A Yiannis tour day...

Our 'fat-lad' Charlie is now spared the ignominy of wearing a make-shift collar which had been fashioned out of pipe insulation foam as his poorly is deemed to be healed enough to allow him to be free of shackles and, Summer has arrived with a vengeance, and we were worried that he might be getting very hot and uncomfortable with his Elizabethan Ruff.To be fair Charlie has been an absolute sweetheart wearing this contraption - it didn't bother him and he didn't try to get it off and it did stop him licking his poorly although unfortunately not his leg which is bald and red.  He looks non the worse for his recent injury and I just wish someone could have told me that it would only take two weeks for that massive hole to close - if they had I wouldn't have panicked so much.

We have also worked out how we think Minnie injured herself.  We were sat out the back having a coffee and Chivers was settled in Minnie's perch which meant that she tried to jump from the window sill and over Chivers onto the top of the doors but missed and managed to stop plummeting to the ground by grabbing hold of the open door and she just managed to regain her balance and continue on her journey - had she not she would have fallen quite a way and caught her left hand side on the Anniversary bench - this would explain why she had bruising from head to toe.

We had arranged to take Joyce and David down to Ditzimin Museum this morning.  It is only small but is a fascinating insight into what a traditional Cypriot family home might have looked like.  The Museum was a personal project of Phillipos' and he was happy for us to go down today - his son in law Loukas made sure it was open for us and as we were leaving a car of tourists had pitched up to take a look around.

Today we were all willing participants in a Yiannis' Tour and on this whistle-stop experience we were taken down to Porto Latchi to chose an ice-cream and enjoy eating it sat right by the sea.  It was another exceptionally warm day and so the eating part was a challenge particularly for Uncle David who didn't seem to grasp the importance of licking the ice-cream from the bottom so ended up with it melting all over his hands!!!

The evidence of the failure to tackle the ice-cream properly is clear in this photograph!!!  Oblivious to the mess Uncle David carried on regardless.  He has surprised us all with his ability to eat and then some - he has actually given John a run for his money and in response to whether his food is OK you always get a cheery "Excellent!" - he and Aunty Joyce are a joy to cook for or take out for a meal as there is very little they will not eat - in fact Aunty Joyce cannot think of anything she would just not eat although there are a few things which aren't her favourite.

Our next port of call was Limni Pier to take a walk and admire the sea which is always the most fabulous colour there - probably due to the mining of sulphur and copper which took place there many years ago.  I didn't realise that Uncle David does not like heights so he was ok as we were walking along with the railings either side of us but didn't venture to look over the edge at the end.  I can remember that there used to be lighting all along the pier but this has been removed as it caused confusion for the nesting sea turtles - we have also noticed that fishing is no longer allowed at the end of the pier - this bit is for swimming only.

We then drove on the other road from Polis to Paphos turning off and coming up through Miliou which was a bit bumpy but very scenic and eventually stopped at the very picturesque St Simeon church were Clem and Caroline got married (and I took the photographs).  Joyce and David were amazed that there should be this tiny little church in such a remote locations and David couldn't admire the stunning views for obvious reasons but Joyce and I had a good look over the edge and down the valley.

We were having lunch out today and revisiting the Herb Garden in Akourdaleia - we went with them previously when Elaine was running it as a tea shop and then it closed for some time as access was impossible when the roads were being cobbled.  It has recently been taken over by a youngish couple who are trying to make a real go of it.  I wanted to go down today because I was organising for Mum and her friends Sue and Fran to go there for lunch next Wednesday - this was our gift to mum for Mother's Day and her birthday.  The place isn't licenced so I had planned to take down a little bubbly and some OJ so that they could have a little Bucks Fizz with their meal but Mum said none of them would drink so instead I took down a bottle of the non-alcoholic wine that Mum used to like.

I arranged with Natalie that Mum and Co would chose whatever they liked from the menu and the chef said he would make a special carrot cake suitable for diabetics and they would make a special lunchtime of it for her because although Mum said she didn't want any fuss I am sure we all like to be treated a bit special on our birthday!!!

I think they will like it there as it is very pleasant, the food is good, there is a little gift shop from which you could hear some nice music and all in all it would be a special experience and I can almost guarantee Sue and Fran wont have been there before.

It would be nice to think that Natalie and David make a good go of this - I understand they have their first wedding booked there soon and there is going to a special area set aside in the garden for private functions.

We certainly had a nice lunch there - although Uncle David opted to just have scone, jam and clotted cream!!

Our final stop of the tour was at the Winery - we needed to restock our rack after it has taken a bit of a hammering and we thought it might be nice to share a bottle of wine sat out in the shade on the terrace.  The Winery now offers a full menu including what sounds like a very good breakfast - Despo the cook was desperate for us to try something but we were full and we were having fridge surprise this evening.

All in all a very nice day all round - topped off with a very good natured and amusing game of Rummikub - I shall hear Uncle David asking "is it my go yet?" and the three others of us all chorusing "NO! you will be told when it is your go" in my sleep!!