It is a fact well established in this family that Jemima loves an aquarium. And Genoa has the biggest in Europe - how could we not... But it was to be girls only - Daddy was going to have a (well-earned) day off. So after a quick croissant, Jemima and I departed.
Our journey: a shared taxi to the train station with two very nice older Italian couples (one of whom reappeared at various points on our journey all morning, right into the aquarium); then a train from our Genoan suburb into the centre; a nice walk through the Old Town past some of Genoa's epic UNESCO Palazzi, slightly grubby grandeur (their tantalising interiors, glimpsed through doorways, to be visited another time); to the Old Port, and its brilliant galleon, and the Aquarium.
Jemima was her usual enthusiastic self about seeing fish, and it was a very nice aquarium: lots of different tanks, many very big, including a particularly fine tropical coral tank. Jemima was very keen on the stroke-a-stingray tank (they come and assess you, sticking their eyes and nose out of the water, before agreeing to swim over and be stroked). But the big USP for me was a great dolphin viewing tank, where we saw a trainer giving commands to the dolphins through the glass to the underwater pool - like seeing a dolphin display from an entirely new perspective. And as an added bonus, in the lunch queue we bumped into an English woman and her half Dutch three year old Marcha, so Joleene and I had a very nice chat in the sunshine while the girls played. Jemima was predictably upset when they had to leave, but the rest of the aquarium cheered her up, including baby tortoises, tiny orange frogs and green tree pythons, to mix it up a bit.
Then back to the train station, Jemima telling me she needs a nap as we walk and falling asleep within seconds after all the excitement. Luckily our train was departing in ten minutes, so we went straight to the platform (with the help of some kindly strangers lifting Jemima up steps); and were quickly on the train and back to where Kevin and Beatrix were waiting for us at our home station - with Jemima still asleep. We had such a fun day, it was a delight to take her out on an adventure, just the two of us; and then it was lovely to get home.
A bit of recuperation, then off to dinner, a short walk along the coastal path. It was simply the closest restaurant, but it turned out to be great, one of our best meals: grilled tuna for Jemima, plus nibbles at mine and Kevin's calamari and prawns (but not the delicious tuna tartare or steak strips we had as well), and then a fantastic ice cream for Jemima - we told her to ask the waiter for some ice cream, and she asked him for gelato, her first spontaneous Italian, which Kevin and I were very impressed by. And she was fun all evening: happily playing games, eating all the fishy delights, making jokes, and giggling happily at ours. Then a lovely evening stroll back along the coastal path to bed, with Jemima leading us with her torch. As Kevin said as we walked along, she brings such joy.
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