Favourite Places...

Today we were traveling en masse to one of our favourite locations and having lunch at Viklari or (as everyone locally calls it) the Last Castle.

This is set up high above the coast road which takes you from St George's to Lara and the view is stunning - you drive along the beautiful coast road and turn up past the entrance to the Avakas Gorge and keep going up the dusty road to your destination.  This road only used to be suitable for people with 4x4 cars but now if you are careful is fine for any vehicle.

It has the WOW factor right from the entrance which has archways and volcanic rock formations and masses of pretty flowers clambering over one another.  At the entrance you will see Maria's father preparing the souvla as he has done for many many years and the smell is incredible.

If you are blown away by the entrance to the venue and by the sight and smell of the souvla then you are doubly blown away when you get 'inside' because although simple and rustic it is incredible.  Huge stone tables are set under a canopy of grape vines and look out over the sea where glimpses of the coast can be seen through holes in huge volcanic boulders.  Everyone but everyone wonders how they managed to get the tables all the way up there and how a taverna so remote managed to make itself known before the likes of Social Media could spread the word.

The solution is simple - great venue, great service and great food - always the same - Chicken or Pork Souvla, Salad and Potato Wedges or Jackets followed by fresh grapes picked from the Veriko vines growing above or if you are vegetarian or if like me you just love Fasoulia (bean casserole) then, in my opinion, they do the best on the island!

My Cypriot neighbour tells me (and this could be true or just urban myth) that the reason why the taverna is in such a remote location is because during the troubles Arch-Bishop Makarios was hidden up in those hills and kept safe and as a thank you he gave them that piece of land to the family who turned it into a taverna.  Don't know if that is correct or not but it is a nice story.

Twelve of us enjoyed the food and atmosphere - taking three newbies who, although they have been coming to the island for many years, had never been to this remarkable venue.  It was relaxed and convivial with an age range of 11 (the youngest) Joseph to 83 (the oldest) my Dad all having a good time.

If you are going to stop for an ice-cream on the way back home where better than on the side of the road with a view like the one above!!!  Not that we were hungry but who could resist such an opportunity!!  I was good - I didn't have one as I was still recovering from my man sized portion of Fasoulia!!

We rounded off the day out with a trip to the Vasilikon Winery to show Janet and Hadge the lovely venue that they have created there now - such a massive change from the previous building and and even bigger change from the original winery that John and Dad visited about 25 years ago and where John had his first experience of Glyko which he said was like chewing on a bit of Plasticine!

We don't need to taste the wines - we are fully familiar with them as Agios Onoufrios  is our favourite red!  Just as well really because the winery has been so successful this year so far that they have sold out of the rose Einalia and the heady red 'Christmas' wine Methy!

Needless to say no-one wanted anything else to eat for the rest of the day so it was a few hands of crib outside on the decking before returning our visitors to Polis.