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

Arriving in Palermo, Sicily!

It was finally here, the time that Paul and I had planned to spend together working in Palermo.  This was something we had been planning for close to a year now, and I still cannot believe how quickly December was upon us. After seeing my family for Thanksgiving, it was time to jump on the plane and head to Sicily.  I had never flown across the ocean alone before, and this was about to be an adventure considering I was about 17 weeks pregnant at the time. I quickly decided to ditch the jeans and suited up in my favorite yoga pants for the redeye flight to Munich. 

My flight to Rome - the only flight leaving Munich!!

First I flew from Green Bay to Chicago, then Chicago to Munich.  At the gate for my flight to Munich there were quite a few whisperings and people seemed concerned.  I don’t keep up with the news much, but apparently the Munich airport was under strike and a few flights were canceled the prior day due to the massive strike.  I just assumed these were just rumbles and rumors, and after loading up on some Starbucks goodies, we were boarding the plane.  Much to my appreciation, I was seated in a row of three chairs in economy plus, and not a soul joined me.  It was perfection: a whole row of seats for a transatlantic flight.  Shortly after a quick movie, I sprawled across the seats in all their glory and slept in fetal position the whole way.  Every once and a while I would get up to walk around, but that was about the extent of my flight.  It was perfect.

Bambino(a) made it across the sea!

When we landed in Munich the pilot got on the horn and informed us that the strike was still in full effect and the only plane leaving was one to Rome.  My tired brain didn’t truly comprehend this statement until I realized… I was going to Rome, and if I didn’t get there, I would have to find some alternative way to get me and all my luggage to Palermo.  I was flying to Palermo on Ryanair, a budget airline and a separate itinerary, meaning they could care less that the reason I couldn’t make it was due to a strike.  I continued to cross my fingers while walking across the empty airport to a single open gate with about 15 people waiting.  My luck was astonishing, and I attribute many of these small life victories to Joel’s presence. Someone pulled some strings, that’s for sure.

Celebratory dinner together!  We're finally here, and together!

Once I landed in Rome, I grabbed my luggage and checked back in on my flight to Palermo – one flight left, I could do it.  It was cramped as sardines, and I was head-bobbing like an idiot onto some strange man, but I made it.  All that was left after four separate flight connections was a bus ride into the unknown city of Palermo and attempting to find Paul’s small apartment on just a few hours of sleep.  Some how, I arrived in one piece and was greeted by the sweetest landlords who swept my into Paul’s apartment.  I showered and willed myself to stay awake until Paul’s arrival.  It was such a relief to see him walk through the door.  He was impressed that I clearly looked pregnant, since he hadn’t seen the “bambino bump”.

I couldn’t believe it.  Paul and I were going to be spending December together in Sicily – an opportunity of a lifetime.  

 *****

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

Turkey Day 2014!

We were fortunate enough to join the Nagels for their Thanksgiving feast at Aunt Sue's place!  The food is always spectacular and this year Ryan and Matt surely outdid themselves!  Aunt Sue's cranberries were out of this world.  Fortunately, we are only in charge of bringing wine, which is pretty hard to ruin - whew. No stress Thanksgiving, that's what I'm all about!

Baby Bump: Pre-Thanksgiving Feast.

Before the feast we made our way out to the Whipp's in Poland for the Chicken Trot!  The Turkey trot is Green Bay is a crazy mess of people, and a little too high stress for our liking!  We met everyone in the bar area, grabbed our T-shirts and shortly after began the walk.  Quickly we realized just how cold it was this Thanksgiving.  The freezing breeze was flying off the open fields in the country and stinging our faces.  Dale didn't seem to mind - he wasn't phased and just pumped to be out on a walk with people and other dogs.  The first two legs of the walk were rough, but once we got the wind on our back it started to become a bit more enjoyable - haha!  I was so happy that we signed up for the walk, it made indulging in all the turkey feel just a little bit safer for the waistline.

Aunt Sue and Matt carving the turkey.

In afternoon we met up with the group for an excellent meal.  I got to catch up with Leanna who is also expecting a little baby Nagel in February!  Our kids should only be 3 months apart - how cool!  It would be even better if we're in the same state, but I guess that's what frequent trips home are for.  I got the scoop on maternity clothes and all of the fun things that await me as I move forward in the pregnancy!  She's a champ - still working like crazy.  I am spoiled with a job that isn't so physically demanding. I get tired just thinking about her work schedule. 

The Wesolowski Family!

Turkey nap for Matt and Curty.

After the Thanksgiving feast we stopped to see Grandma VanBoxtel.  She and Grandpa were chatting it up like two teenagers, it was so precious.  Love really does stand the test of time.  They were laughing and giggling while trying to figure out who stood up who for the Thanksgiving dance! Ahh, so refreshing.

On Black Friday Mom and I decided to sleep in.  We weren't too impressed with the advertisements anyway, so it was a good thing we stayed in bed.  We met Laura and Aunt Theresa for breakfast at Perkins, and then set out to grab some half price maternity clothes at Target.  I found some bargains and then we made our way back to Seymour.  Definitely the way to go.  All of the deals are on Thanksgiving now, and I just cannot get into that - Thanksgiving is turning into a shopping holiday, ugh!  That evening I got to catch up with some special ladies: Lyssa, Becca, and Jeanelle, who were in town for the holidays!  We ordered up some amazing Thai food and chatted over dinner.  We were all pretty well-behaved, which is different that our earlier outings about 4 years ago, haha! Yikes.

 After stuffing myself with some very spicy food, Lyssa and I took the old minivan through the Dairy Queen drive-through and gave the high school kids running the place a few laughs.  They were pretty impressed that I had to get out of the minivan in order to pay for the ice cream.  They were also amused by my enthusiastic upgrade to medium blizzards: Buy One get One 99 cents! That's something to be excited about! Am I right?! Heck yes!

Ahh, I think I'm good on cake, but thanks anyway mum!

Saturday following Thanksgiving we were invited to share in Avery's Birthday party at the Morris household.  KBC on tap and one year olds eating cake - what's not to love!?!  It was so nice to be able to see Dan, Katie, their parents, friends and little Avery.  What a great afternoon!  It was a quick glimpse in the many fun times that are about to come our way soon enough I fear!

After Avery's fiesta we met Joel's buddies out for a little Buck gathering at Jackson Point.  It was nice for everyone all to get together.  I was able to finally order up a round of CHEESE CURDS - the real stuff too.  I was driving the crew around and got to catch up with Haus finally!  He was back in the area after a long stretch in Rochester, MN.  It was time to come back and kick the dust off the sled before the real snow falls later this winter.  Great timing indeed Haus!  

Hustle Inn, out of O'Douls. Embarrassing.

Sunday I handed Dale off to the Anderson - poor Kathy and crew, I fear they were not aware of the monster they kindly took for us while we were away.  I knew Dale was going to be treated like a king when I saw the fluffy bed they had waiting for him.  I cannot thank them enough for taking the mischief maker for a whole month!! Thank you, thank you!!

Dale, you have fun.  For me, it's off to Palermo, Sicily! 

Dale is clearly a cheesehead at heart. Have fun in Wisconsin buddy!

 *****

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