Laura's Holiday - Day Two...

The weather was quite strange this morning as there was low cloud hovering between Droushia and the Coast.  Not that Laura would have seen any of it as she was busy checking her eyelids for pinholes until nearly mid-day!  

We didn't wake her as she clearly needed the rest.  What with one thing and another she had not had a good start to the year plus she and Mark have moved house (stressful at the best of times) then she had just completed a week of nights, flown over here with the time difference and the clocks had changed so we lost an hour - all in all enough to make anyone tired!

The warm weather has brought out all sorts of wildlife which Chivers loves to hunt.  He had his first bird today which John took off of him and set free but as Laura and I went hunting wild asparagus he came charging around the field with us trying to find it.  

We were a bit concerned because he suddenly started panting with his tongue hanging out.  We think it was just because it was quite warm and he had been exerting himself - we certainly hope so but will be keeping an eye on him.  On the subject of the wild asparagus we managed to find about six fresh shoots which we will be having with our tea tonight.

It was only a matter of time before Chivers gave up his hunting expedition and settled down snuggled up to John on the sofa.

With Laura up, showered and fed we decided to go into Polis to do a bit of shopping, get Laura some Euros and take the chainsaw back to the shop as it has a problem - again!  

Our first stop was at the Pencil Box so that I could pick up the Greek book that I am going to need when I start my lessons on Monday week.  I know that this sounds a bit of an obvious statement but it is ALL in Greek so the teacher Samantha had better be as good as she claims when she says not to worry as we will soon be able to understand what it is going on about.  I bloody well hope so otherwise that is going to be 20 euros up the swanny!

Having parked up in Polis and gone to the bank in the Square we decided to take a little walk up round the park and stop off for a brew and sticky in the Art Cafe.  We went there with Vicki when she was over and the cake we had then was really lovely.

It was a tough old decision but I plumped for the 'moist orange cake' which came out first and which John just had to sample either to make sure it was fit for my consumption or to swap with his cake when it came out of the kitchen or both - I'm not entirely sure!

John and Laura both settled on the caramel and almond cake which came warm and was a sort of sponge with a soft caramel layer running through it.  Not particularly my choice but I have to say when I tried a bit of Laura's it was absolutely delicious.  It was lovely to be sat out in the sunshine just as we had done with Vix although the temperature was considerably warmer than when we visited with her.

There are a number of interesting cacti and succulents dotted around the cafe and I asked if I could take a couple of cuttings as I am trying to accumulate a selection for the front garden in the hopes they will survive - and they are pretty easy to propagate.

We took a trip to Orphanides and Paps so that Laura could have a look round and so that I could stock up on one or two items.  It is interesting for me to have a non meat eater staying with us as it challenges me to find different things for us to eat.

On returning home the skies over Droushia had become quite dark and threatening.  We didn't actually get any rain but for a while it looked like it.  It was so lovely then to be able to sit in the conservatory which had been warmed from the earlier sun.  

The cats were having a funny five minutes racing around and John snapped them trying to kill one another on our bed - it is only play fighting thank goodness, and they tend to do it silently, but Chivers does look a bit vicious in this shot!

So tea tonight was as close as I could make it to Laura's favourite meal of grilled goats cheese with caramelised onion chutney and sun dried tomatoes which I supplemented with roasted red peppers and char-grilled wild asparagus, basil, a fresh salad and some absolutely yummy lemon roasted potatoes.

Laura and I are going down to Paphos tomorrow and having coffee with  Mum and Dad before setting off down the coast via the Rocks of Aphrodite, Pissouri and, if I can find it, Jumbo's in Limassol!  Is this bringing back memories Vix??