I can no longer remember how I discovered Stefano’s Righicam but I remember my delight and the regular ‘visits’ I made to Genova via his webcams throughout the long grey Belgian winter.
We exchanged email periodically after my initial approach asking if he would me linking to his site on my womanwandering blog. Spring came eventually and I made plans to return to Genova.
Stefano offered to meet with me, inviting me to ask if I required any information about Genova. It turned out that he and his wife had previously spent a few weeks in New Zealand and they had enjoyed their time there.
What neither of us realised was that Stefano thought that I was a man. I saw the surprise on his face when we met in Piazza de Ferrari and laughed when he explained.
We wandered off to lunch and Stefano more than met the challenge of finding a restaurant that served good Genovese food.
Over lunch, we talked of Genova and of his passion for New York city; a city he and his wife had just returned from, the city he had lived in for a time when he was younger. I confessed that I felt much the same way about Genova – a kind of passion for this Northern Italian city.
Spending time talking reminded that when I travel, it’s not about museums and shopping, it’s about people and photography, about conversations and slices of life as it is lived by people in countries not my own.
Stefano explained much that I either didn’t know about Genova or simply had failed to understand. This is exactly what I want wandering to be about.
As for the food, I highly recommend Ristorante Europa in Galleria Mazzini, 53R.
I slipped back there before leaving, unable to resist one more meal and enjoyed a delicious troffie and pesto.
Although there is a series of courses that can be ordered according to the menu, I tend to just select one, often from the primi piatti and follow with a small black coffee, it’s a way to avoid sleeping the afternoon away.
Grazie Stefano.
And if you want to check in on Genova, click on Genova Righi webcam.