Day 3-Palermo

Today we were up early again and off the ship to the Palermo and Ballarmo shore excursion.

Our bus tour guide was very good. The bus driver was INSANE. We whipped in and out of narrow traffic filled streets, stopped millimeters from other cars, nearly took our a few bazillion pedestrians. It was quite a ride! We stopped first at a beautiful cathedral where I stretched my legs and ran around for quite some time.

the square in front was mostly enclosed so Mommy just let me burn off some energy.

Actually moving so fast the camera couldn’t catch me. I ran around this potted plant for about 10 minutes.

Then I chased some pigeons. That was tough!

I finally got tuckered out and hugged the plant and said Thanks and got in my stroller for a bit.

Next we drove more through the city and had a bus tour or sorts. Then off to the Ballarmo market. Very interesting place. All the old Italian men shouting at the top of their lungs all about what they are selling. We saw a LOT of fresh fish, fruit, veggies and pretty much anything else you could imagine. Mommy kept her eye out for diapers. ((Diaper story: we opted to buy them in Barcelona but they don’t sell Pampers..just Huggies… well the tabs on the Huggies keep ripping so Mommy is going through MORE than she thought. So if you ever do this vacation BRING DIAPERS!)) Well, anyway, we found a few small packages that should last us a while. We also bought a few bananas, some bread and some cheese.

Next the tour went to a nice little restaurant where we dined on a quick plate of “Sicilian Fare”. We had a poor mans meat (made of chic-pea), an eggplant and tomato dish of sorts, a fried anchovy, pizza and olives. I ate crackers, Cheerios and a pressed fruit strip Mommy had packed for me.

More city tour on the bus and then back to port. While driving we saw a LOT of horse drawn buggies, beautiful city parks with nice amusement park type rides, and lots people getting their fares delivered way up to 5-6 story buildings in baskets on ropes!!!!

Daddy wanted to walk to the “English Gardens” when we got back from the tour. I fell asleep in the stroller and enjoyed Mommy navigating VERY well up and own curbs and across bumpy streets.

I think my stroller will need a tire change when we get home! Unlike America the streets are NOT very stroller friendly…my Maclaren seems to do well though. Mommy & Daddy really enjoyed the gardens and a gelato too!

Mommy thought the side streets were very pretty.


Then we all went back to the ship (I still asleep) and boarded for an afternoon of relaxation. Some loud people in the port elevator woke me up and then I was up and ready to go for the rest of the day. Mommy said UGH! After a quick snack in the room Mommy took me to the pool to swim for a while. At first I was very timid but I warmed up and then was all over the pool.




After swimming we changed and ran the halls. Mommy let me choose which way to go and she just chased me. Daddy/G’ma/G’pa went back to the city for cannoli and meringues. Soon it was time for dinner. We were in Lumiere’s tonight. Dinner was good, but I didn’t eat much because I was tired and cranky. The boat was leaving port as we ate and the waves were getting choppy. Mommy took me up for and early bath and to get me ready for bed. This is when the night fell apart in a major way:

I was having my bath and Mommy was sitting on the bathroom floor then suddenly there was a horrid smell and Mommy was jumping up soaking wet. “Waste” water had come UP through the floor drain because the boat was tipping so much. Mommy managed to safely get me out of the bathroom and then stripped herself, cleaned up and redressed. Daddy came in at this time…THANK GOODNESS! He got the room steward and engineering and they took care of the nasty mess. They sent Mommy’s clothes to be cleaned for free, as expected!! Mommy got me ready for bed and the ship started rocking MORE. Mommy was turning green. She set me in the crib and went to the balcony to close her eyes and get some fresh air. A few minutes later she came into the room and Daddy said she was “sick”. Mommy gets BAD motion sickness and can’t take anything for it because of my little sibling on the way. Poor Mommy! I eventually went to sleep and Mommy groaned all night long… she tried to sleep… a wet washcloth on her face helped. The ship was hitting swells of 13-20ft pretty much all night long. We would feel the boat rock left, rock right, go up and then SLAM down on the water… we are on deck 8!
Eventually morning came and Mommy was less green but still very very wobbly. There are some people down that got put in “quarantine” before the waves, we never figured out what for! *shrug* Mommy had already checked in with the infirmary when she got on board… so all is well with us.
Grandma and Grandpa relaxing before dinner.

At least they are having a good old time! 🙂