Saturday 30th October 2010

Today dawned not very promising after a night of rain storms. At an early stroll out by the pool we met the guy who did the gardening next door. He is a rugby football player who has played for the Cyprus national team and, after a year of retirement , was due to play once again today. Good luck to him.

At noon we set out for our rendezvous with Steve and his partner Jeanette. We met them along the coast road to the north of Paphos and they led us via a long and rough road, (which gave us an exciting ride!!!), over the hills and to a restaurant called Viklari or The Last Castle on the Avakas gorge which is on a peninsula just above St Georges Bay. The restaurant is in the open air and overlooks the gorge on one side and with spectacular views to the sea on the other. The main part of the restaurant is covered by grape vines loaded with grapes. Our table was up on a raised platform overlooking the gorge which gave us the best view and location in the place. The ‘menu’ is very simple, either barbecue pork or barbecue chicken or a mix of both with a lovely salad and either French Fried or jacket potatoes. This accompanied by a carafe of wine and lively conversation made for a magical afternoon.

Steve and Jeanette live during the winter in Cyprus and during the summer either in Europe or in the U.K. Both have had interesting lives and are great company. Simon knows them by virtue of their both owning German Short-Haired Pointer dogs and belonging to the same club for training the dogs.

After lunch we drove down to the picturesque St George’s bay and then on to Steve and Jeanette’s house to meet Peyia, their dog. There we had coffee and enjoyed a further relaxation before taking a roundabout route back to the villa via some other villas for sale.

We drove home amid a beautiful red-sky sunset and thus ended our last full day in Cyprus most enjoyably.

Steve's dog Peyia

The church at St Goerge's Bay

St George's Bay

Grapes at the Viklari, (The Last Castle) restaurant

Some interesting shaped (volcanic?) rock formation at the Viklari Restaurant

The Avakas gorge

A view from the restaurant towards the sea.

Lunch at Viklari

This was certainly a spectacular day out and won't be forgotten for a long time.

We went to the zoo, zoo, zoo....how about you?

 We went to the Paphos Bird and Animal Park and enjoyed a good time with the occupants. There was a good selection of birds of all kinds from all over the world and also some animals, large and small.

Who are you looking at....?

I may be slow but I am old....

Got a problem with that.......?

Meerkat on the watch

After the zoo we went to a nearby restaurant in Coral Bay for lunch where we met CoCo the parrot

He was a very friendly bird...

Here is CoCo on his perch.

At the zoo we saw a display with parrots and owls who did various tricks and fly-by's.

After leaving the restaurant we went back into Paphos for coffee and ice cream on the promenade. By the late afternoon, the sky had tuned grey and threatening with quite a strong wind.

Geography

For those not familiar with the island of Cyprus, here it is.

Our villa is on the western (left-hand) end of the island near Paphos. There is an airport at Paphos but the flights into and out of there are limited. The main international airport is at Larnaca on the central south coast of the island. The drive to Paphos from there is about 120 kms. The darker shaded area in the north of the island is the disputed 'Turkish Zone' which is protected by a UN Safe Area. Although border crossing into the Turkish Zone is supposed to be easy, rental cars are not allowed to cross. There are still British Military bases on the island, a left-over from the former administration. Nicosia, which is the capital is a divided city.

'No' Day - evening



In the evening of ‘No’ Day we went to as funky restaurant in Pegeia called the Gallery and Mediterranean Bistro which is run by an eccentric staff including the lady chef who is also the artist who produces much of the collage work in the adjacent gallery much made with sea shells and other marine related items.

The menu was short but sweet and we either had mixed seafood or the mixed grill from the barbecue. Both were judged delicious. Afterwards we chatted with the chef and inspected her art collection.

The mixed grill



A convivial dinner

Millie & Simon

The mixed seafood entree

A thoughtful Millie after a good dinner



On the extreme left, our chef-host.



'No' Day was a 'Yes' Day

Well the 'No' day turned out to be a great day weather-wise with warm sun right up until evening. This resulted in much use of the pool which, although still cold was refreshing and after a little while immersed, quite comfortable. The weather was a good enough reason to laze around and not do too much.
The neighborhood was very quiet and there was no evidence of parades or celebrations for ‘No’ Day although we are far from the center of town so that we would probably not have heard them anyway.

This morning we found to our alarm that we were out of coffee for the coffee machine and so I made a run for the local bakery to get some. The Greek-style coffee I came home with managed to taste pretty awful, perhaps because we didn’t make it properly.

Homer and Porridge have spent most of the day outside enjoying the lovely weather and relaxing with their new friend Rosie, Millie’s bear-friend.

This is certainly the most relaxing holiday I have had in a long time and although MAC spent most of the morning working on her laptop, she has also managed to get some down-time.

Tonight we are heading to a nearby village to find another small taverna for dinner.

'No' Day - 28th October 2010

So this is the ‘skinny’.

Today 28^th October is the anniversary of ‘ochi’ or ‘No’ day in Greece and Cyprus. During WWll, Sr. Grazzi, the Italian Ambassador of the Mussolini Government gave an ultimatum to Mr Metaxa, the Prime Minister of Greece that the Axis powers must be allowed to place troops on Greek soil or else Greece would be at war with the Axis powers. Mr. Metaxa replied with one word ‘Ochi’ or ‘No’. The next day the Germans invaded Greece and the rest is history.

So on 28^th October each year in Greece and Cyprus, the day is celebrated by flags being hung out and parades through the streets and a day off for all.

We will celebrate ‘No’ Day too.

Thursday 28th October

Today is a public holiday here. We are not sure what for but we will see how the day unfolds and report tomorrow. Wednesday was a grey day which got quite chilly in the afternoon. It warmed up in the evening but we didn’t stray too far from the villa. The very brave actually went into the pool.

In the evening we went down into Paphos town and had dinner at an outdoor restaurant in the square. The restaurant was the meeting place for a large number of feral cats which gathered around the tables of diners who looked likely to supply some tidbits from their meals. If any morsels were dropped there was a major tussle to get at them with the usual screeching and meowing.

We had a very nice, mostly fish dinner with some good local wine. After this we drove down to the port area which, it being off-season was very quiet but we did manage to find the Pingouino Café where they served ice cream, crepes and good coffee so we took advantage of that for a while and watched the world go by from there.

I am going to include some photos in this posting and I hope that they work out OK

Some delicious Greek pastries

A small date palm which grows by the pool

The Pingouino Cafe

Millie's Rosie bear who met a musical rabbit in the restaurant.

The feral cats at an outdoor restaurant in Paphos

Today has dawned grey again so we may venture out somewhere and explore a bit more.

Tuesday 26th October

Today dawned bright and sunny and stayed that way throughout the day. The pool got a good work out and although the water was not that warm on entry, it did refresh.

We went out for pastries for breakfast and these were delicious although I am not sure that baclava is intended for that meal, it certainly tastes OK.

In the evening, we decided to order from a local take-out place called Granny's Kitchen!! Having placed a large order for all six of us, we had a Greek aperitif, which we had bought some time earlier and which, as most Greek aperitifs do, tasted like paint stripper and then set off for the restaurant. When we got there, the guy looked at us rather forlornly and said that they had had quite a lot of people into the restaurant at the tables that evening and that they had not even been able to start the order we had placed. A 'Fawlty Towers-type conversation between us, the head waiter and the unseen chef in the kitchen revealed that our chances of his even thinking about our order were remote, to say the least. Well, ".....it might be 45 minutes more, etc, etc". All this pretty soon convinced us that 45 DAYS more was more likely and there was some sort of chef's revolt going on in the kitchen. So we abandonded the project and went next door to the bakery, picked up some of their left-overs and dined on that. As none of us were that hungry, it sufficed well when washed down with some Greek wine.

A friend of Simon's (they share the same breed of dog), who lives for the winter on the island, visited us during the day and we will have lunch with him at the end of the week at what sounds like a nice place along the coast.

The villa is situated on the side of a hill set back from Paphos and overlooking the town or city. The sea is in the background. Just off the beach is the wreck of a ship called the Demetrious ll. This ship was wrecked in March 1998 in a storm. She was Honduran-flagged and the crew were rescued but all their certificates of competency were found to be forged!! She is just a small vessel and it was felt that she would have cost more than she was worth to salvage so she remains on the reef a few hundred meters offshore. Presumably, the weather, salt water, rust and time will remove her but this will take a long period.

It must be the time of year,but there are lots of, what appear to be, millipedes here and they crawl all over the place and often get into the house. Millie is very fond of them and carefully carries them out again. They are harmless and rather charming in a way.

Well, Wednesday has also dawned bright and sunny but no plans yet, perhaps we do some exploring although 'chilling' by the pool sounds pretty good too.

I suspect that, despite statements to the contrary, MAC is doing quite a bit of work still whilst she is here. Even the slow web connection hasn't halted that.

Homer is enjoying himself and sits out on a sun lounger during the day. He is already a deep brown so we don't know what color he will go if he stays out in the sun too long. So far, he has not been in the pool and perhaps that would not be a good idea for him.

I apologize for any spelling mistakes in this blog, the spell checker seems to think I am writing Greek so when I turn it on, it says EVERYTHING is incorrectly spelled. This means I have to revert to an eye-balls Mark l version of the spell checker and this may mean I miss the odd thing. Also, I really don't seem to have got the hang of uploading photos which seem to have a life of their own when the blog gets published.

'til tomorrow.........

25th October, continued and Pictures

Sorry about that the pictures did not upload, for some reason, here they are

































This is the back of the house.

This is the barbecue

This is (from the left) Porridge, Rosie and Homer enjoying the sun by the pool.

Last night we had a good meal in a taverna in a neighboring village. The clientele were almost all Brits, either ex-pats or tourists and that seems to be a feature of Cyprus as most of the voices we heard at the supermarket were also British so it now seems to have become like Spain a refuge for the older Brit. A far cry from the contentious days of ENOKA and Archbishop Makarios.

Today has dawned brighter and sunnier so there is lots to look forward to.

Monday 25th October 2010

As expected, a quiet day today as we all relaxed from our respective journeys. The weather was mostly cloudy all day but on the odd occasions when the sun broke through it was really warm. Unfortunately the 'break-throughs were not too frequent. After a quick breakfast we all piled into Helen and Simon's SUv and took off for Carrefour, the large supermarket in town. There we loaded up with enough supplies to feed all the troops in Afghanistan!! We got home and unloaded and Helen prepared great lunch of cold cuts, sausage, hummus, taramasolata and other local delicacies. After this an afternoon nap was in order. Later in the afternoon nearly everyone braved the pool even though it was pretty frigid.

As promised here are a few photos of the villa which is really nice. On the top floor there are three bedrooms and including a bedroom with a master bath and a communal bathroom. On the mod-floor there is a living room, dining room a huge kitchen a small cloakroom and on the lower floor there is another bedroom, a gym room and another bathroom. Everything is well appointed with all appliances provided including wi-fi, satellite TV, CD played and other distractions.

Here are a couple of photos of the outside of the villas.

This is the rear of the building

 

 

The terrace barbecue

What you ask of the animals?

Well, Millie has a very pretty bear called Rosie for whom she has a full outfit of clothes. When Porridge was introduced to Rosie there did seem to be some sort of chemical reaction and we don't know where it is going to end but as you will see, Homer is playing chaperone at the moment to ensure there is no impropriety. Watch this space.

Tonight we are going to go out and try to find a typical Greek/Cypriot estaminet where we can drink ouzo and break a few plates.

The Journey

It was a long journey but it went very well although our fellow travelers were completely 'zonked'when we got here. Porridge was almost comatose and his latent lumbago had really got to him being cramped up in the suitcase.



Our flight with Swiss International was very comfortable and smooth and we landed on time in a rainy Geneva. The pilot of the plane from New York was on his last flight before retirement and the 'pompiers' (fire department) at Geneva airport greeted him with hoses and washed the plane as we taxied. (That is what they said, maybe we were really on fire and they didn't tell us!!). Anyway it was a nice and unusual salute to the pilot after 30 years with the company.



The onward flight to Athens was similarly uneventful. Luckily we were able to get an earlier flight out of Athens for Larnaca, (at some small expense). This meant we arrived in Larnaca much earlier, picked up our car and drove for Paphos. We arrived at Paphos airport at almost exactly the time when Helen and the family landed from U.K. so we managed a 4,000 plus mile hook up almost to the minute.

We drove to the villa which is gorgeous. It sits on the side of a hill overlooking the city of Paphos. It has an 'Infinity' pool, a barbecue and lovely interior accommodation including a gym room. The next post will have a lot of photos of the place. We were met by the owners, Mauro and Carol who showed us around and left uis to settle in. The night's sleep was long and peaceful.



Monday will be shopping day and quite a bit of relaxing.

Here is a preview of the pool.

....the results are in

Here are the successful candidates. On the left Prince Rat the crazy rodent from Bavaria and on the right, Porridge, the senior bear whose wisdom is legendary even if his glasses are askew.

Let's hope they enjoy the trip as much as we will.

First stop when we land in Cyprus will be our home for the week near Paphos. More then.

Day of Departure

So here it is Saturday 23rd October and preparations for leaving are in high gear. As you will see Homer is already getting settled into his small compartment in the suitcase.

He is still waiting to find out who has won the election for his companion(s) on the trip

The cats can sense that something is going on.

MAC having worked all night has just arrived home and will start packing and getting ready.

Our flight leaves at 7.40 p.m. from JFK and we are flying via Geneva and Athens on the way to Larnaca in Cyprus. We arrive at Larnaca at 11.25 p.m. on Sunday 24th October and then have a couple of hours drive to Paphos and our home for a week. Could be a lazy Monday!!!

The weather is forecast to be quite good with temperatures during the day at about 80 deg F or 26 to 27 deg C so the pool will definitely be an option.

There could be another brief post, just before we leave with the late election results. Hopefully no hanging chads or recounts

,

who can sense

Who is coming too?

Some of you might have heard that we have an election going on in the USA. This is for both Houses of Congress and is being hard fought between the Democrats and Republicans and a group who call themselves the 'Tea Party' who mostly used the slogan "Off with his head".

Well, less reported but much more hard fought is the election for Homer's traveling companion. You will see the candidates in this photo. It was taken at their last debate. I can give you a brief run-down of each.

From left to right

On the far left, politically and geographically is Finnbar Bear, who hails from the cold North and claims to be a competent pilot. He speaks a language which is all Greek to most people.

Next, also on the left, is a thorn in the side of President Sarkozy of France, Monsewer Rat who came from the sewers of Paris. He thinks we are going to Grease!! Presently he is busy demonstrating with the Rat Brigade.

Next to him is Captain Bear who says that there never has been a trireme or bireme he couldn't handle. He says the Corinth Canal is just a ditch.

Then comes the very old and very wise Porridge. He wants to have a word with the Oracle of Delphi as he thinks he needs a few pointers when it comes to wisdom. Porridge taught Socrates you know, (you also know what happened to him!!).

Next is Roosevelt, his main claim to fame is that he folds up easily and is Homer's most frequent traveling companion.

Lastly, on the right, (wouldn't he be?), is Der Deutsches Rat. He came from Bavaria and is a mad as King Ludwig but he does have a crown on his head and claims some sort of royal lineage.

So far with only two days to go. the polls have the race dead even but campaigning will continue up until the last minute. There may also be write-in candidates, (a certain Penguin is mounting a 'sleeper' campaign).

You will get results, when we know them.

Homer's Odyssey

This is Homer. He is, as you can see all packed and ready for his trip to Cyprus and Greece.

Just a few words about Homer before he sets out. Homer is quite an old bear. He came to us in 1992 or 1993, we can't remember which and we don't know how old he was at that time. He came from the Housing Works shop in NYC. He is the official 'Traveling Bear' and has covered thousands of miles on both vacation and business trips. He has been right around the world in 2002 including visits to Japan, China and Russia. He has been to Vietnam, Costa Rica and has been below the equator on a cruise around the south of South America and even visited the Falkland Islands. He likes to stay in nice hotels and is usually treated very well by the hotel staff although he has been known to be thrown into the corner of the room by one rather bad-tempered maid but normally he is tucked in and made comfortable.

Homer will be your guide for this 'odyssey' to the eastern Mediterranean.

With just a few days to go, he is getting quite excited and he wants to know which of the large collection of stuffed animals will be keeping him company on the trip.

Watch this blog for news of his traveling companion(s) and his adventures.