No noises!

Following up to last weekend's post, living in Genoa also means there are a lot of sounds we don’t hear (or not much) when compared to living in Portland.  Some of the ones my sister and I have noticed are missing:

• The sound of recycling getting sifted through or picked up by the trash collectors.

Here everyone brings their trash and recycling to a central neighborhood spot. And since recycling items aren't worth any money, no one picks through the bins.

• The sound of small birds.

http://birdz-world.blogspot.it/2013/01/monk-parakeet.html

It’s pigeons, doves, seagulls and parrots here. Not parrots that talk, but a bunch of bright green parakeets living in our piazza! (They were let free by their owners in Genoa long ago, and started nesting in an old building and nearby palm tree.)

• The sound of construction machines.

The small streets mean that repairs are done mostly by hand – opening up areas brick-by-brick to get access to whatever is being fixed. (Like these mixed up phone lines!)

• The sound of sprinklers or lawnmowers.

There are almost no lawns or gardens here, other than what can fit on rooftops and balconies.

• The sound of helicopters and small planes.

For some reason there isn't any flying over the city.  But we do hear giant cruise ship horns a lot instead!

• The sound of bicycles.

Maybe because so many of the streets are small, steep, and made with stones or bricks, there are many motor scooters but none of the “clicking” we always hear in Portland when bikes go by.

• The sound of 7 months of drizzle.  

That sound is missing, but not missed!  Still, when it rains here it is usually a downpour, and kinda fun.