A Trip Down to Paphos...

We were going down to Paphos today so that I could play pickleball and John could go and see the 'iron man' Sofoklis to discuss the reinforcing brackets that he is going to make to ensure that the car port does not collapse.  John Boulton, our builder friend, will be relieved because he skyped the other day to have a chat with John about it having seen it on the blog!  So after brunch we packed up and set off calling in to try and pay Mel and Simon's water bill but failing because Marianna wasn't in the community office again and then on to the post office.  Whilst John was in checking the post I took a photograph of the flower opposite.  People here will be familair with them but until I came over here I had never seen these before - they are the flowers from a pomegranate tree and if you check out the bottom of a pomegranate fruit you will see the same star shape which is what remains from the flower.  These are quite attractive plants with glossy leaves, bright and cheerful flowers and then fruit.  The only trouble is they drop their leaves and can make quite a mess as inevitably not all the fruit gets eaten.

Attached to the post office which is also a coffee shop of sorts is a taverna called Finikas - Sheila tells me that it is open - John and I have pressed our noses against the window on several occasions and have heard that the garden out the back is lovely so we are keen to give it a go at some point so now that we know it is open we can although how you tell is a bit of a mystery as it has always said open and the tables are always laid but apart from that NOTHING!!  Maybe this could be a venue for the Ladies Wot Lunch and it would be supporting the village - I shall discuss with Sheila as I am being handed over the responsibility of finding venues whilst Marian is away over the summer so no pressure!!

We travelled down to Paphos via Peyia and this time we managed to find the Vanessa Apartments for Catherine and Steven.  It was advertised as a luxury five star complex but, whilst it might be lovely when you actually get into it, we thought it was very uninspiring from the approach and a car would be a necessity there because it is sort of on the periphery of Peyia.  We also called into the vets to settle the bill we racked up that day/night when Chivers managed to escape.  We were pleased that they did not try and charge us for the overnight stay but are still undecided about whether we continue to use them.  We thought continuity of care was important but after the last episode...

As we drove to Kissonerga and the bank we passed by Banana Bay where the sea was pretty rough and there were plenty of white horses.  We laughed as we watched some divvy drive straight towards the waves in one of those beach buggy things being everso macho and then stall - it would have been so funny if he had got it stuck!  It took a while before he got it going again.

We did the bank, Paps and the shop in Chloraka that sells the cider and also, as I have found out, boxes of 24 kit-kats OMG - kit-kat HEAVEN - I don't know now how much a four finger good old fashioned kit-kat costs in the UK but these worked out to just over 40 cents each.

Our last stop before Mum's was to Sofoklis' workshop - now there is a place that Health and Safety haven't visited!!  Not only that but there is a swift's nest up in the eaves and you run the risk of being dive bombed!  John loves this place and these are getting rarer and rarer.  Sofoklis is such a lovely genial man and seems to understand exactly our requirements even though his English is limited and our Greek non-existent.  He calls in his son periodically - his son is a car mechanic with his business next door.  Anyway he is coming up on Triti (Tuesday) Τρίτη (John knows this word!) so then John can be absolutely confident that the car port is safe and secure.

I went off to Pickleball with Mum leaving John to finish the last of the errands.  There was quite a breeze down at the Imperial Beach which made playing quite a challenge although it kept the court a bit cooler than it might have been otherwise.

We returned home to find Chivers asleep in his bed in the conservatory and Minnie just emerging from our bedroom - no guesses as to where she had been.  I have been busy making two citron tarts for tomorrow - pastry a bit of a disaster I'm afraid but hey it will be better than nothing.

Chivers and I are chilling out on the sofa - I look like I am in convicts clothing but these are my slobbers!