Day 6 - Mediterranean Cruise - Genoa, Italy

 Photos from the ship at breakfast showed a picture perfect city in Genoa, aka Genova as the locals call it.

We got off the ship and walked along the shore admiring the sights and buying some drinks while we got some pics in.

 Ruth Ann and I finally touched the Mediterranean sea and Ken got a pic of the occasion.

We found a tiny shop, which mostly sold cigarettes but I bouht some postcards and a pen, which only worked for the one time I used it.  I'll stick in a refill!

There was a grocery store across the street so we explored there too.  I found a tinned fish for Leon and a whole shelf of Barilla pasta noodles!  My son does business with them so I sent it to him.

A huge pirate ship sat in the harbor, found out later from Matt, our Segway guide, that it was used in the Roman Polanski film, "Pirates", a while back.  Then also used in the movie "Hook" and several others.  it was eventually gifted to the city Genoa.  I'm going to have to look up the Pirates one!

The McDonald's menu had alcohol on the menu!  Crazy!

The ship and backdrop were so pretty!

We climbed a bunch of stairs for an overlook area and a gate was shut.  It wasn't locked so Ken opened it and we went all the way up.  

We were taking pics and selfies when suddenly a policeman came up the stairs and shooed us back down.  

Whoops!  Another encounter with polizia  :)  

We got to the Segway tour office, just under those stairs actually and intending to see 20 people in our group, it was just us 4 along with Matt our guide.  He was great!  He taught each of us how to get on, get off and ride the Segways. 

Each of us got about 5 minutes to practice before we set out following him like little ducks following their mommy.  

He stopped in various spots to give us history of the city and about those spots in particular.  

Banks started here as did paper money.  

The bankers had desks out in the square and if one lost everything, he pulled out an axe and broke up his desk.  The first bankruptcy!

  Prior to Genoa, everyone carried around bags of gold coins.

He took us to the oldest parts where kings had lived.  

It was gorgeous and still in use as housing or shops!  

Statues and art work that dated back a couple thousand years were everywhere.  

As we rode higher up the mountain, 

you could feel like you were going back a few hundred years in time with every level you ascended.  

Then as we came down the other side, it got more and more modern day.

He told us about a famous violinist that was from here around the time of Mozart.  

He was SO popular and quite the womanizer that he called himself "the devil".  

Niccolo Paganini

A lot of people tried to ban him from having concerts and opposed him but it just made people want to see him more.  He was quite the rock star!  Anyway, there is a statue of him in a grand concert hall here and we got to ride the Segways around it as it was in the courtyard of the place.

We stopped in front of a cathedral where Matt told the story of during WWII, while Genova was being bombed, one such bomb dropped through the roof of this church, made from 2 different types of beautiful marble.  It was a miracle as it did not explode!  He said that it's still inside the church to remind the parishioners of God's grace and power.  Amazing story and amazing church!

After the tour, we did a little shopping and saw the fish market stands. There were fresh eels and lots of fish with their eyes still in. ew.  Kind of fish smelling too but you could tell it was all fresh.  Robb would have hated it and encouraged me to move on!

We purchased a lot of souvenirs down this beautiful hall.  Kind of a strip mall, looking for something to eat.  I bought my Genova sweatshirt here!  We ate at a McDonalds that was tucked inside. It had an elevator for seating upstairs.  AND McDonalds over there had salads!!!  I miss the ones in the US.

Ken and Teresa went back to the ship and Ruth Ann and I explored and looked for more souvenirs on our own.  We walked down some streets from the earlier tour and found the cathedral that Matt told us about.  

We wanted to see if Matt was a big fat liar but sure enough!  

The now deactivated bomb is in the corner of the sanctuary with a big plaque next to it.

The Genova aquarium was on the dock area and featuring MOBY DICK La Balena.  I guess they had a whale!  So I took a pic of their advert banner for Leon.  He's in the middle of reading it.

I got a call from work about that time and they needed my help.  We got it straightened out via WhatsApp and they felt bad for calling me.  That's ok!

Ruth Ann was on a mission to get a little surprise for each of her kids and grandkids.  Whew!  I'd need a list if I had as many as she has but she did it!  Just not all at Genova.

We got back to the ship in plenty of time but it seemed like we'd walked for miles.  Ruth Ann and I were on our own and took a few wrong turns.  There are NO straight through streets in Italy.  Be thankful for square blocks in Iowa!  Anyway, we were exhausted and ate at the buffet again instead of in the L'Ibiscus and the cruise ship set off again, this time for Florence, Italy.

End of Day 6