When taking the ferry from Genoa to Sicily, a journey of 21 hours, we were unsure as to whether to book a cabin or a Pullman seat, as a cabin hikes the price up considerably. In the end, we opted for a cabin and we are soooooooo glad that we did!

We were able to buy some provisions for the journey at the well-stocked supermarket right in the port. However, after the many short journeys we made across the English Channel, where we had had wonderful meals, we didn’t think we would need to buy too much – wrong! The restaurant food was cold, expensive and a huge disappointment. However, our cabin made up for that with its own bathroom, comfy beds and plenty of space. In the main deck area, the Pullman seats section was noisy with Italians on their mobile phones, children running around and the TV on full blast all of the time. I think we made the right choice!

The ferry was not very big and our cars were parked outside on the deck, open to the elements but luckily, it was a smooth crossing. We left at 11pm and arrived in Palermo at 7pm the following evening. It happened to be our Wedding Anniversary the day of the crossing and we felt it was apt that we actually spent it at sea!

We had booked a hotel in Palermo, right by the port, for the night of our arrival. It sounded lovely having just been renovated and we pictured ourselves celebrating our special day in the bar overlooking the port. Imagine our SHOCK to find that the hotel was still in the middle of its renovations! In fact, it looked so much like a building site that we didn’t even consider it to be the right address when we got there. Once our initial panic subsided, we telephoned the reservation number and were greeted by one of the staff who apologised for the delay in the works but assured us that a reservation had been made for us at another hotel in town. As it turned out, the substitute hotel was excellent (though their coffee machine made the most disgusting coffee in the world). The next surprise was when we had to hand over our car keys to a young Sicilian lad, who was going to take the car to their garage a few streets away. We were a bit hesitant but I made him promise to look after the car and told him that we had driven all the way from the UK without a problem and that we didn’t want one now. He promised and we looked at one another for reassurance as we handed the keys over. Not long after, we had settled into our room and decided to go and find a nice place for dinner. We stopped to cross the road as a car was coming around the corner – our car with the young guy and one of the hotel staff sat next to him! We watched as they pulled up outside the hotel, one guy jumped out with a bag in his hand (probably their McDonald dinner) and the car then continued, hopefully to the garage. We picked up the car the following morning (no damage done) and took our lives in our hands as we negotiated our way out of Palermo and across the island back home.