Farewell's

As you may have noticed, our time has run out! Maureen and Jonathan did us proud with a mega send off on Tuesday. Here are a few photos from the party including some of 'our band'. Thanks to Ian we sounded pretty good! Good food, good friends, good times - but no Good Bye - we will be back!

xx

Fioni Walk

Dale and I joined Linda and Maggs and Linda's walking group for a walk up into the hills in Fioni today. The weather was fabulous and the scenery, unparalleled. This has been such a late spring that not only is everything still green, but one can find flowers that would normally be dried up and gone by now. Plus, it was wonderful not to think about packing for a bit, while hiking and earning the right to sit down to a very yummy lunch.

We lunched in Kato Platres where they put on a very tasty meze for us. I may have mentioned before that a meze is a wide variety of local dishes that they bring out, one after the other for us all to share. I have never been to one where they have ever run out of food, and you are bursting by the time the last few dishes come out (but you still want to try them all!).

Meanwhile, counting down the days!

Love,

Laurel

Farewell's

Thursday after bridge, Mike and Roz organized a lovely farewell for us at our local coffee shop. We do keep mentioning that we are returning in the fall (as visitors), but we are being toasted nonetheless.

Then on Friday we met up with Peter and Linda, Ken and Lesley, and Doug and Barb at the City Cafe where they treated us to a lovely lunch. We are truly blessed with such good friends.

It is so wonderful being able to say Au Revoir and not Good Bye!

Easter 2011 Kouklia

Καλο Πασκα - Κριστοσ ανεστη - Αλιθος ανεστη!

Happy Easter - Christ is risen - He is risen indeed!

Our village of Kouklia celebrates Easter with the same excitement and tradition of all Cypriot villages. Easter is a bigger celebration than Christmas here. It is truly a wonderful experience to belong and be a part of their culture if only for a moment.

Saturday night is a huge bonfire for the burning of the effigy of Judas followed by the lighting of candles at the church, then a grand display of fireworks. After church on Sunday, there are all the usual sack-races, egg & spoon races, stone lifting (scary) and "fishing apple and candy with mouth". This is followed with live music and traditional dances - including dancing with glasses and a bottle on one's head. We sat at 'Gavriellie's for a great view of the whole village square.

Monday starts early with a sunrise service followed by a bike race later in the afternoon. In the evening the Kouklia youth club (not to mention some older participants) put on a very theatrical play - it is usually a parody of village life. It was hilarious even without the benefit of understanding the words. Tuesday finishes with a treasure hunt and bingo.

I also had the honour of being invited to lunch on Sunday and again on Monday to the homes of some Cypriot friends. The women cook all week and on the day, the men gather around the hot coals and roast the meat on huge long spits. Then 30 - 40 friends and family sit at 3 or 4 long tables joined end to end, and eat for hours. Lots of Zivania- I finally learned the secret to partaking without shuddering. If you put a capful in a glass of 7-Up you can honestly say that you have some and can toast with the rest of them.

I am now ready to stop eating for about a week. I think the fasting should be done after Easter instead of before.

Take care and we are looking forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks.

Love,

Laurel

Paris - April 2011

I love Paris in the Spring time - that is so true - they even wrote a song about it!

Its hard to believe that Dale had to talk me into going with him. I was waiting for him to head off to work so I could start sorting and packing in earnest, but then off he goes to Paris. And the weather was even better than Cyprus. How could I resist?

Then reality hit the minute we landed and he got a call to fly off to Milan!!! Fortunately it was just a day trip and I caught up on my emails and reading. Whew! The rest of the week was very quiet and we strolled leisurely around Paris and took in sights we had missed, not to mention some very specific shopping and even a street market.

I was very glad to have gone online and checked out the Catacombs before we went. They are fascinating but very macabre. Apparently there are 6, yes six, yes 1/2 dozen - million skeletons 20 metres underground, collected from churches and graveyards around the city. The whole tunnel system, including the Metro is around 300 kilometres long.

Here is a site with lots more info and a second sight with great pictures -

http://www.placesinfrance.com/catacombs_paris_france.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=catacombs+paris&hl=en&prmd=ivnsm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=NkShTYf3B8u4hAfjr7yQBQ&ved=0CCQQsAQ&biw=1227&bih=668

Now on to more pleasant sightseeing. Our hotel was on Rue St. Jacques, which is quite a ways from the Arc de Triomphe, so we decided that we could visit several landmarks just walking around. From our room we could see the Pantheon, the Eglise Royale du Val de Grace, St. Sulpice and the Palais de Luxembourg. It was a glorious day and very fitting to meander through the Luxembourg Gardens with an ice cream.

My last day was a recap of all our visits. We started at the Eiffel Tower and took a river cruise on the Seine, complete with crepes. It was great to reminisce and thoroughly enjoy the beauty of the day. It was also wonderful to be warm in Paris.

The following are some great sites to look up and you will get a better idea of the sights we saw. The photos are great and much better than anything we could capture.

Pantheon - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthéon,_Paris

http://www.google.com/search?q=pantheon+paris&hl=en&prmd=ivnscm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=U1ahTZ-qL9SahQe1gM2OBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQsAQ&biw=1227&bih=668

Val de Grace - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val-de-Grâce

http://www.google.com/search?q=val+de+grace+paris&hl=en&prmd=ivnsmo&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=XEahTZC5NM-2hAed_N2HBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQsAQ&biw=1227&bih=668

St. Sulpice - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Église_Saint-Sulpice,_Paris

http://www.google.com/search?q=st.+sulpice+paris&hl=en&prmd=ivnscm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=okehTbzBN8GnhAec69SSBQ&sqi=2&ved=0CHIQsAQ&biw=1227&bih=668

Palais de Luxembourg - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxembourg_Palace

http://www.google.com/search?q=palais+de+luxembourg+paris&hl=en&prmd=ivnsm&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=IEihTcLDN4u5hAfo3NX3BA&ved=0CF8QsAQ&biw=1227&bih=668

Skiing in Cyprus

We did it - we finally went skiing on Mount Olympus! Whatever you do, don't confuse the Greek one with the Cypriot one!

Mount Olympus, at 1,952 metres (6,404 ft), is the highest point of the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus. A British long range radar currently operates at Mount Olympus' peak. The Mount Olympus Ski resort, Sun Valley and North Face, has three T bars, one chairlift, and seven runs.

So as you see, we were on the smaller of the two. But what a glorious day. It was definitely a spring-skiing day and we were soon divesting ourselves of our usual gear. There aren't many out there who have ever seen Laurel skiing without her toque and goggles!

We started out on the t-bar at the rental shack, but after a couple of runs decided that we were ready for the big hill. We may not have skied in the last four years, but we were bound and determined to master Mount Olympus. A slight peculiarity here - we had to get in the car and drive over to the North Face. However, we were rewarded for our efforts by the 700 feet of vertical, a chair lift and great views. It was lovely.

http://www.skicyprus.com/webcam/

http://www.skicyprus.com/troodos/trailmap/

Kouris River Walk, Souni

Just a few pictures from our walk on Saturday.

Green Monday - Xapotami

Yesterday was Green Monday - this is quite a National Holiday here. All the shops are closed and people gather in their villages to picnic and dance. Everyone brings food (no meat), but there is also a 'buffet' of fresh raw veggies, bread, olives, halva and anything and everything you want to drink.

The Residents Committee from Secret Valley also made pancakes (more like crepes) with lemon and sugar or applesauce and cinnamon. Oh yes, and I almost forgot my favourite from the buffet, a local sweet similar to donut holes, piping hot and drenched in honey.

The school kids danced their Traditional dances then dragged as many as they could to join in. Thankfully, no pictures of me when I was dancing!

It was raining when we first got there, but as you can see in the pictures, the sun came out as usual and it was a lovely day.

This last photo is the 'Muktar' or Mayor of Kouklia.