Here's a dated expression: "Living the life of Riley" (or Reilly by some accounts). It refers to someone who is living a happy and carefree existence, and has more or less fallen out of modern usage. It seems as though though the expression finds its origins in an early 19$^{th}$ century Irish folk song: 'Willey Reilly and his Colleen Bawn'. The ballad tells the story of Willie Reilly, who elopes with his 'Colleen Bawn'. This is an alternate spelling of Cailin Ben - Cailin being the Irish word for a young maiden, and Ben for woman. Reilly was allegedly tried for eloping, and as he was Catholic while his 'cailin ben' (possibly a woman named Helen Ffolliot) was Protestant, the punishment could be the death penalty. A judge (possibly a 'Luke Fox') agreed to save Reilly, finding pity for the lovers. The characters of the tale seem to be true historical figures, and the events may have occurred in Sligo, Ireland around 1745. There was later a film loosely based on the events released in 1918. As for the saying, the idea of overcoming the dangers of forbidden love to live happily in the Irish countryside certainly meant Willie Reilly lived the 'life of Riley'.
Bonus:
About nine people have walked or run around the world, although with two thirds of the world's surface covered by ocean, it becomes very difficult to agree on which routes can truly be considered circumnavigation. Some of the more credible claims are those of Jean Béliveau, who walked for 11 years across all six continents and covered around 75,000 km. Endurance runner Tony Mangan also jogged for 4 years and covered 50,000 km (he also holds the record for most distance covered on a treadmill in 48 hours: 405.22 km). One of the greatest stories of pedestrian circumnavigation, however, is probably that of the first person to accomplish the feat. Romanian Dumitru Dan set out with three friends in 1910, and returned in 1923 alone: one by one his friends had died along the way. Dumitru had crossed 76 countries and wore out 497 pairs of shoes.
Bonus:
About nine people have walked or run around the world, although with two thirds of the world's surface covered by ocean, it becomes very difficult to agree on which routes can truly be considered circumnavigation. Some of the more credible claims are those of Jean Béliveau, who walked for 11 years across all six continents and covered around 75,000 km. Endurance runner Tony Mangan also jogged for 4 years and covered 50,000 km (he also holds the record for most distance covered on a treadmill in 48 hours: 405.22 km). One of the greatest stories of pedestrian circumnavigation, however, is probably that of the first person to accomplish the feat. Romanian Dumitru Dan set out with three friends in 1910, and returned in 1923 alone: one by one his friends had died along the way. Dumitru had crossed 76 countries and wore out 497 pairs of shoes.
-E
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