No 1 Stalkers we have missed you xxx

I cannot tell you how excited John and I were today to be catching up with our lovely No 1 Stalkers Wendy and Bill (or as Nicky said this morning Bendy and Will) after a gap of three years and what a three years that has been for their family and for our family.   We met them over 10 years ago via the internet and we had our first face to face at Faros in Latchi and we knew from the very first time we saw them that we would get on.  We loved it when they came and lived in Pissouri but understood that the pull of the UK was too great to ignore and then Covid struck and the chances of seeing them went to zero.  Wendy had been coming out to visit around my 60th birthday but that had to be canceled because the world went mad.  The threat of Covid may have diminished but the world is still mad.

Anyway Bendy and Will arrived safe and sound a couple of days' ago and today we went to their hotel.  They are staying at the Akti Beach - we knew of it but not exactly where it was.  What a lovely little complex it is and Bendy and Will are really impressed with the value for money.  They are all inclusive - they say it is like being on a cruise, there is food and drink available throughout the day, so much so they can't keep up!!!!  So far they said the food is excellent.

We started out by having a meal at ours.  Mindful that Bend is a vegetarian and now that I embrace that type of cuisine I did a veggie meal for her and I and for the boys I added a Lebanese meat dish.  We had home made flatbreads which were faffy but actually very nice and made from self-raising flour and Greek yoghurt served with two dips, muhamarra (red pepper and walnut) and lime and coriander infused tahini.  Then we had spicy cheese stuffed peppers, salad, lemon infused halloumi, Lebanese spiced Pork, Batata Harra (spicy Lebanese roast potatoes) and Mujadarah (lentil and rice with crispy fried onions).  Even if I do say so myself it was bloomin' delicious.

We then decided to take a walk into the village.  It was a little chilly but we decided to have a drink sat outside of Mario's Bar which was lovely - even though it is November and mid-week the village seemed quite buzzy.  It is such a traditional village and sometimes it would be nice to have a bit more choice like Kathikas but actually if we want Kathikas we can go there, we love our village!

The slippery slope started when Wendy decided she fancied going for a cocktail at the Droushia Heights - it was a good choice as it was looking lovely in there and it was lovely and warm in there.  We had a couple of drinks each - as we know cocktails are yummy and don't taste like alcohol but when you go outside and hit the cold night air everything goes rather pear-shaped.

We managed to negotiate our way home in the dark and then decided to sit in the conservatory and catch up on those three missing years.  It was all going swimmingly - well the room was swimming for me!!!!  We had previously all declared that we tend to be in bed by 9pm but that was never going to happen tonight - I called it quits at 2.00am - I have no idea what time the others threw in the towel.  

I hadn't realised just how much we had missed Wendy and Bill.  When we met I felt like I had known them all my life.  I have promised Wendy and Bill that I will take time out to go and pay them a visit next year and incorporate visits elsewhere to see friends and family - John and I wont go together just yet - it is all a bit too complicated to do that but they understand and I am grateful that they do.

We are lending them Kenny for a few days so they have the option of traveling about but I reckon their little gem of a hotel is going to be more than enough for them to recharge their batteries.  We will see them again on Sunday.