Genova + werk

Thsooo yes I finally got a job on an old sea hag of a superyacht and spent the first couple of weeks living in a shipyard in Genova, Italy. Not the most cosmopolitan of places let me tell you. One of the 'cute' laneways nearby was fearfully named rape alley. I was told tales of yacht crews fending off "thugs" with belts and fists. However, outside the horrid shipyard from hell was a beautiful dark city filled with mysterious streets and YUMMY OSTERIAS !

On a rare excursion out of the shipyard I went to osteria di vico palla, a well known eatery in the old town. I love osteria style dining, very 'rustica' as Joe Houndstooth would say.


First up antipasto fritto tipico - basically mixed deep fried fish and reggies. It was a bit of a grease fest, and the batter was a bit too thick for my liking. Nonetheless much tastier than the shipyard canteen.


Genova happens to be the home of all things that were trendy in the 90's - focaccia and pesto pasta. Yes, pesto pasta. Is it so retro it's cool again?

Foodie shame aside, the sheets of egg pasta slathered in fresh pesto were perfecto *delish*. Good quality olive oil, fresh non-bitter basil, parsley and pinenuts without that jarred pesto rancid aftertaste. Pesto is making a comeback in my world!



Gnocchi con gamberi, vongole and zucchini. Sweet sweet clams and juicy prawns.. mmm. The gnocchi was a tad gluey but overall a grand combination of flavours.


My dish - baccala al forno - a typical Genovesan tomato based salted cod stew and a specialty at vico palla. Tre fisherman haute cusine. I wish I could say I was more into it. I feel like this dish is something that I will learn to love, but not having been familiarised to salted cod before I arrived in Italy I always find it a bit too dry and chewy. The tomato stew was incredible; sweet, salty and dotted with ligurian olives.


To complete my 90's revival I opted for tiramisu for dessert. I hadn't eaten tiramisu since the late night binges at the Houndstooth so I was a bit fearful that I would have flashbacks of overeating. Then I realised I had already overeaten so I just ploughed it down (it was more than acceptable).


My favourite dish of the night was cremini. These creamy crispy cubes are made from semolina whipped with eggs and cream, deep fried and served in a mountain of sugar. They had a lovely custardy texture, not too sweet on the inside thank god - there was enough sugar to crunch on the outside.


Meal over. Done.


So back to yacht talk - this is my new humble abode. Floor space less than a cubic metre - check.


Bed half the size of a single bed allowing my feet to awkwardly press against the wall - check.



And I now share this room with another girl ! Cosy.

But complaints aside, it is funding what WILL be an amazing trip around EU come October when I finish work.

Plus I have been to some faaaarbulous islands so far:

Ponza (dogggggsyyy!)


Home of the World Famous Disco Bar Tunnel (looks like it had one too many a boogie - and yes it was in a tunnel)


Storytime with the cutest family clad in pink.


Capri


Mostly a richo paradise, a lot of I love money shops and white linen, but it did have an excellent windly walk with a view to kill (my boat is in the top right).



My bedroom garden + the porthole I gaze out at wishing I was swimming in the sea outside and not cleaning rich peoples toilets.


Good night all xx