Spoiled in Cyprus

I just spent a few fabulous days in Cyprus with my good friend Christos and his great friends. I had my best day (motorcycle to the mountains, from my last post) and got to learn a lot about Cyprus's history, present and future. I relaxed, I ate, I hung out, I re-energized., I got spoiled.

But although I was totally spoiled in Cyprus, my trip there could have started out as a (funny) disaster. But both sides of the almost-disaster must be told.

Mandy:

So back when I booked my trip I asked Christos what flight I should take, the BA arriving at 330pm or the Cyprus Airways arriving at 910pm. He told me that if I wanted him to pick me up, it had to be the later flight. OK. So I sent him the email, I am arriving on CY0347 on Wednesday October 24 at 910PM from London Heathrow.

Christos:

When Mandy told me when she was arriving, I wrote it in my calendar, Thursday, October 25, and I set an alarm reminder and everything.

As the date approached, a business trip to Ghana came up. We were going to come back on Thursday, but I said no, that’s cutting it a bit close, let’s go back to Cyprus on Wednesday. So, right before I left, I went to IKEA to buy a guest bedroom set, and I told them they would have to either deliver it Saturday morning, as I was leaving Sunday for Ghana, or they’d have to deliver it Thursday morning so I would have time to put it together before Mandy gets here.

Mandy:

I sent Christos a reminder, “Hey Big C, just a reminder that I am arriving Wednesday at 910pm. See you then.” I didn’t hear back, but figured he has his stuff together, no problem.

Christos:

I flew to Ghana on Sunday, arrived Monday, quickly went to the hotel to shower and change; then went straight to meetings all day Monday. Tuesday the same, meetings all day, then we left Tuesday night, flew through London, and arrived Wednesday late afternoon. When I got home I said “let me put the bed together, so I don’t have to deal with it tomorrow.” So I did that, then took a shower and was getting ready to crack open a bottle of wine and get some rest when the phone rang. I said to myself “who the hell is calling me at 1030pm, but what the hell, I’ll answer it.”

Mandy:

So I arrive in Cyprus, late, on an ancient Cyprus Airways plane, including the pre-flight announcements that seemed like they were from 1973. They even said “in case of an emergency landing, if you are smoking, please put out your cigarette before getting on the slide.” And yes, the plane had ashtrays. It was that old. Nice.

But anyway, I get through immigration and get my bags pretty quickly. As I walk through the tunnel, I was looking for Christos’s tall (he’s 6 foot three) bald head in the crowd. I see a tall guy but as I get closer, nope, that’s not him. So I keep walking, still don’t see him. I go outside. No Christos. Hm. Maybe he was inside and I just didn’t see him. So I went back in rolled the cart around for a while. Then I went back outside, and said, okay well maybe there was traffic and he’s running late. He knows I’m coming today. But after 20 or 30 minutes, I still don’t see him, so I say to the guy next to me, “Sorry, would you mind if I quickly used your phone just to make sure my friend didn’t forget me.” He was nice so said no problem.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing

“Hello?”

“Big C!”

“Yes”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at home. Who is this?”

“It’s Mandy.”

With this, Christos looks at the caller ID on the phone and realizes I am calling from a Cyprus phone number and (I can imagine that) blind panic washes over his face. Hesitantly he says, “Where are you?”

“At the airport wondering where you are.”

“Holy shit. I thought you were coming tomorrow. I AM SO SORRY. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

Click.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. So I sit tight, and Christos drops everything he is doing and gets in the car to speed to the airport. He realized that he hung up on me so tried to call back but it wouldn’t connect. He made it from Nicosia to the airport in 30 minutes. When he stepped out of the car to look for me he had this terribly wonderful “I am the worst person EVER and I can’t believe I did this” look on his face. With a hug he says, “you know I am going to be kissing ass all weekend!”

Crisis averted. At least he answered his phone. And sure enough, he showed me his phone/PDA which had my arrival details listed for Thursday, and he showed me on his work computer as well. He said, “no matter how many times you told me it was Wednesday, it was Thursday in my head, so that is what it was.” And sure enough, the next day his phone beeped to remind him to pick me up. Fantastic! How ironic would it have been if I had been on that earlier BA flight...haha.

So even though the start was slightly stressful (understatement) the rest of my time in Cyprus was brilliant. Everywhere I went people kissed me on both cheeks and fed me! Seriously, I can’t tell you how many times I had to hold my tummy and say “I’m full.” Friends’ hospitality was amazing. Fresh coffee or tea appeared and everyone's house, cookies or chocolate appeared, mom spent hours cooking, I was invited to a Christening (with more food!) and given a cute silver charm party favor, friends invited us over every day I was there. Seriously, what an amazing group of friends.

In addition to all that, I had my own room, in which my backpack was allowed to explode all over the place, a place to do laundry, wireless internet, hot showers, and free calls to the US courtesy of Vonage, so life was pretty freakin’ good. And C did a pretty damn good job of spoiling me while I was there. Oh and have I mentioned I got to see the country on the back of a Hayabusa? Yeah, fan-freakin-tastic. I know it’s only been three weeks, but those days will be hard to top so far.

Thanks again big C!

Next stop, Dubai.

my best day (or ... how i became a biker chick)

Yesterday was my best day so far. I am in Cyprus visiting my friend Christos, who lived in Gainesville for forever but is now back home in Cyprus. And Christos's mode of transport just so happens to be a Hayabusa (Suziki GSXR 1300) (read: very fast motorcycle). So, for the past four days that's been my mode of transport as well. I can't quite describe the feeling of being on the back of a bike, especially when no other cars are around. But is is pretty freakin' awesome!

My best day started with a sleep in, followed by a good feed at Christos’s mom’s house. She cooked yummy beans and potatoes, followed by this beautiful dish of eggplant and peppers and tomatoey-baked goodness. It was so good I could have eaten the whole tray.

After lunch, the adventure began. We went by motorcycle up in to the mountains. Since it was already afternoon, we had to “push it” (read, go very fast on the highway (don't worry mom, Christos is a very experienced rider and we were fast but careful)) to get up to the mountains so we could get daylight in our photos.

We got up to the mountains where the roads got curvy and we got to take some nice photos. There was a spot where you could actually feel the temperature change from warm to cool. It was an honestly identifiable spot where the change occurred. Strange.

After we got to the top of the mountains, we were going to go down to a nice village for a coffee. On our way, we happened upon this wicked winding road. It was awesome on the bike. As cheesy as it may sound, you really do have to become one with the bike and the person you are riding with, otherwise you will become one with the road. And nobody wants that! You could really feel the bike hug the curves as you lean to one side than the other to go around the bends. It was just so awesome!

After the windy road we found a village and stopped for a quick look, then continued on to Omodhos, the village where Christos’s dad grew up. We had tea at his uncle’s restaurant then walked around the village a bit, looking a the houses and how things have changed (for good and bad).

Eventually, it was time to get back on the road to come home. But first, a stop at a winery run by someone who knows Christos’s dad so we got a good tour of the facilities. The property looked quite small, but they actually produce 200,000 bottles per year. The stacks of wine bottles were neatly organized and spelled out the year they were produced (by facing the numbers 2-0-0-5 with the cork side out, while the rest of the bottles were cork side in). We also got to sample and buy a bit of this yummy candy made from the grapes. It starts with a long string of almonds. They are dipped in a mixture of grapes, corn syrup, rose water, and I’m not sure what else. They are dipped and dried, dipped and dried. And in the end, yummy goodness, tasty and addictive.

After our little stint at the winery, it was time to get home. So we bundled up, as it was colder now, and hit the road. It took a while, as we were about 75 kms away. Riding for several hours really tests your endurance and your leg muscles! You have to hunch over and lean down, with your booty as far back on the seat as possible so you don’t squish the driver. (Although, driver-squishing is inevitable -sorry C!) But you also have to stay as close and low as possible to stay aerodynamically sound. So in essence, I folded myself in half, but with my legs on the foot-pedals. It hurt, I’m not going to lie, it hurt. After a while my hip joints felt like I’d never be able to straighten them again. But the feeling of the wind whipping at you and just flying by your surroundings (it was like a horozontal freefall) was worth it. Wow wow wow.

So there you go, a motorcycle adventure in Cyprus, my best day. Thanks C!

PS photos at here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64829&l=21e97&id=791230081

photos part 1

for some reason this website is showing up in greek at the moment so i can't quite work out how to upload my photos. but they are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64012&l=a28bc&id=791230081
and here

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64026&l=495ea&id=791230081

the cosmos does not want me to go to stonehenge

the ONE touristy THING i booked to do in england was a bath and stonehenge tour. even though i've spent over a year in the UK, i never managed to get to either place. when i was here two years ago, we showed up at the tour office on the off chance that there would be space on a bus tour last minute, but alas, they were not running that day due to low numbers.

so i said right, this time i will do it right and book in advance. so i did. for today. and day before yesterday i called to reconfirm and they said yep, we've got you confirmed.

so i show up today and the people in the office look at me all funny and one says to the other "are these the passengers you tried to contact?" and the other says "oh yeah, that tour is not running today." WHAT!?!?!? wasn't that the point of me reconfirming?

they said they'd be quite happy to reschedule me for tomorrow, but seeing as i'll be on a plane to cyprus tomorrow, that won't exactly work.

damnit.

(note to STA staff, tell passengers to reconfirm the day before AND the day of their tours, just in case the idiots at the reservations number forget to tell you there's a chance that even though you are confirmed, there's a chance the tour still might not run. sort of reminds me of that seinfeld episode where he reserved himself a rental car that wasn't there when he went to pick it up. oh joy. it's always good when you sell yourself a product that turns out to be crap.)

how albanian boys try to pick up chicks

so the other week when i had the flu, our bus did a wee stop in tirana just to let everyone walk around for an hour. but seeing as i had a fever and felt like poo, i just decided to sit in the square and watch the world go by. i saw those dear old ladies with head scarves, hunched over, walking with canes; and those crazy 20-somethings with albanian versions of just-offthe-catwalk european fashions, and some strange man with several cameras just walking around. and of course there were the gypsy women trying to throw their babies at you (not literally) so you would give them money.

so there i sat, minding my own business, when this boy, probably aged 18 or so, sat down a few feet away from me. he said something to me which could have been anything from "you're a hot chick" to "yankee go home." i have no idea. i just said "sorry, i only speak english" and turned back to being sick and miserable in my own little world.

a few minutes later, i felt something hit my knee. i looked in his direction, because that was where it came from, but he was just sitting there. i looked around, it wasn't a giant bug, nor a bee, nor a errant nut falling from a tree. i couldn't see anything, so i just sat there again, minding my own business. a few minutes later, the same. i looked at him again and he looked away. a few minutes later, the same. when i looked at him, i noticed he had little pebbles in his hand. this dumb boy was throwing rocks at me to get my attention! when i looked at him, he winked at me and made that icky kissy, smoochy "hey baby" face thing, and winked again. EW!

i wanted to run away. but i was sick and had a fever, so i just turned around in shock and thankfully, someone else from my tour came along and sat next to me.

so that, my friends, is how albanian men (unsuccessfully) try to pick up women.

ahhhhhh ... sanctuary

sanctuary is probably not the first word that would come to mind when describing london, a city of who-knows-how-many-million people, but for me, that is exactly what it is. i have just spent two weeks with the absolute worst group of people imaginable. toward the end of the trip, i just counted down the days until i got to london, to be able to spend time with a sane friend who has known me for 10 years, and not a group of drunk 18-year-olds with hickies. yes hickies. do people really still do that to each other? these kids did. if i had never been to australia, i wouldn't want to go - that's how bad they were. loud, drunk, obnoxious, did i memtion drunk, and did i mention obnoxious? one tiny example then i promise i'll stop talking about it. my seat-mate got on the bus early and put her bag on the front seat so we could see out the front window. she then went outside for 5 minutes. when she got back inside, two of the not-so-nice-girls had moved her stuff so they could sit there. nice girls, hey?

on the bright side, i did get to see some interesting things. driving from greece through albania was an adventure. the entire country, and i mean the ENTIRE country is undergoing road construction. when i can, i'll upload some photos. it was quite an interesting road trip. lots of donkeys out and about. old communist style buildings that have been painted bright colors or checkered, or with flowrers or leaves, to freshen up the city of tirana.

after that was montenegro. the country only has 600,000 people and only split off from serbia a few years ago. they are already trying to make improvements to get in to the EU and already accept euro. we stayed in an old communist government hotel complete with old hard beds and furniture. it was neat though ... a different experience. and a surprisingly beautiful country. the whole drive was gorgeous.

dubrovnik, croatia, was probably my favourite place on the trip. there's a giant wall around the city that you can walk around in a few hours (including ample time for picture taking). the roofs were all orangey red, kind of like venice, buildings were narrow, washing hung on the lines, flower pots in the windows, it was beautiful. and the coastline was gorgeous again.

unfortunately, somewhere in there i got a bit of food poisoning or gastro-ickiness, which was good fun on a 10-hour bus ride, but i got through it. hopefully that's my one fun sickness out of the way. and on a strange side note, mom had food poisining just after i did ... sympathy sickness? poor gurl.

but i digress.

after croatia was venice, still one of my favourite european cities. it's just so fascinating how there are no roads with cars - the only vehicles are the boats in the canals. i got to take a gondola ride this time around, which was just beautiful. a bit strange to cruise down the grande canal with boats twice your size. watching all the gondoliers navigate their way through the canals with just the one long pole in the water, or using their leg to push off a buiding in the narrow canalway was just magic. it would be a great place to go with a boy one day. any takers? haha.

so now, i am back in london. i am sitting in a flat, drinking tea and watching a dvd with my good friend tim. we've walked the streets of (cold) london, visited all my favourte landmarks like big ben, and are now just hanging out. doing nothing. and i couldn't be happier. i've had tea and biscuits, a cornish pasty, mince pie, and more tea! i've walked miles, and i've relaxed, which was just what i needed after my two weeks of hell :)

next up ... cyprus on wednesday.

(ps thanks everyone for all your comments - i love to read them, and i'm glad you are enjoying the stories!)

sailng and silly drama, oh my

Note to self: no more trips designed for 18 - 30somethings. I picked this trip because it went to some of the places I have always wanted to go, like Croatia, and also included Greek sailing, and some unique places like Albania. HOWEVER. I forgot that 18-30somethings meant drunken hook-up fest. Oh how I'd forgotten. I've been on the trip for about a week, and am amazed at how some people have managed to keep the same level of drunkenness throughout the entire time - you know that glazed-eyed look (on the boys) or the squeely, screaming eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee voice (on the girls). And it's also fun to observe the drunken hook-ups, where the parites involved pretend they don't know each other the next day. Classic.

Damn I feel old.

But let me tell you about what I actually did. We've just been sailing around Corfu and antoher small place for three days. The boats were these cute little sailboats that to my surprise, WE sailed! I'd never been sailing before so had no clue what to do. But after a 10 minute lesson for the first mates and a 30 minute lesson for the skippers, off we went, with our crew of an additional four. We had 7 boats in all, and it was quite an adventure.

The first night, THUNDERSTORM. And when I say thunderstorm, I mean boats smacking in to each other (we were all tied up together), crashes of thunder, skies lit up with lightening, a leaky roof dripping on my head. And of course, all six of us cramped in to the boat, me sleeping on a converted table with a cusion on top. Not the best sleep of my life! But it was an adventure.

The second day I got in to a full on yelling match with the jerk that was hired to take us around. He even said (amongst other niceties),"when I say pull the anchor, I mean pull the f-ing anchor" only he filled in the blanks in that word. Did I mention that when I was yelling at us for not doing the job (that we were trained on for 10 minutes) properly, he was wearing a woman's thong under his board shorts (which his "stuff" had slipped out of earlier while he was on someone else's boat) and had residual eyeliner on from when one of the drunkies painted him the night before, and red spray paint in his hair. Yeah, classic character. Oh the stories. This is great book material.

I know those of you that know me are sitting there saying "what the hell has she gotten herself in to?!?!?" But I am coping! Haha!

Anyway, it's our last night sailing, and we are about to go watch the rugby (it's mostly Aussies on this trip, and I am hanging out with the sane ones). Tomorrow we are off to Albania, so that should be good.

The trip has had its high points. Rome was amazing. I had gelati for dinner the other day. Today the weather was beautiful. I've eaten lots of yummy Greek food and walked around quaint little towns. And last night in our wandering we stumbled upon a building with a full brass band practicing inside, magical sound so close up! And more fun is to come. I just couldn't resist sharing the dramas so far...

leaving, and beginning

Hello friends. As I prepared to leave, I thought my emotions would range from excitement to apprehension to elation to happiness and anticipation. But imagine my surprise when in the week before I began my adventure I was depressed! I know, crazy right? But I was just overwhelmed with saying goodbye to everyone and trying to fit everything in my stupid too-heavy bag, I was just a mess. I knew as soon as I started I would be fine, but still, that week before was so strange and difficult. Those who saw me, did I do a good job of pretending I had it all together?

But alas, as I had hoped, once I got to Rome, all was well in my noggin once again (mom and dad you should be relieved, I know yo were worried). So I am at the start of a Top Deck trip from Rome to Venice via 3 days sailing around Corfu and working our way up through Croatia, Albania, etc. Top Deck is for 18 to 30somethngs, and guess who is the oldest ....

But, my non-hard-partying self has found a partner in crime already, by the name of Jane. Very happy to have someone like me to hang with for the next two weeks. And today, Claudia and Paloma you would be so proud, we spent the day with a nice guy from Argentina who spoke NO English. So somehow, SOMEHOW my Spanish came flooding back to me. I know my grammar was poor and still I can only speak in the present, but I think I impressed a lot of the Aussies and Kiwis who were in line for the Vatican with us. Yay! I was so proud.

So Rome, as usual, was lovely. We saw all the sights and walked until our legs would fall off.

But I must go now, internet time is up

getting ready ... revisited

So I said I was going to have my bag packed by Friday. And it is ... BUT IT IS TOO HEAVY AND OVERSTUFFED. Bugger! But I'm a good packer! How did this happen? Where oh where have I gone wrong?? It's much easier to pack for 10 days than it is for 10 months ... hm. I guess tomorrow I will try backpack-packing version 2.0 and see how that goes...