on a mission...

Today turned out to be one of those unexpectedly nice days where we weren't expecting anything much out of it but in the end it turned out to be really rather lovely...

We started the day with our morning swim - to be honest this is getting more difficult to endure as the temperature is hovering just above 60 degrees Fahrenheit or about 14 degrees Celsius and whilst people keep asking me why I don't wait for the sun to warm things up a bit I prefer to get in and get out when the outside temperature is not so different from that of the pool - it doesn't seem such a shock to the system that way and then you get that lovely rush of blood to your digits which leaves you feeling clean and warm.

We had to get our swim in early today because we had an appointment at a new eating establishment which we are planning to visit next week as an early celebration for Liselotte's 50th and Rob and Di's wedding anniversary.  I had seen this place advertised in an email I receive from Cyprus Insider which sends information about some real hidden gems on the island.  Kika's sounded not dissimilar to Orexi in that you eat in the garden and you fresh, organic and mainly home-grown food in a rustic environment.

The article had said that an evening meal could be arranged if you were a party of six or more hence thinking of Liselotte and Di - as they both had something to celebrate they might be happy to try something a bit more 'exclusive' and thereby possibly more expensive than we would normally chose.

We were uncertain exactly where it was located save that it appeared to be somewhere off the main road near Kallepia so we wanted to do a recce to be sure and to decide upon a menu.

Clearly nearing the end of October being able to eat an evening meal outside up in the Hills is unlikely and maybe even unwise so it was with some relief that when we found our destination there were guys glassing in a terrace (with fabulous views across to Tsada) and talking about a woodburner being installed.

We sat outside under a grape vine drinking fresh coffee and eating homemade brioche and pumpkin bread getting to know one another before deciding upon the menu.  We did not plump for the delicious sounding salad and souvla combo in the end because when conversation turned to Kika's time in the UK spent in Wolverhampton where she was taught to cook proper curries by her Indian neighbour we thought of Rob and plumped for that.  We hope we made the right decision.

We could have stayed at Kika's all day, she and her daughter Marlay were charming and once we got onto the subject of art there was no stopping us!  We left armed with brioche, pumpkin bread and a pot of home-made wild plum jam and in return we promised to send various recipes for Kika to recreate.  If our evening turns out to be half as good as this morning was then it will be fab.

From Kika's I persuaded John to take me up to Minthis Hills golf course for a nosey.  The last time I was there it was called Tsada golf course and was just getting its first batch of buggies delivered and I reckon that was about 25 years ago!

It has clearly changed a lot since those days when the clubhouse was a tin shack - it is now a stylish, modern and expensive establishment with some fabulous landscaping.

We decided a coffee here would probably cost more than lunch in the establishment we had earmarked in Polis so we slowly made our way down in that direction.

We have passed this tiny brightly coloured grillhouse on numerous occasions and said we should try it so today was the day.  We parked up in the car park opposite with the lovely old but crumbling building and crossed over thinking it would be a good idea to sit outside and make the place look busy but we had forgot how much warmer it is down near the coast!  We were invited to dine inside which might have been more sensible but it was rather dark so we endured the rising temperatures to enjoy a drink and a kebab with chips.  It was cheap and cheerful and we have promised to return at some point to have the coffee which we declined today.  I have to say this set us up nicely for or shopping trip to Paps and a lazy afternoon thereafter.