Genoa, Italy
   This city is a major shipping port and a place for commerce.  George Bush was here a few years ago attending the G8 Summit.  It is another beautiful Italian city full of life.
   We were fortunate enough to have found a great walking tour guide in Christine Christina.  She spoke very good English and had a good understanding of Genoa's government.  She answered all of our questions and took us to some of the "hidden gems" of Genoa.
   One place in particular was a trip down  a narrow, 13th century street which turned right onto a more narrow walkway between high rise buildings.  Ron and I noted you could walk 4 people side by side if they were small, otherwise the two on the outside would be dragging their shoulders on the buildings!   Christine opened a rather plain door and stepped into a tiny candy shop.  This family run candy factory made various varieties of chocolate.  We enjoyed sampling some of those before deciding on what to buy.  Naturally we bought too much, although, some say a person can never have too much chocolate!   😊
   As we stepped outside, a man began talking to our guide.  Not knowing the language, I asked Christine what he said.  She said he was complimenting her for taking her tour groups into real Italian, family owned places instead of those  big commercialized stores that do not depict the REAL Italy..
We went inside a bank that our guide called "the bank of banks".  Hundreds of years ago the bankers were those with money enough to have made Genoa into a rich business with the trade routes.   Large paintings lined the walls of this bulding that looked more like a palace than a bank.  It had a beautiful marble floor and large marble columns.  I was snapping a couple photos when two well dressed security guards came quickly towards us and said " NO PICTURES"!!  
   Christine said with Christopher Columbus discovering America, it marked the beginning of the demise of the greatness of Italy because the trade routes changed to the new country.  We thought that was interesting.
   We headed up into old town and had a photo op in front of Christopher Columbus' home until he was 18.  It was surprisingly small.  But he grew up in a beautiful area  with a nice garden next door.
   Just up the street was the main gate entrance through the castle walls and into old town.  I bet there's some rich history here!   Today it is full of old, elevatorless apartments, shops and cafes.
   We were able to take a peek inside the Palace.  Not quite as ornate as others we have seen but, still, beautiful.  Christine told us about the dammages sustained during the war from bombs being dropped.  Ron asked her, "who's bombs?"  She said,  "Well, it was the Allies.  We chose the wrong side",  Ron said, "I just wanted to clarify".  She laughed.
  We also looked at some of the churches.   Many were of the 10th and 11th Century eras.
   The Duomo displays an old bomb that stands against one wall.  It's  about 3' tall and is a part of their decor.  It was about 1943 (or 45) during an Allied bombing run during WW II when it came crashing through the roof of the Duomo.  It was on a Sunday morning during church services and the pews were packed with people for Catholic Mass.   There was no explosion and the people ran.
   A few hours latee, people began to return.  They saw it as a miracle from God.  The shell was kept as a reminder of what God did for the people this day.
   We went up onto the top of a high tower to get a birds eye view of this huge city.  Elevators are great!
   Our tour guide took us down a narrow and dark street and showed us where the more common people lived.  She said at one time this was the red light district, but no more.  As we turned left down another narrow street, she pointed behind us and said, " now the red light district is down that way.  I don't rake my tours through there! ".
   A little bit further and we stopped in a small corner bakery and walked out with some "train food".
   Tour was over after a few more stops.  A taxi took us to the train station, where we caught the Malpensa Express train to the Malpensa Airport.  From there we called the Hilton for a ride.  We had a little trouble getting hold of them.   Thought we might just take a taxi.   We walked up to a string of white taxis and asked the driver how much?  He said 40 Euros.  We laughed and started walking off.  He changed to 30 Euros and tried hard to convince us that was fair.  We still walked off because 20 should be about right.  We went up on the next level to the shuttle stop.  Nancy tried calling the Hilton again but no luck.  A few more taxis waited a few yards away so Debby walked over and asked, "how much"?  "100 Euros".  We thought,  where do these guys come from?
   I called the Hilton number, they answered.  We soon had a ride.  It was a very nice hotel.
   We had a good night's rest and was back on the hotel shuttle at 0700.  Though our United flight didn't take off until after 10:40, we wanted to be sure we had enough time.  We had to walk one at a time through a high security area, though,  at the time I didn't know what it was.  There were two army types , big guys, on either side, with automatic rifles, dressed in cammos and berets, one standing in the shadows pointing his rifle at us.  I followed Debby when told.  The guy in the shadow said, "SHOW ME YOUR HAND.....SHOW ME YOUR HAND!!!"   I was not aware I couldn't walk with one hand in my pocket,  until then!
Now I know!