We are moving!

Dear Valued Pursuit of Happiness Reader:

I want to thank you so much for joining me on my first blog and website.  As I continue to grow my site, I would like to expand my blog to include additional content, ramblings, photos, and descriptions of my most recent adventures.  Please join me as I move my blog to www.alycejane.com

www.alycejane.com

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Alyce Jane / Living Simply

I encourage you to subscribe to Alyce Jane Living Simply via email or RSS feed so you never miss an update.  To do so, follow the link above and look for "Subscribe" on the right hand side of my website.  Thank you for joining me on my next adventure, let's see where the world takes us!

Sincerely,

Alyce

Arriving in London with Curt and Deb!

Changing of the guards at the Palace, just in time for the main event!

Bands, horses, and fresh guards march through the streets!

Given our extended stay abroad, we decided to coordinate a trip with my parents to come to Europe to check out the sights and some of the big destinations.  They were flying over from Chicago, and we met them in London.  Paul and I took a late flight after work Wednesday night, only to get delayed, take a bus into the city, and slowly walk to our hotel.  We arrived around 2AM Thursday morning simply exhausted.  My parents weren’t going to feel much better after a red-eye from Chicago. 

Curty making us crack up I assume.

They made it to London - let the games begin!

Thursday we got up, had breakfast and started moving.  I was anxious for my parents arrival and had given them a step by step itinerary in order to facilitate their travels from the airport to the hotel.  They were navigating the old fashioned way.  I knew what streets they were going to come down, so about the time I thought they would be there I started to walk to see if I could intercept them.  Sure enough, I caught them on the street corner!  I couldn’t believe it actually worked, but I found the two lost Americans, my parents.  My dad was still recovering from surgery so I wanted to help haul luggage back to the hotel.

The London Eye.

Big Ben in the sky, London.

Lunch and caffeine for the weary travelers!

We arrived at the Apollo Hotel and they too were impressed by the number of beds and the quality of rooms you can get for a pretty penny in London.  London hotels are extremely expensive and somehow Paul managed to find a room next to Hyde Park with two queen beds, one twin bed and a set of bunk beds. We had plenty of beds to go around, but barely enough room to walk through them. It had a small private bathroom, sheets that were questionably clean (mine had blood and fly poop all over), very tall ceilings, and a nice draft of cigarette smoke coming from the bathroom vents.  Overall, it was a good laugh and a place to rest our heads while recuperating from jet lag. 

Westminster Abby, a hefty admission kept us on the outside...

Shakespeare's Play House.

Our first day in London my parents decided that they would rather press on and see the sights instead of trying to nap, so into the city we went.  We flagged a cab and went to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards.  We got there just in time to see the magic happen.  It was crazy to be able to speak English again and we laughed with a police man over tourists bolting into the street.  We mentioned that his job must be difficult, and his response was… “well, it’s all those Americans” with a smirk.  We got a good laugh out of that and then made our way down to Big Ben and the sights on the Thames. 

Excellent view from my front row seat of the Tower Bridge, London.

Before committing to any more sight seeing we got lunch at a small pub that had a Badger on it’s business card – had to be a invitation to Wisconsinites. Once full of fuel we went down to the Thames to purchase a afternoon river cruise.  The journey was excellent.  We caught some of the tour as the waves lulled my father to sleep.  Most of the crowd got off at the first stop and then we pretty much had the whole ship to ourselves as we continued down to Greenwich.

This is how I found Paul in the museum. 

Nothing like tasting some local brewed flavors!

After we pulled Paul off of the phone inside the booth.

Once in Greenwich, we stopped at the brewery pub and Deb tried some mulled wine while the boys sampled local beers.  My only demand was that we try to get to Starbucks before the next boat went back.  We were kind of pushing our time limits so Paul and I sent my parents ahead to catch the boat and we would run quickly behind them.  We caught up pretty fast and were able to jump on the boat as it was leaving… until I noticed something wrong, my parents were not on the boat!! I yelled for Paul to get off the boat quickly!! He was straddling the dock and the boat until we saw my parents coming from behind us looking lost.  Whew, that was a close one.  We passed them up and almost left them in Greenwich, haha!

Paul running under the River Thames!

Starbucks were worth it!

Greenwich, tunnel to the other side of the Thames!

While waiting we took a glimpse at the tunnel running under the Thames, which is a pretty impressive sight.  However we decided to head back to the boat early this time, because this was the last departure and we weren’t about to be stranded in a place as expensive as London!  The boat ride back was in the dark and the sights took on a completely different appearance.  Tower Bridge opened for us, and we froze our buns off on the top deck of the boat to catch a glimpse.  The cruise was recommended by our cab driver, and didn’t disappoint.  It was a full day for tired travelers.

Big Ben and Parliament all lit up!

London Eye at Night!

Tower Bridge at night, it even opened for us!

After we got back to the Apollo, Paul and I went for a walk to check out the nearby Bayswater street.  It was the perfect evening stroll and we topped off our day with a Lebanese meal from a nearby restaurant.  We were not exactly certain what the wrap contained, but it was absolutely delicious. 

Simply a perfect start to our time in London.


 *****

Please take the time to join me at my new blog:
Alyce Jane, Living Simply

Day trip to Cefalu, Sicily!

Paul at the beginning of our morning hike!

We weren't even half way up and the view was amazing!

La Rocca Di Cefalu.

With luck, we realized that Paul had a three-day weekend due to a local holiday.  This meant that it was the perfect opportunity to fit in a day trip to a neighboring costal town called Cefalu. We weren’t exactly sure what we would find there or how the trip would go, but we woke early on Sunday morning to catch a bus down to central station.  On the way to the station was my first run in with the bus wardens, where they taught me how to use the ticket validation system.  Without the lead of many locals who regularly validate their bus tickets, I had no idea that it was required.  It makes perfect sense, but I was lucky that I didn’t annoy the police too much while trying to understand their Italian.  That could have been an expensive mistake.

Breathtaking views from the top

We arrived at central station, bought the tickets to Cefalu and shortly after boarded our train.  It was a quick trip and we found ourselves in the quiet costal city.  It was a bit chilly for swimsuits, but the beaches were very pretty, and I can imagine the main beach scattered with people during the warmer months. 

Baby Anderson even make it to the top of La Rocca!

The extremely old church ruins at the top of La Rocca.

We strolled into the city from the station and tried to find the path to climb to a local overlook.  We realized shortly that it was a park and we arrived only a few minutes after they opened the entrance.  We bought our tickets and started the climb to the top of the Rocca.  The top of the bluff housed the ruins of an old church.  Nothing more than the strong walls of the church remain.  The views from this area were absolutely breathtaking.  We were definitely at the summit and were able to see many different views from each side.  We snapped quite a few photos of one another before deciding to start our decent to the ruins left by the people who inhabited this area. We saw a few of the stone remains including a water reservoir and a large stone oven.  I had to get a picture of the oven with my bun in the oven, if only for laughs.

Look at that tall man in the blue sky!

On the edge of the view, no tripping allowed.

After our morning hike we walked to the other main attraction, which was a massive central church.  The parish is still alive and well, so we only stayed for a few moments of mass before stepping out.  In the square of the church we both enjoyed a caffe americano and caught out breath before exploring the city on foot.  We walked down the different small roads and poked our heads into the shops, careful not too buy anything.

Cefalu, Sicily. 

That afternoon we had scheduled a late lunch, once again sponsored by Groupon.  It was a four-course afternoon and served as much of our entertainment.  The waiter wasn’t very pleased with our arrival, however he served us regardless.  This experience wasn’t nearly as impressive as the restaurant in Palermo, but the price was right and we had a nice afternoon eating food and chatting for hours. 

Heading down the hill to look at the ancient ruins.

Bun in the oven, by the old, old oven for buns.

We paid our bill and had one more stop to make.  Paul wanted to enjoy a Chimay, a beer he particularly fond of and caught a glimpse of in the window of a diner we passed while walking.  We managed to relocate the spot and sat down for a macchiato and a Chimay.  Both were perfect and the bar was spectacular.  The staff was very accommodating.  We wished we could have spent more time there, but we had to leave quickly in order to catch the next train back to Palermo.  At the station it began to rain – a sign of another perfectly executed day.

Not quite Brazil, but not bad.

Once we arrived in Palermo the streets were buzzing.  They are always buzzing on Sunday evenings.  We walked to catch a glimpse of Paul’s favorite street band and I bought a cotton candy from a street vendor who was in high demand from all the children.  We stayed out for another hour or so until we walked home exhausted from the day’s activities. 

Duomo di Cefalu!

We should really make these “day-trips” more of a habit in the states.   Oh, if only we had more trains to jump onto. Then again, we all have cars, so it’s a bit of a different story.

Paul about to dip his toes in the ocean!

Thank you for the beauty Cefalu!

 *****

Please take the time to join me at my new blog:
Alyce Jane, Living Simply

First few Days in Palermo

Giardino Inglese, Palermo Italy

My first few days in Palermo consisted of catching up on rest and getting organized.  I had clearly neglected my body’s desire for sleep in preparing for this trip and this became wildly apparent as I had the opportunity to sleep without and alarm clock. Before I left I attempted to winterize our house and get everything set to go for when we got back in January.  I’m sure glad I did, but wow, did everything start to catch up with me those first few days.  The first week flew by rather quickly.  As a treat for my arrival, Paul got us a Groupon to a fancy restaurant down by the marina.  It was tucked away in-between two streets.  We of course arrived very early, in our standard American way, and asked for a table outside in the dead of winter in Palermo.  Our waiter was excellent and we had the restaurant, De Gustibus, all to ourselves.

Pasta, pasta, pasta... and cheese! 

Teatro Massimo, Palermo Italy

Outside a beautiful, large Church. We only popped our head in for Mass.

But first, let's take a selfie.

Out door seating area for our first evening out on the town in Sicily.

We started out with a large platter of fresh seafood that Paul was in charge of consuming.  We were slightly confused on what was all included in the meal and assumed incorrectly that this platter was the entire main course.  So Paul ate the plate in its entirety, including raw oysters on the half shell HAH!  As we sat there placing bets on whether Paul was going to get sick, out comes two beautiful main entrees of Grouper ravioli and lobster risotto.  The flavors were outstanding. Paul immediately regretted eating all of the questionable tentacles on the first plate, but we easily cleaned our plates.  Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, they brought out dessert.  For Paul, a warm chocolate cake with a warm flowing center, and for me, an almond ice cream cake covered in crisp, light chocolate.  We agreed that they were probably the two best desserts we had ever tasted.  The evening was wonderful and an excellent way to begin our adventure.

The atmosphere was perfect!

Risotto was outstanding... not too shabby!

The remaining days I continued to iron out some of our travel details, take walks, and send a few emails back and forth to those in Pittsburgh.  I also attempted to cook dinners for us in the evenings with the two ancient frying pans the kitchen was furnished with.  A few good meals resulted, while others didn’t really meet our generally low standards, haha, whoops! We were pretty hard pressed to find good food that doesn’t require an oven or anything too complex. 

De Gustibus, Palermo Italy

The time together was perfect.


 *****

Please take the time to join me at my new blog:
Alyce Jane, Living Simply