodation seems reckless… Continue reading THE CINQUE TERRE ON THE CHEAP – LUNCH IN CAMOGLI
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