If you would like an introduction to Danielle or to start this trip report from the beginning, click here.
Day 8: Palermo (Sicily), Italy
As a small child, I was always curious about Sicily, or the football that the boot-shaped Italian peninsula was kicking. This was our last day in Italy before setting sale for a day at sea and then our last stop in Spain, and we were determined to make the most of it. We enjoyed a day to sleep in (nothing too exciting though, wake up call was at 8:00 AM), and we met for breakfast together as a family.
Did you know that if you have food allergies, you can request for allergy-friendly foods to be available for you at Cabanas or in the main dining rooms? My mom and sister are big fans of reserving gluten-free pastries at Cabanas before our excursions. Just tell your server at dinner the night before, and they will be sure that it is ready for you the next morning!
First, here is the daily navigator:
And the port map:
We met at 9:00 AM for our excursion – Palermo and Ballaro Market (PL 07). This excursion was interesting and took us through two cathedrals, past the opera house featured in the Godfather III, and into an open air Italian market. Our guide, on the other hand, kind of ditched us, and I think that our experience could have been better.
Palermo is an extremely interesting port city and has an intriguing history. The city has been ruled by the Greeks, Romans, and Arabs, and therefore has a culture unlike any other Italian city. The architecture really speaks for the variety of empires that have prospered here. You can see many mosque-like buildings across the street from gorgeous cathedrals.
First, our adventure began with a 30 minute driving tour of Palermo. We passed the opera house featured on the Godfather III (my dad lives for these movies so this was a cool site to see).
The coast is very important for this city and island’s history because it is what made it such a vulnerable site for various empires. The island has been run by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, French, and Spaniards. Furthermore, this city is the birthplace of the Italian Mafia. As you explore this island, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped back in time, as most of the buildings and city itself has been unaffected by the advancement of technology. As you walk through the streets, you’ll notice historical buildings that are in ruins, but still stand. There is a great deal of street art and shopping throughout the streets that you can enjoy during your time here.
We stopped at Piazza Pretroria, where we were given a brief history on the Palazzo Praetorian and the Church of Santa Caterina.
I just loved the Fontana Pretroria and flawless buildings that we walked past. This fountain was originally meant for Pedro Alvarez de Toledo y Zuniga’s Spanish villa, and was later moved to Palermo in 1573 when this son sold it. The fountain’s nude sculptures were perceived as very risqué by the nuns of Palermo, but it is simply beautiful and the attention to detail is flawless. Clearly, the nuns disagreed, and they are responsible for breaking the noses of the sculptures due to how offended they were by the nudity featured in this fountain. This square became known as the “square of shame” for this very reason. Despite the name, I felt like I could have spent all day here enjoying the scenery and peacefulness of the fountain.
As the birthplace of the mafia, it’s very difficult to be convinced that the Italian mafia’s power is extinct. We saw this political advertisement for an “anti-mafia candidate,” which really set the stage for us. This sign was hanging on the Plazzo Praetorian, or the town hall.
We then had time to explore the ancient church of Santa Caterina (no covering up was required for this visit like in Rome). It was simply beautiful, and we had the entire building to ourselves. If I haven’t made this clear enough, I will never get tired of exploring European cathedrals. I can’t believe we don’t have anything like this in the US, because they simply blow me away every time. I can’t believe the attention to detail and beauty that is created with such a lack of technology.
We then walked towards the famous Palermo Cathedral, which was absolutely breathtaking. We learned that the dome on top of the cathedral was added hundreds of years after the cathedral had been completed.
This particular area of the cathedral interested me, especially given the zodiac signs on the floor (something not often displayed in churches). Our guide told us that there was a small hole drilled into the ceiling which was to be used as a heliometer. At noon each day, the sun hits the meridian, reflecting the light onto the zodiac sign that corresponded with the appropriate time of year.
Now, astrology is not a subject that typically was taught by the church, but when this was designed, it was to get more people into the church. At the time, the largest gathering place for townsfolk was the church, and this was how people got their news and socialized in general. The church used this heliometer as a way to related to those that truly believed in astrology and get them in the church.
After we left the cathedral, we wandered through the open air market, which was hectic and exciting. It was a little rougher than I was anticipating when I imagined an authentic Sicilian market, but it was a very cool experience. Watch out for scooter drivers if you head to this market, they jump out of every corner and will run you over!
Everywhere you looked, there were hardworking Italians selling produce, cheese, meats, and fish. You could buy anything that you imagined including spices and tea as well. If you’re interested in shopping, remember that you cannot bring fresh produce back onto the ship! This market has existed for over a thousand years!
We passed some areas that looked like we were in a questionable neighborhood, and we ate lunch in what looked like an abandoned building initially (below), but Palermo taught us that there is far more than meets the eye when it comes to travel. This city was able to offer us so much more than its appearance, and we felt that we really got a taste of Sicilian culture by the end of our excursion.
We walked back to the bus, and then headed back to the ship, and we were very excited to be back ‘home.’ When I said that our guide kind of abandoned us, we really weren’t exaggerating. There were many moments where he walked way too far past our group or would turn off the microphone to answer phone calls. There was even a family that opted to get a cab back to the port! To top it all off, he asked us to each sign the emergency attendance list that you’re supposed to sign before leaving for your excursion in case someone gets lost before you leave the port as we were arriving to get back to the ship! Good thing nobody got lost! Despite the nightmare of our guide, we enjoyed our final day in Italy, and were looking forward to a day at sea.
We got back to the ship around 2:00 PM, just in time to head to the pool and meet up with my friends to see how their days went. Everyone was in agreement that the excursions needed a little bit more improvement, but this was the first time ever that Disney had ported in Palermo, so we felt like it was to be expected.
We enjoyed laying by the pool and watching the ship leave port until it was time to head back to the room to get ready for dinner at Animator’s Palate. If you haven’t experienced it, your final night in Animator’s Palate on 7 day cruises or longer includes a show of your own doodles. That’s right – you receive a placemat that asks you to draw a stick figure, and through the magic of Disney, your restaurant staff creates a show that incorporates your drawing into a montage of Disney classics.
To make everything better on top of setting sail for a day at sea, it was pirate night!! We love pirate night and enjoy getting into the spirit of everything. Here’s some of our favorite pictures from pirate night!
We also headed to Shutters to look at our photos from the day. Here are some of our favorites from our excursion. This is the first cruise that I’ve been on where you can only view your photos when Shutters is open. Usually, we’ve been able to see them on the kiosk at all hours, but now you actually have to go during the open store hours.
After the pirate night festivities, I headed to Fathoms to enjoy the rest of the night with my friends before going to bed. I was very much looking forward to a day at sea, that unbeknownst to me, became very exciting because of a once-in-a-lifetime experience of witnessing a rescue mission from the ship.
Keep checking back for day 9 and details of that rescue mission!
Up Next: Day 9
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Danielle is a 23 year old Disney fanatic, ICU Nurse, and travel blogger from Nashville, TN. When she is not traveling, you can find her snuggling with her 2 English bulldogs and spending time with her family of 7. You can read more about her trips and adventures at www.daniellefarideh.com.
Instagram: @daniellefarideh
Facebook: www.facebook.com/daniellefarideh
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