Getting breakfast

After some much needed rest, we woke up ready to explore a new part of Italy! I had planned a self-guided walking tour in Palermo. So, we went to the Yacht Club Restaurant for breakfast and decided to eat pretty heavy considering we didn't know when or where we would be eating lunch.

I ordered oatmeal, a fruit plate, and a hard-boiled egg. But, I also hit up the self-serve area for a yogurt and a mini croissant. Terry ordered the most "extra" of omelettes (egg white with bacon, mushrooms, spinach, and cheese) but then went to the self-serve and got doughnuts and pastries (smh). Then he asked for hot sauce. Surprised that they even knew what he was talking about, they brought him a HUGE bottle of Texas Pete hot sauce. We thought this was hilarious. This is also where we discovered that we LOVE Italian coffee!

We got the lesson on how to order our coffee on the ship from our server. If you just ask for coffee, they will bring you an espresso. Ask for American coffee, they bring you espresso with extra water. If you ask for coffee with milk, you get the most delicious concoction on Earth! Already sweetened, we didn't need to add extra anything.

We also got fresh squeezed orange juice, as we learned this is the only way to properly drink orange juice in Europe.

Planning our Walking Tour in Palermo!

So, prior to our trip, I did my research on our ports of call and tried to plan out as much as possible to do in that port of call so that we could make the most of the trip. I also was planning for budget friendly, i.e. free, things to do or see. For Palermo, I planned a self-guided walking tour with the help of the app, GPSmyCity. This app was so helpful! (not sponsored)It gives you planned out walking tours that go to major sights or you can plan out your own tour with suggestions from the app. It gives you the option of picking major sights, not so major sights, shopping, parks, recreation, and more. Once you have your sights planned out, you put in your starting point and ending point, and it gives you a custom walking tour that includes a map and information for all the sights you picked. The map even runs in the background so you don't have to have internet or WiFi connection, or run Apple Maps or Google Maps or anything along with it. I, however, did use Apple Maps as well, just because sometimes, the map on GPSmyCity wouldn't update.

Other than that, I fell in love with this app! I made sure to pick all the major sights that seemed interesting to me and Terry and plus some really cool, off the beaten path stuff.

We got off the ship after breakfast, armed with our puffy vests, Heattec undergarments from Uniqlo, and cameras and set out for our adventure. Terry completely put all the trust in me to not get us lost in a foreign country and to enjoy himself, all while being completely nervous. So much pressure.

Starting our Walking Tour

Our first stop, the beautiful Chiesa San Domenico. This was the first of many, many churches that we visited in Europe. Built in 1458, this church has withstood the tests of time. We did take some cool pictures even though the church was closed.

We then made our way to Fontata Pretoria, or The Fountain Pretoria. Decorated with gods and goddesses, nymphs, animal heads, and monsters, this fountain is fabulous. It's a must see.

We went to a PALACE!

Then because its right there, and it was open, we got to walk through a bonafide palace! It was simply beautiful. This is also where we learned from our free tour guide inside that this is where the movie, The Godfather, was based off of. All the Dons are on the wall in this building. Basically, a decision was not made in this city, political or not, without the permission from the Dons.

Quattro Canti in Palermo

Then we walked down the block to the most popular spot in Palermo, the Quattro Canti, or Piazza Vigliena. It is really where two major streets cross but the city designers in 1608 decided to make something real special. It is basically an octagon; four streets and four buildings. The four buildings are almost identical and each contain a fountain with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and the patronesses of Palermo. It, too, is a must see. But, be careful of the gypsy ladies and gypsy kiddos. This area is known for pickpocketing or putting cheap jewelry on you and asking for money in return.

Next church in our walking tour

Next up on our adventure, another church, Chiesa del Gesu, or Casa Professa. This church according to the app is one of the most important Baroque churches in Palermo. I know it is one of the most beautiful. From the outside, you would never imagine the beauty on the inside. It literally is breath taking.

Time for a snack!

Then we got to the part of my walking tour that I had been waiting for all morning! The Mercato di Ballaro, or Ballaro Market. This is a chef's dream! I kept saying over and over how I wished I could take the food back on the ship. The veggies and fish looked so epically beautiful. I made sure to walk fast so that I wouldn't get distracted because I know I seriously could have spent hours there. This market has been around for practically forever and you can get just about any fresh or natural goods there. We saw the most beautiful olives and artichokes, but we also saw fresh fish and fresh pastas. Not to mention the multitude of oils and spices. I bought an orange and some fresh berries to snack on and then...

Here is where the chef in me got adventurous. I made my loving, sweet husband eat octopus. He actually enjoyed it. I didn’t want to push the limits too far with the sardines. :)

We then ventured on to the Palazzo dei Normanni, or the Royal Palace of Palermo. We didn't go inside because we were starting to get nervous about time, but this place was huge. The Kings of Sicily knew how to live. Now it serves as the parliament building.

After walking around the Palazzo dei Normanni, we saw the Porta Nuova, or the New Gate. It's literally around the corner. After learning it was originally built in the 14th century, I was in awe of the architecture. The original portion, destroyed in 1667, was rebuilt in the same neoclassical style in the later parts of the 15th century. It, too, is a sight to see.

After walking through the gate and almost getting hit by traffic crossing the street, we took the longest part of our walking tour in Palermo to see something that my "horror movie obsessed" brain found cool. This was definitely off the beaten path because we walked deep into Palermo. To the point where the locals started looking at us funny. I guess they don't get that many African-American tourists in that part of town. We were never treated disrespectfully though. The funny looks were more out of surprise than prejudice. Terry and I thought that was funny.

But, the place we were venturing to was the Cappuccini Catacombe. This was the last spot on our walking tour of Palermo. I was so stoked to get to this place and my poor little heart was devastated when we discovered that is was closed for lunch when we got there. But, if you are into horror stuff, this place has over 8000 mummified corpses on display in the subterranean levels of a cemetery. Some of them are in glass coffins and perfectly preserved. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of that but we were able to quickly walk around the cemetery and see some of the infamous Dons of Palermo family plots. We were respectful though and did not take photos but did shoot quick videos.

Heading back to the ship

After that, we decided to head back towards the ship, but if we saw something cool, we would stop. And on the way back, we saw another popular street market, the Capo Market. This one is much smaller than the Ballaro but features more restaurants/shops/vendors that will cook your fresh fish for you. We didn't eat anything there but did decide to find something to eat closer to the ship.

Lunch in Palermo

The restaurant we ended up going to was called Antica Birreria Moretti. It was a short walk from the port and looked authentic, which is what we were wanting. Something mom and pop-like but popular.

I guess because we looked like important vloggers, the manager treated us really well. He insisted on serving us an appetizer trio of three popular antipasti, as they had an antipasti bar. So of course we obliged, but to our dismay.

It was caponata (a mixture of eggplant, tomato, olives, and capers), zucca in agrodolce (sweet and sour pumpkin), and involtini melazane parmigiana (eggplant rolls and cheese).

It looked amazing, however, it was not what we had expected. They were all served cold! This made the flavors more pungent and as I am not a big fan of eggplant anyways, was not pleasing to me. Terry ate a few bites of each to be courteous. I couldn't bring myself to do it though.

Being pressed for time, we ordered pizza (I know, I know, such an American thing to do!) from the manager's and the server's recommendation. We also had a FABULOUS red wine that I forgot to take a picture of. This pizza was ginormous but because we had walked all day, we both ate almost all of it. Terry got the Margherita; classic cheese with fresh basil and fresh tomato sauce. I got the Romana; classic cheese with thinly sliced Prosciutto. It was a great recommendation and close to port.

After lunch, we headed back to the ship ending a fabulous self-guided walking tour of Palermo. Returning back to the ship as a Yacht Club guest has its perks. Upon approaching the ship to board, there was a separate line for us. There a butler waited to escort us through the security terminal and back to the ship. He offered to carry our bags/backpacks but we declined. We didn’t have to wait for the normal security line, we had our own in Palermo (it was different in each port). Once through security, our butler led us past everyone else and right back onto the ship. It was awesome. We got to go right to our special Yacht Club elevator back to our floor without having to stop on every floor or wait for an elevator. This was probably one of our most favorite perks of Yacht Club.

Next, up...first Formal Night onboard the MSC Meraviglia. To read more about our trip, particularly how we got here, click here.

2019 Anniversary Cruise Day 3 - Self-Guided Walking Tour of Palermo