Friday and a trip to Pissouri...

We had no pickleball this afternoon and John is giving his fingers a bit more of a rest so it was an ideal opportunity to do something different on a Friday.  So for a change today we decided we would take Mum and Dad to Pissouri for lunch and tie it in with a visit to the new Gift shop that our friends Wendy and Bill have become involved with.

It was very hot and muggy today so it was good to get out of the humidity of Paphos for the fresher air on the coast.

The last time we had seen the shop it was just about nearing completion but most of the stock was still in boxes so it was difficult to visualise exactly how it was going to look but we knew that with Wendy's brain and Bill's brawn it would turn out well and it didn't disappoint.

The shop houses all things Cypriot - so everything is made in Cyprus and it is a mix of gifts and hand-made crafts - Wendy has spent months doing her homework and clearly has a good eye so it has resulted in an very interesting mix of items for sale which hopefully will encourage locals and tourists alike to part with their euros!  If you are in Pissouri then take a look in O Vrakas Gifts which is just across the road at the top of the square and next to the betting shop.

We met up with Wendy and Bill at the shop and had a quick look round before going to lunch and then returning for a proper look afterwards.

As the shop is at the top of the main square we walked down to the Fish and Chip shop where we had booked for lunch - the last time I came was in February when I met up with my old school friend Sheri who I had not seen for 38 years!!!  Then it was a lovely day but winter and so there was next to nothing open.  What a difference a couple of months makes as the square today was much more full of life with all the tavernas open and tempting people in.

We have always liked Pissouri Village - there seems to be a real sense of community there and Wendy and Bill have really settled in well.  I wonder if, all those months ago when we first met at Faros in Latchi, they would ever have thought this was how their retirement would pan out - an eclectic mix of donkeys and Cypriot gifts!!!

It was a shame we had chosen a day to visit when they are involved in the shop because otherwise it would have been nice to have had them join us for lunch but hopefully next time!

Mum and Dad are quite familiar with most of the eating establishments in Pissouri so we thought it would be nice to take them to the Fish and Chip shop which has opened only fairly recently.  We knew that they would not have been there before!

Generally we would have said that the fish and chips in Mandria are about the best we have had on the island but Dad actually said that the Haddock he had today was as good as anything he had eaten at Mandria so that must have meant it was pretty good!

The Plaice is a very nice, very clean chippie - really nicely decorated and with good quality fish and chips and I think we all enjoyed our lunch.  Well at least it was nice for us all to go out somewhere different for a change.

We had an uneventful drive back to Paphos - good old cruise control meant we managed to avoid a full and frank conversation with the police and their speed traps which were out in force!!!  John drove on back to Droushia in the Peugeot and I took Kenny back home as we had loaned him to Mum and Dad whilst they had their car repaired.

On my return I persuaded John to help me get the signs started that C&A Apartments want for their garden - they want 12 and they want them before they open in earnest for the season so I needed to get a move on!  I want to give them all a similar theme so there will be some continuity around the complex.  At least now I have made a start I will be spurred on to get them finished.

Having had a hearty lunch we didn't really want anything else for the day but that did not stop John investigating a box of Thorntons chocolates that have been hiding in the drinks fridge - they seemed to be just the right thing to go with a cuppa and a couple of episodes of Vikings!