Saturday

So forgot to say that I finally managed to get my hair cut this week in readiness for Christmas and I am so glad I did - it had got to that horrible stage when I looked like the wreck of the Hesperus even after I had tried to style it.

I was blessed with thin flyaway hair which is a nightmare - not for me the thick glossy curls that my sister sports!!

Unless I get the right products and a decent cut my hair looks awful so I am eternally grateful that I found a hairdresser in Paphos who is sympathetic to my plight.

We were up early this morning as we had Nicky and Mark arriving mid morning but prior to that Jennifer was coming to see where we live and I didn't want to frighten her with my normal bed-head!

Jennifer came armed bearing gifts - two huge mangos which she had purchased from a seller at the Baths of Aphrodite.  She is staying in the village on her own until Monday and for the most part she has had the most awful weather.  She and her husband came to stay at Easter and she fell in love with this end of the island and this village in particular.  She comes originally from Windsor in Canada and was amazed that I had been there 40 years ago when I visited my mum's brother and his family.  My cousin Peter was moving from London Ontario to Windsor Ontario at the time - I have very little recollection of the place - I was only 16 at the time!  She stayed for a chat and a cuppa or two and left with my blog details in hand so Hi Jennifer originally from Windsor Ontario and now from London and Jennifer's husband - we hope to meet up with you the next time you are staying here.

Mark and Nicky arrived dressed for the chiller climate up here in the hills but by the time they arrived the sun was shining and the conservatory was warm.  Mark and John were heading for an afternoon of unfettered excitement watching ENAD play.  Nicky and I were going to hit the hot spots of Droushia - in other words seeking the comfort of the centrally heated Droushia Heights Hotel and a nice little carafe of wine or two.

Nicky is a keen photographer, in fact she is well known on the island as a wedding photographer (Cyprus Images Photography) and so we thought she would like to go down and see the waterfalls and take some shots as she had her camera with her, Mark likes photography too and also likes to see hidden corners of the island.  We had a little time to spare before kick off so shot off down to show them.

It is a lovely spot and it was nothing like as muddy as we had thought it might be after the torrents of rain we had suffered the last couple of days.  Too muddy and not enough time though for us to take them down the ravine to the cave so we will need to do that another time.

John was delighted to see that at least one of the goldfish was still alive and was sheltering near to the point where the water comes down the rocks and meets the pool.  There were also a number of freshwater crabs in the water and sadly two tin cans which may have just been washed down and ended up there or which had been carelessly tossed aside by someone visiting.  Shame really as there are rubbish bins there for people to use.

It was a brief visit but they enjoyed taking some shots and enjoyed visiting somewhere different, somewhere they hadn't been before.

We quickly returned to Droushia and picked up Sean and John kindly dropped Nicky and I off at the hotel for the time that they would be at the match.  Dinner was all organised and the pulled pork was bubbling away awaiting our return along with the beans, coleslaw and wedges which were to accompany it.

It was too cold to sit outside at the Hotel - it faces North so at this time of year the sun is only on the terrace for a limited time.  Inside it was pretty busy and there was a constant stream of people checking in and out which is good.  The view outside was lovely as the sun lowered and coloured up the hills across towards Lysos.  My hastily taken panoramic photograph makes the pool look curved which it isn't!

Inside the hotel it was warm and cosy - too warm to sit right next to the open fire so we opted for a couple of squashy sofas looking out over the pool and to the coast.  We settled for a half carafe of wine each, Nicky white and me red which lasted us the three hours before the boys came and picked us up.  Good old Droushia Heights - a half carafe of very drinkable wine is only €5 so it hardly cost us an arm and a leg to while away the afternoon.  It was good to catch up - we don't see Nicky and Mark more than a few times a year but we always have a good time together.

We finished off our evening by watching Finding Dory - it was just the right sort of film for us to contend with after a few drinks, a winter comforting meal and the log burner working to the max.  Kids might enjoy the spectacle of the film but many of the jokes and some of the dialogue is definitely adult material so we all had a bit of a laugh and enjoyed it.  We were planning on tackling a second film and started watching Absolutely Fabulous but gave up - party animals we were not!!!