Although it was raining, we walked into the city and took the "walk on/walk off" bus tour. This got us a pretty good idea of Genoa, which is a pretty large city. We then went out on our own, with umbrellas, checking out the old city itself. I accidentally discovered the "red light area," when I noticed several young ladies,each holding a pink umbrella, standing in their respective doorways. We later had great focaccia for a quick lunch. The prices were one to three euros for a large piece. An entire class of local students was getting their lunch at the same time. We walked past the house of Christopher Columbus. We highly recommend walking around Genoa.
This was the last port for us on our 6-day cruise. We spent two nights in a nice commercial hotel in Barcelona. We bought the two-day pass for the tour bus, which we used to get around the city. We had wonderful meals at a restaurant a few blocks from our hotel.
We spent two nights in Rome before embarking on our 6-days cruise. We arrived from Firenze (Florence) via the high-speed train. A great way to go. We walked amongst the ruins of the Palatine Hills and the Colosseum. Our hotel was very nice, and near the Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus). Rome is a great walking city.
More 
