Today was a big day, not just for our niece and god-daughter Alicia but for hundreds of kids across the UK as they got their GCSE results. Alicia currently wants to become a doctor and go and study at Cambridge and today she took one step nearer to achieving her dream - her exam results were fabulous (once someone had explained the marking system to us) - she achieved the equivalent of A's and A Stars and A's off the scale in the subjects she took. We are exceptionally proud of her.
Today we were up early because we had been invited to go and visit our neighbours who are currently spending time in their mountain retreat in Spilia. They would love for us to go and spend a whole week with them exploring that corner of the island but they know that since Dad died we do not want to be too far away from Mum just in case we get an emergency phone call and in addition we would have to make arrangements for the cats to be fed (which is a trial in itself). It was to be just a short visit and I must give a big thank you to Nicky and Mark for being available on the end of the phone today in case we needed someone to get to Mum at short notice knowing that we could be about 2 hours away if she needed us - we have never really thought about this before but ever since that fateful Sunday when we got the call about Dad we have realised that 30 minutes away might just as well be 3 hours away when time is of the essence.
So with the cats all accounted for and fed and with contingency biscuits in the kitchen in case they got peckish before we returned home we set off hoping we had covered all bases. The last time we did this trip the Pug decided to overheat at every opportunity so we didn't want a repeat of that this time.
We took a different route this time - on Lakis recommendation we took the main road up from the motorway at Mandria and headed to Mandria! I joke not, as with many villages here on the island there is more than one that shares the same name. This road took us past the Extreme View cafe and the Rock of Chasampoulion which is a stunning bit of landscape and has an interesting story attached to it - a real life hiding place for real life highwaymen!
Our journey was without incident and very pleasant and we would agree that the route was much easier than the one we had taken previously. We arrived in Spilia in very good time, only to miss the final left turn to the house and then did a circular drive around the village before admitting defeat and phoning! Lakis, Argy and Kia were surprised that we had made it so quickly and we settled down for an early morning cup of coffee on their terrace taking in the stunning vista laid out in front of us. I had expected it to be cooler up there but it didn't feel like it today so we were glad that we had worn some light loose clothes up and had our walking gear with us to change into because we were going to be heading for the summit of the hill which is in the middle of the photograph. We had sorted a change of clothes in case we were going out to eat later but had stupidly left that hanging on the back of the bedroom door! Oh well never mind! The plan for the day was fluid but arriving good and early and because we now know that if the roads are quiet we can be back home in a little over an hour and a half we were not really having to rush around to fit everything in.
After coffee and cake we all piled into the car and headed for a newly built church in Kyperounda - Agios Arsenios which is absolutely breathtaking. It is massive and we wondered exactly when it might ever get full particularly as there are other churches nearby. Although John and I are not particularly religious people we always find the churches here peaceful and welcoming. I appreciate the comfort that people find in their worship. We bought a candle to light in memory of our loved ones who are no longer with us. During the seven years that we have been living here we have lost so many family and friends. It was an opportunity for me to think about Dad, Hadge, Richard and Elena wherever they might be in their final resting places.
It was a beautiful place to visit, well worth making the trip and the surrounding areas are interesting and very traditionally Cypriot. We took a drive around Agros - famous for its Rose festival and water and it is somewhere I would like to go back and explore - it had some fascinating buildings not least the massive and ultra modern sports centre dedicated to Glavkos Clerides a former president, although why it should be located there I am not sure.
We returned to Spilia for an early light lunch of spaghetti bolognese before heading off for that walk to the summit of what felt like Mount Everest (or so it seemed but we were walking in temperatures that must have been well into the 30s!!). Actually the walk was lovely even if I was dressed in the wrong clothes - the work-out must have been good for me - Bikram Walking - it's the new best thing!!! We reached the top and had to stop - in the words of that famous song - in order to take in the view which stretched out in front of us before making our way back down - my legs will know all about it tomorrow.
Thank goodness for the afternoon walk because it helped to digest our lunch before we were taken for an evening meal to a very lovely restaurant called Vengera in Galata which is very near to Kakopetria.
Here they specialise in Trout having a trout farm nearby. John opted for the fish which he said was fabulous whilst I chose the Vengera special salad which Argy declared to be 'not a proper meal' but one which I really enjoyed as it included all the things I like, figs, pomegranate, rocket and goats cheese to name a few.
It was a very nice venue with a lovely menu and although the fountain wasn't working it didn't make any difference to our enjoyment! It is certainly somewhere I would like to go back to.
Our lovely day was rounded off with a quick visit to Kakopetria which is not somewhere John and I have been before and we have resolved to return and explore on another occasion when we have more time - perhaps when we reinstate our Droushia Days Out after all the visitors have gone because now that we have a good route sorted and we know that it is not a million miles away it can be comfortably done as a day trip. We realise that we do tend to get very insular and sometimes think even a trip down to Polis is 'too far' - there are still so many places on the Island to explore so big thanks to Lakis, Argy and Kia for getting us out and about.
I think John and I will be tired tomorrow but we have a family barbeque organised so it will be up and at 'em but not too early I hope!
Today we were up early because we had been invited to go and visit our neighbours who are currently spending time in their mountain retreat in Spilia. They would love for us to go and spend a whole week with them exploring that corner of the island but they know that since Dad died we do not want to be too far away from Mum just in case we get an emergency phone call and in addition we would have to make arrangements for the cats to be fed (which is a trial in itself). It was to be just a short visit and I must give a big thank you to Nicky and Mark for being available on the end of the phone today in case we needed someone to get to Mum at short notice knowing that we could be about 2 hours away if she needed us - we have never really thought about this before but ever since that fateful Sunday when we got the call about Dad we have realised that 30 minutes away might just as well be 3 hours away when time is of the essence.
So with the cats all accounted for and fed and with contingency biscuits in the kitchen in case they got peckish before we returned home we set off hoping we had covered all bases. The last time we did this trip the Pug decided to overheat at every opportunity so we didn't want a repeat of that this time.
We took a different route this time - on Lakis recommendation we took the main road up from the motorway at Mandria and headed to Mandria! I joke not, as with many villages here on the island there is more than one that shares the same name. This road took us past the Extreme View cafe and the Rock of Chasampoulion which is a stunning bit of landscape and has an interesting story attached to it - a real life hiding place for real life highwaymen!
Our journey was without incident and very pleasant and we would agree that the route was much easier than the one we had taken previously. We arrived in Spilia in very good time, only to miss the final left turn to the house and then did a circular drive around the village before admitting defeat and phoning! Lakis, Argy and Kia were surprised that we had made it so quickly and we settled down for an early morning cup of coffee on their terrace taking in the stunning vista laid out in front of us. I had expected it to be cooler up there but it didn't feel like it today so we were glad that we had worn some light loose clothes up and had our walking gear with us to change into because we were going to be heading for the summit of the hill which is in the middle of the photograph. We had sorted a change of clothes in case we were going out to eat later but had stupidly left that hanging on the back of the bedroom door! Oh well never mind! The plan for the day was fluid but arriving good and early and because we now know that if the roads are quiet we can be back home in a little over an hour and a half we were not really having to rush around to fit everything in.
After coffee and cake we all piled into the car and headed for a newly built church in Kyperounda - Agios Arsenios which is absolutely breathtaking. It is massive and we wondered exactly when it might ever get full particularly as there are other churches nearby. Although John and I are not particularly religious people we always find the churches here peaceful and welcoming. I appreciate the comfort that people find in their worship. We bought a candle to light in memory of our loved ones who are no longer with us. During the seven years that we have been living here we have lost so many family and friends. It was an opportunity for me to think about Dad, Hadge, Richard and Elena wherever they might be in their final resting places.It was a beautiful place to visit, well worth making the trip and the surrounding areas are interesting and very traditionally Cypriot. We took a drive around Agros - famous for its Rose festival and water and it is somewhere I would like to go back and explore - it had some fascinating buildings not least the massive and ultra modern sports centre dedicated to Glavkos Clerides a former president, although why it should be located there I am not sure.
We returned to Spilia for an early light lunch of spaghetti bolognese before heading off for that walk to the summit of what felt like Mount Everest (or so it seemed but we were walking in temperatures that must have been well into the 30s!!). Actually the walk was lovely even if I was dressed in the wrong clothes - the work-out must have been good for me - Bikram Walking - it's the new best thing!!! We reached the top and had to stop - in the words of that famous song - in order to take in the view which stretched out in front of us before making our way back down - my legs will know all about it tomorrow.
Thank goodness for the afternoon walk because it helped to digest our lunch before we were taken for an evening meal to a very lovely restaurant called Vengera in Galata which is very near to Kakopetria.Here they specialise in Trout having a trout farm nearby. John opted for the fish which he said was fabulous whilst I chose the Vengera special salad which Argy declared to be 'not a proper meal' but one which I really enjoyed as it included all the things I like, figs, pomegranate, rocket and goats cheese to name a few.
It was a very nice venue with a lovely menu and although the fountain wasn't working it didn't make any difference to our enjoyment! It is certainly somewhere I would like to go back to.
Our lovely day was rounded off with a quick visit to Kakopetria which is not somewhere John and I have been before and we have resolved to return and explore on another occasion when we have more time - perhaps when we reinstate our Droushia Days Out after all the visitors have gone because now that we have a good route sorted and we know that it is not a million miles away it can be comfortably done as a day trip. We realise that we do tend to get very insular and sometimes think even a trip down to Polis is 'too far' - there are still so many places on the Island to explore so big thanks to Lakis, Argy and Kia for getting us out and about.
I think John and I will be tired tomorrow but we have a family barbeque organised so it will be up and at 'em but not too early I hope!
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