One Song Glory

Day 9 (6/26/11)

The cruise ship docked early in Livorno and this Lytle group was off just as early to meet our tour guide Alesandro. A nice Italian guy that took us to Pisa first, where we got to see the leaning Tower of Pisa and the cathedral next to it.  This tower is crazy big and beautiful and we learned all about the history of the tower and the renovations that have been done on it in recent years to keep it leaning and falling over. Of course, we took the iconic picture of us trying to hold the tower up (see below).  After the leaning Tower, we got back in the car and headed to Florence where we went directly to the best view of the city on top of this hill, Alesandro showed us. After some beautiful pictures we headed to the Academia where the statue of David by Michael Angelo is placed.  The statue is way bigger than we ever thought and it is absolutely breathtaking, definitely worth it and something we will remember forever.  After the Academia, we went to view the Duomo which means Dorm; this piece of architecture is gorgeous unfortunately we couldn’t go inside the Duomo due to it being Sunday and mass was going on inside. Outside the Duomo, there was a lovely outdoor shopping center, where we could barter and haggle with the locals for the best deals in souvenirs. After a little shopping, the group decided to take a little rest outside of the local church steps when a Italian gypsy came up to us and asked for some money, when we declined she looked at us with totally disgust. Uncle Chris and Jamie are pretty sure that she put a curse on the group, so every time some kind of misshape happens, we blame it on the Italian gypsy in Florence. The lunch was delicious with pizza and pasta and the girls got a well deserved gelato on the streets of Florence. The day quickly ended with us walking around the city of Florence and then it was back in the car heading to ship.  Dinner was delicious as usual and the night ended peacefully with a nice trip to the Jacuzzi before heading off to bed.

Jamie and Emily in front of the leaning Tower of Pisa.

The girls on the steps of the cathedral next to the leaning Tower of Pisa.

 

A perfect view of the entire city of Florence, in the center is the Duermo.

Emily and Amy enjoying some delicious Florence pizza.

To all you land dwellers,

Jamie, Amy, Emily, Aunt Sue and Uncle Chris

Another Day

Day 8 (6/25/11)

The day started early in Monaco for some of this group but for Jamie and Emily (whose alarm didn’t go off), their day started a little later.  Uncle Chris, Aunt Sue and Amy left to go explore this beautiful country while Jamie and Emily got ready for the day’s adventures, the group met up a little later at the Palace du Pais.  The palace was spectacular as it is the home of the prince of Monaco, who is getting married to a lovely South African women in July and preparations were being made throughout the country during our visit.  After the palace, we walked around the main square in Monaco where there was a farmers market, lets just say they had the sweetest peaches ever! After our little snack, the group made their way to the most famous attraction in Monaco, the casino Monte Carlo.  This country is absolutely lovely and the casino is also a beautiful attraction to view, but unfortunately no cameras are allowed inside the casino and tourists are only allowed inside the main lobby of Monte Carlo. Emily was really excited to be in Monaco because she got to use her French throughout the country. Emily also sampled some of the local cuisine of musse et frites which translates to mussels and French fries. Apparently it was delicious because she ate all five pounds of it! After that adventure, Jamie and Emily got to visit a supermarche (super market) where they got to peruse the items and purchase groceries in French with the locals. After that it was back to the ship for a lovely dinner and movie before heading to bed early, excited for the next three days in Italy starting with Livorno (Florence and Pisa).

The view of Monaco getting off of the ship.

Jamie and Emily outside of the Monte Carlo.

Sail On,

Jamie, Amy, Emily, Aunt Sue and Uncle Chris

Goodbye Love

Day 7 (6/24/11)

The hotel Catalonia Berna is beautiful and just in the heart of downtown but due to the delay in our flights we only got to spend a little time there before we had to head out to our cruise ship in the port in Spain.  The shuttle that took us from the hotel to the cruise was early in the morning, so we got to skip the check-in lines and made it on the ship early.  The gang just hung out in the lunch cafeteria for a bit before exploring the massive cruise ship for the first time.  The Carnival Magic is huge with plenty of facilities such as a full size basketball court, mini gulf course, gym, two water slides, two huge pools (one with a jumbo television screen in front of it), about a million hot tubs and bars, three dining halls, a casino and a full size show theater. The size of this home away from home is still unbelievable and remembering where everything is, is a constant problem.  But it is our cross to bear, when you decide to partake on the Carnival Magic.  After taking a thorough tour around the boat, it was time for us to relax in our new digs on the first flour, rooms 1347 and 1223. Unpacking and reorganizing is not fun tasks but someone got to do it and by that time it was time for dinner at the Northern Lights restaurant. Before dinner, Emily had to try the all-you-can-eat sushi bar on the ship which opens at five every night and it was delicious serving Jamie’s personal favorite Philadelphia roll.  Dinner was a pleasant event where we got to meet our table mates, a funny family from Washington DC and a hilarious server Peter that picks on Amy every night about not eating her vegetables. After dinner, the gang relaxed in the a hot tub before heading to bed having to wake up early the next day for Monaco.

The inside of our room on the cruise ship.

The top of the cruise ship, showing the water slides and pools.

The stakes are high for tomorrow!

Happy Sailing,

Jamie, Amy, Emily, Aunt Sue, and Uncle Chris

Out Tonight

Day 4 (6/21/11)

We begin with a trip uptown to Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but first we had to stop at the best bagel place in the entire city, H & H Bagels for breakfast.  H & H sells a variety of different bagels, such as blueberry, onion, cinnamon-raisin and pumpernickel.  After our delicious bagels we walked across Central Park to the best and biggest museum in the city, the Met.  Amy got in free due her being under 12 years old which was very exciting.  Her favorite exhibit was the Greek and Roman art because of her fascination of Greek mythology. 

Jamie and Emily loved all of the European paintings with famous artists such Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso. The Met is huge and four hours in there doesn’t cover half of the art they have but we were exhausted and hungry, so we left to find some good pizza and have a little picnic in Central Park before heading back downtown to purchase Broadway tickets at Time Square.  Luckily, the discount ticket line wasn’t too bad and the girls got great seats for The Addams Family show later that night.  Jamie and Emily decided to go to the Rockefeller Center before the show while Amy and Aunt Sue took a much needed rest back at the hotel. On the way to Rockefeller the girls got side tracked with the Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes with Emily’s roommate Kori.  Let’s just say we never made it to the Rockefeller Center.  The cupcakes were delicious and luckily the girls had one left over for Amy who they met back at the theater.  The Addams Family (based off of the television show) is brilliant and the music is way too catchy, with us singing them all the way home and continuing into the next day.  

Tomorrow is our last day in the Big Apple, we will miss the city that never sleeps but we know that there are going to be more adventures to come during our Mediterranean Cruise which starts on Friday.

Travel On,

Jamie, Emily, Amy, Aunt Sue and Uncle Chris

Seasons of Love

Day 3 (6/20/11)

Day three starts off bright and early with a subway catastrophe… WE GOT ON THE WRONG ONE!! So we had to finish out the trek to Clinton Street Bakery with a less than ideal walk and taxi drive.  But we made it and it was well worth it, with fresh made blueberry pancakes and buttermilk biscuits this bakery is a diamond in the ruff. As Amy would be put it “This place is Dy-No-Mite!”. After the best breakfast of our lives, we took the subway to Wall Street to trade stocks and bonds with the locals but decided to go to the Statue of Liberty instead.  Luckily, Jamie purchased reserved tickets in advance and we bypassed the entire population of NYC onto the ferry waiting a total of 0 minutes.  On the top level of the ferry, the Statue of Liberty slowly becomes bigger and Amy slowly becomes more excited.  Her lovely cousins bought her the best souvenir ever, the form version of Lady Liberty’s Crown (see picture below).

After taking a very informative tour around Liberty Island, we set off for Ellis Island where Aunt Sue and Amy tried to find distant ancestors that travelled through this island when it was in use during the early 20^th century.  The main building is majestic and full of history with a lovely museum and computer ports that let you track your ancestors passage through to the New World.  

By the end of this adventure, finally making it back to the mainland, the crew was exhausted and sticky due to the humid heat but had to make the trek to Ground Zero in remembrance of the victims of 9/11. The subway home was less eventful since we got on the right one and ended up in the right location, our hotel. We ended the day with a lovely Italian dinner and a Modern Family marathon on Emily’s laptop.

The Show Must Go On, (Broadway Tomorrow Night!)

Jamie, Amy, Emily, Aunt Sue and Uncle Chris

Today 4 You

Day 2 (6/19/11)


Travel day is the name of the game for day two, we start very early at the LAX airport for our flight to New York City. This flight on JetBlue was made bearable by the individual television sets and the FOOD Network channel which was on constantly for us. After arriving in the Big City, we took a taxi to our hotel. Let’s just say after that ride, we know we won’t get sea sick on the cruise ship.  Who knew driving crazy and illegally was allowed, maybe only in NYC. Like Buddy says in the movie “Elf”, “The yellow ones don’t stop” (referring to the NY taxis).  After getting over that crazy driving episode, we could barely register our stun and disbelief at how wonderful and amazing our hotel that we found on Priceline.com would be.   An oasis in the mist of the swarming masses, it stood like a glorious palace with huge rooms and a sparkly lobby.  Only misshape here was at first we were assigned an occupied room with a gentlemen still in the restroom, the hotel apologized with a complimentary bottle of wine which we gladly accepted.  

The lobby of our hotel in NYC.

As soon as we got settled it was off to dinner at the local Irish pub with Sheppard’s Pie and cheeseburgers.  A nice walk to Time Square ensued where we ate the best cheesecake in the city at Junior’s on Broadway. Amy enjoyed the Raspberry Swirled Cheesecake while Jamie and Emily had the Devil’s Food Cheesecake. They were huge slices but delicious all the same.  

Amy enjoying a delicious slice of heaven (raspberry cheesecake).

The crowds at Time Square were too much for this group so we headed over to the Empire State Building to catch the best view of the NYC skyline at night.  To our dismay, the crowds were even denser at the ESB, but Amy, Jamie, Emily and Aunt Sue stuck it out while Uncle Chris bailed for the peace and quiet (complimentary wine) at the hotel.   The view was breathtaking but we were pooped, so it was a quick trip atop the ESB and then back to the hotel for some R and R. All in all, a fun and productive first day in the city.

The streets of Time Square, picture taken by Emily.

Waiting for my blueberry pancakes tomorrow for breakfast,

Jamie, Amy, Emily, Aunt Sue and Uncle Chris

Over the Moon

Day 1 (6/18/11)

The journey begins, day one of the Lytle Mediterranean Cruise 2011 starts with a curb side pickup in a luxury BMW with the nickname of “Frida”.  The voyage from Oakland airport to LAX was delightful except for a minor juvenile disturbance in the seats behind me luckily the flight was only an hour long.  Uncle Chris and Amy were overjoyed and jumping with enthusiasm to see their beautiful, talented relatives while Aunt Sue took a necessary snooze at the glorious ocean viewed condo.  This vacation couldn’t have started any better, after arriving at the lovely Redondo condo activities ensued with a beach bike ride in perfect weather along the bike path at the Redondo strand.  After this family activity, this motley crew settled down to watch “The Prince of Egypt” before a wonderful ravioli and green bean dinner that Aunt Sue prepared with love and tenderness.  As an extra bonus a dessert of caramel swirled delicious ice cream was devoured after an already marvelous dinner.  Amy got some necessary girl time with a lovely sparkly manicured nails designed by Emily.

New York City is our next stop and we have to leave bright and early, so bedtime has become an early endeavor to be able to wake up at promptly 4 am.

Below is a picture of our Jamie and Amy at the finish line of our bike excursion in Redondo Beach. Photo taken by Emily.

To my next post in the Big Apple,

Jamie, Amy, Emily, Aunt Sue and Uncle Chris