Rating of the day: 10/10
Official programs planned for today:
- Power workout
- Breakfast
- Palermo day trip
- Free time and meetups
- Dine with a speaker
- Silent disco
Two city programs were announced for this day: a street-food walking tour and a walking tour. Although one of my friends said that he thought there was not much to see in Palermo, and that it was worth choosing the market tour, I still decided on the simple city sightseeing program.
This was the draft city sightseeing program on 2025.05.29, when I bought this program.
Discover the heart of Palermo on this engaging walking tour that blends iconic sights with hidden local gems. We’ll explore the city’s main squares and landmarks (from the outside), but also wander into the lively backstreets where everyday life pulses and authentic street spirit shines. Along the way, your guide will share fascinating stories about Palermo’s rich history, vibrant art scene, delicious cuisine, and deep-rooted traditions. We also touch on contemporary and controversial topics to give you a deeper understanding of the city.
Additional Information:
- Date: June 10
- Starting time: 11:30
- Duration: 2 hours
- Meeting point: Outside the cruise ship at 11:30 sharp, you will be divided into groups and we will walk to the starting point at piazza Castelnuovo/Politeama (10 min walking from
- the cruise port).
- Price: 20€ (early bird)
I had planned to get up early in the morning so I could write my current post, but I didn’t even hear the alarm clock. So I woke up around the time the ship docked in Palermo. And I could already have breakfast. Then I set off on the sightseeing tour.
He usually contacted me to change the time and arrive earlier. This happened again today. I arrived at the meeting point at 10:30 instead of 11:30. Which, by the way, was quite difficult to find, because the instructions were “outside the cruise ship.” Thanks! The ships are quite large, so the port itself is also large, so I looked for possible places for a while, of course in the wrong place, before I realized what “outside the ship” meant. Specifically, it was outside the port.
As soon as we left the port, taxi drivers surprised us. Everyone wanted to take us to Palermo, I felt a bit like I was in a market where I couldn’t move because everyone was standing in front of me, talking to me, wanting my attention. I thought about wearing a T-shirt that said “I don’t need a taxi!” for such cases, but I don’t think I’ll implement this idea because no one would read it anyway.
So, when it turned out that I had arrived at the place where my group was leaving an hour early, I started thinking about what to do. At that moment, a new Greek friend of mine showed up with his friend. There was also a 65-year-old psychologist lady from Australia. Since the two guys were just walking around the city, we joined them and explored part of the city together.
Palermo
Palermo (Sicilian: Palermu or Palemmu; Latin: Panormus; Ancient Greek: Πάνορμος; Ancient Arabic: بَلَرْم transliterated: Balarm) is the largest city and administrative center of the region of Sicily and the province of Palermo. It was the former capital and crown city of the Kingdom of Sicily (Trinacria). The city has existed for about 2,700 years, known for its distinctive historical, cultural, architectural heritage and unique gastronomy. The city was founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians under the name Sis (“flowers”). After that, the place became the property of Carthage. Then the settlement became a colony of the ancient Greeks under the name Panormos. Then the settlement became part of the Roman Empire under the name Panormos, for almost a millennium. Between 831 and 1072, as a result of the Arab occupation, under the Emirate of Sicily, the settlement became the capital of the area under the name Balarm. After the expulsion of the Arabs, the Normans occupied the island and made it the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily, which existed from 1130 to 1816. The locals call themselves Palermitani. In the city, in addition to Italian, the local dialect of the Sicilian language is spoken. Palermo is the cultural, economic and tourist center of Sicily. It has an extremely rich historical, cultural, artistic, musical and gastronomic values and heritage. The architecture of the city is characterized by Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau styles. The most prominent World Heritage sites in the city are the Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale. This accurately illustrates the history of the city and the traces of the domination of different civilizations on the architecture. The Roman Catholic religion is a particularly important part of Palermo’s culture. The patron saint of the city is Saint Rosalia, in whose honor a celebration is held in the city every year on July 15. Palermo is also known for its vegetable, fruit and fish markets, three of which are located in the historic city center: Vucciria, Ballarò and Capo.
This walk was a bit like being in Milan, only I had company. We didn’t do anything special in the city, we just walked the streets. We looked at the buildings. We spent some time in one place, because all three of my companions started talking on the phone. The spirit of work must have been jealous, because right then someone called me about a job that needed to be done. This was my first, and so far (Thursday) only phone call. So, I didn’t write as a complaint that I was called too.
In another place, we sat down in the shade at a table in a small restaurant and drank a beer. It was nice to hear each other’s stories and thoughts about the world. There’s something very interesting about it, the way another person appears before me. Obviously only as a sketch, because in that much time you can’t really get to know other people, but a faint picture of the other person is already forming. When we got tired of all this and felt like we had walked around enough, we went back to the ship. Where, of course, we started the onboard programs with a late lunch, because we didn’t want to eat in the city.
I really missed the shower, so I couldn’t wait to get to my room. Where it immediately turned out that my roommate was a crazy guy. In the morning, before departure, we talked, and – among other things – he told me that he plays guitar. And when I asked him, he said that he plays rock music. Of course, I told him that I also play the guitar, sometimes rock, but mostly metal music. I think that was pretty much the point of us talking about music, but this nice and very smart crazy man went to Palermo and bought an acoustic guitar. So that we could play a little together. So the shower waited for me for a while, and we played a little before and after.
As I write these lines, it is no longer Tuesday, which is what this article is about, but Thursday. We have been at sea since last night, the ship is moving, and I must say, it has its price. Until now, the internet was almost always adequate, but now it practically barely works. This makes digital work quite difficult. Of course, I don’t need to say that the eSIM service I received for free doesn’t work at all on my phone for some reason. This trip is good in that respect too. I already have a few experiences that have given me additional tasks to solve.
We talked with my roommate until dinner. He is a really good guy, and mutual respect guided our conversation throughout.
AI matchmaking dinner
Finally the big day has arrived. This is not the first time. Today we already knew who was sitting at which table before dinner. Who is it. Because I didn’t get a message about it, but that’s only because the ship’s wifi wasn’t turned on on my phone. The problem with this is that for the 2000 EUR ship ticket you do get wifi access, which allows one device to connect. In other words, I either use my phone or my laptop. Whichever device I want to use the internet on, I have to activate it, and the other one loses the option. Needless to say, this makes it quite easy, for example, to add pictures to the post while writing it. I was kidding. They don’t make it easy.
So, after quickly activating the internet on my phone, I finally found out which table I should sit at. Here I only had to go around the rather large restaurant once to realize at the far end that the numbers written on paper on the tables were not the actual numbers of the tables, but that there was a discreet – in other words, barely noticeable – plastic table number marker on the table. So, after I went to the far end of the room, I had to go back to the entrance, because that’s where I finally found the right number. Bingo!
When I got to the table, I started to feel that this dating dinner was a bit cursed for me. Sitting at the table was a Romanian lady, whom I had talked to several times, and two other men. I also took a seat as the third, and at that time, with a faint hope that this situation would get better. It didn’t. Only worse. After we started to suspect that the other two ladies wouldn’t arrive, a fourth guy came as an extra, who wasn’t part of the planned program, but took a seat with us. So, I had a date night with four guys and a lady. Plus, one of the guys had a pretty obnoxious style that turned the lady’s excitement into frustration, but of course, only we noticed that, not the guy who was causing the problem. I think we all let that part of the night go.
We had no choice but to party the rest of the night and enjoy the freedom of our drink packages. We drank and danced like there was no tomorrow. After the party, after 2 a.m., we went to the burger joint as a group and spent some time together before going to sleep.
It was also a great day.