Anastasia

Sunsets

Today marks the end of classes for the school year 2012-2013 but the school year hasn't come to an end yet. Next week, all classes will have to take final exams which are compulsory and free of charge. So, as you may realise, it's been a hectic week at work. I had to prepare the final exam papers, teach in the afternoon and do office work in the morning.. Then in June, I have some extra classes for the students who have enrolled to Cambridge ESOL Examinations in addition to marking exam papers, issuing results and completing the Final Reports which will be sent to my students by the end of June. 

Sunset in Larnaca

Alkis also has a lot of work these days and we hardly see each other during the day. But after a long day at work, we often go for a walk at the beach and contemplate the sunset. The sunset in Larnaca takes my breath away. It helps me relax and look forward to yet another new day - it's the promise of the dawn.  I guess sunsets are magical regardless of where you live.  They are inspiring and can reduce stress to a great extent. Sunrises can be just as inspiring and relaxing if you can get up at the crack of dawn! 

 

Sunday Outing - Agios Theodoros

Today was one of those lovely, sunny days in early spring, albeit a bit windy. It was one of those days which make you unwilling to stay indoors, so Alkis and I decided to spend it in the nearby countryside.

Agios Theodoros Beach

Agios Theodoros Beach

Agios Theodoros Beach

Agios Theodoros Beach

Situated off the beaten track in a lush valley along the banks of Pentashinos river, at about 25 km from Larnaca, Agios Theodoros is a small, traditional village with a population of 600 inhabitants. Named after the patron saint of the village, Agios Theodoros of Tyrona, this tiny village offers stunning views of the mountains, and yet, it's only just a 5-minute drive from the coast. The inhabitants of the village are like a big family who would greet and welcome a visitor with a big, genuine smile. The village is also noted for its great tavernas serving meze, fresh fish and local specialities.  

Marida

Red Mullet

Having taken a long walk along Agios Theodoros Beach, we had lunch at Limni Tavern. Being a great fish lover, I had marida for starters - a kind of small fish which lives in the Greek seas. It's so tiny that you can eat it whole with its head and bone. I just love it! Then I had my favourite fish -  fresh red mullet which was delicious! After such a great lunch, we enjoyed  coffees and pishies - a local dessert - while contemplating the infinite blue of the eastern Mediterranean. 

February in Cyprus

February arrived in Cyprus with a huge grin and gorgeous sunny days. I could almost smell Spring in the cool breeze coming from the sea, flirting with my veranda throughout the weekend and spoiling us with mild temperatures rising to 20 degrees celsius on the coast. But just about as I was starting to consider getting rid of coats, boots and umbrellas, today's stormy weather made me have second thoughts. February in Cyprus is  a moody month. It will drift along lazily with its moods...on a whim. Now it's sunny, now it isn't! 

Larnaca Medieval Castle

Mosfiloti

Mosfiloti - Larnaca

 

Regardless of its moody attitude, February is one of my most favourite months. Its birthstone is the amethyst which symbolises piety, humility, spiritual wisdom and sincerity. Its main zodiac sign is Aquarius like my husband whose birthday is on February 17. It's an unfortunate coincidence that this year his birthday is on the same day as the Presidential Elections. We'll vote and then celebrate over lunch for a change in order to watch the results of our Presidential Elections in the evening. 

Alkis's 60th Birthday

Valentine's Day 2010

February is also the month which celebrates Love. Just like we celebrate Christmas,Easter,  name days and birthdays on a special day, Love  is celebrated on February 14th , Saint Valentine's Day. 

I'm looking forward to yet another great Valentine's Day! How about you?

 

Sundays - January 2013

Sunday is the only day of the week I'm off work so I try to spend it doing my favourite leisure activities unless marking tests and homework piles up. What relaxes me most is the sea which has always been fascinating to me. The nearest beach is only about 4 km from home. In summer I go swimming almost every day and in winter I enjoy taking a long walk along the sandy beach on a sunny day like today. After the cold spell in early January, we are now enjoying blue skies, sunny days and temperatures rising to 20*C. I can even smell spring in the air! Alkis usually works on Sunday mornings but we often  have lunch in the nearby countryside. Our favourite restaurant is Archontiko Papadopoulou at Kornos village.

Finicoudes Beach - Larnaca

I enjoy cooking on Sundays, though. If we don't eat out, I  test my culinary skills. Cooking can be both relaxing and creative. I love making greek pies such as leek pie with mince meat or cooking  Alkis's favourite:  whole wheat spaghetti with mixed vegetables and ouzo. Whenever I prepare this dish, it turns out great!

whole wheat spaghetti

Archontiko Papadopoulou - Kornos

Blogging is by far my most favourite pastime and I sometimes wish I could blog more often during the week. On Sundays, I also love re-arranging my perfume collection or simply indulging a craving for chocolate!

Twirl

 

Cold Spell in Cyprus from Siberia!

Since yesterday, Cyprus has been hit by a cold spell which is said to be coming from...Siberia and affecting Cyprus. I may be wreckless at Geography but I do know that Siberia is thousands of miles away from Cyprus. How can this polar cold affect the eastern Mediterranean? Well, I haven't got a clue! Having lived in Switzerland for eight years, I am used to snow and cold weather so much that it doesn't impress me. Actually, I've had enough of it!  We had temperatures far below normal for this time of year, such as -10 in the mountains and in my area on the southern coast , it was 6 celsius at 12 midday plus the cold wind coming from the mountains which dropped the mercury  to probably 3-4 degrees celcius later in the day. This describes nicely extreme weather conditions in Cyprus.

Cold Spell - Cyprus

Photo Credit

Cold Spell - Cyprus

Photo Credit

When I came back home from work,  it was freezing cold in Larnaca but Alkis greeted me with a kiss and a glowing  fire in the fireplace. And then I prepared dinner - trahanas soup for starters and lemon chichen with jacket potatoes for main course. I wasn't naughty this time and resisted to dessert despite the cold! I am glad to hear that this terrible cold spell will hopefully go away tomorrow! And ...Summer will come again!

 

Dry Spells

There are times when I really feel like updating my blog yet no matter how much I try to squeeze a post out of my head, I hit dry spells and can't think of a word to write! What's even more frustrating is that trying to break through a blank screen happens on a day like today when I have plenty of free time to plan a post. Planning a post is, on the other hand,  something I rarely do on this blog, but I usually have a topic in mind. Ah well, I guess this lack of inspiration may happen to great bloggers and great writers alike or so I am told. A friend once advised me to try reblogging an "evergreen" older post - something which I thought was sort of boring and meaningless.  

Larnaca

After all today has been a boring Sunday so far. Alkis flew to Greece on Friday for his youngest niece's wedding. I wish I could go with him, but September marks the beginning of the new school year and I have so much work to do before lessons start on the 15th.   I slept 9 hours in a row, which is very unlike me. When I got up, I fixed a huge breakfast and then wandered around for a while. I went for a walk , then had an espresso at one of the many cafes at Finicoudes Seafront while reading Edgar Allan Poe's To Helen - a poem celebrating the nurturing power of woman:

Helen, thy beauty is to me
    Like those Nicean barks of yore,
That gently, o'er a perfum'd sea,
    The weary way-worn wanderer bore
    To his own native shore.

On desperate seas long wont to roam,
    Thy hyacinth hair, thy classic face,
Thy Naiad airs have brought me home
    To the beauty of fair Greece,
And the grandeur of old Rome.

 

A Midsummer's Night Dream at the Golden Bay Beach Hotel

Apart from being one of the most prestigious hotels in Cyprus, the Golden Bay in Larnaca  aspires to preserve our customs, folklore and traditions. Every summer, the management team of the Golden Bay organise a special Cyprus Night featuring traditional folk dances, the making of baskets, flutes and, of course trahanas,  halloumi cheese and loukoumades   .  Naturally, the Executive Chef prepared a wide variety of traditional Cyprus dishes and desserts which we enjoyed under the stars  by the beach.

 

The good old traditional way of making halloumi cheese

 

 

The Final Product - Halloumi

 

 

This lady is showing us how to make halloumi in the traditional way - when factories and technology did not exist.

 

 

Cooking trahanas

Trahanas - just delicious for a soup on cold winter nights

 

 

Cyprus Night - Golden Bay

Traditional Cyprus Baskets

This lady is showing us how to make traditional Cyprus baskets.

The making of a flute

Traditional Cyprus Baskets

 

 

A midsummer's night dream at the Golden Bay

 

This fabulous night ended with folk dances from Greece and Cyprus.

 

Ο Χορός της Στάμνας - The Dance of the Clay Jug

 

Syrtaki (Zorba the Greek)

Sunrise at Mckenzie Beach, Larnaca

 

Mckenzie Beach - Sunrise- 6:41 am

 

It took Alkis almost three months to talk me into going walking with him along Mckenzie Beach which is only 5km away from home. On the one hand, there was the problem with my leg and on the other hand  I love to sleep in on my short but precious summer break. I thought he was simply crazy to ask me to get up at 5:45 am every day. I like trying new things, though, so yesterday I said ok but... "would you please wake me up if I fall asleep on the sand? " His answer was: "You won't!"

Mckenzie Beach - Sunrise - 6:45 am

 

 

Sunrise - Mckenzie Beach - 6:47 am

 

 

Sunrise-Mckenzie Beach - 6:48 am

 

When we got there, I was breathless! The most beautiful sunrise  in Cyprus - and probably in the Eastern Med -  was just next door! Only then did I realise what I've been missing all this time. Today I got up at 5:30 looking forward to walking along McKenzie Beach. I walked about 45 minutes at a slow pace right now as I'm following doctor's orders and covered 3,5 km.  If you live in the area or nearby, get up early in the morning and take a walk along Mckenzie. You won't regret it!

End of School Year 2011-2012

So, another school year has come to an end. Funny how I feel sad and already look forward to the new school year beginning in September. I guess this is not normal but I know in my heart of hearts that I'm going to miss my kids for the next two and a half months. I've been jam-packed with work lately, having to mark exam papers, type Final Reports in addition to extra classes for the students who enrolled to the Cambridge ESOL Examinations. English Today.my online course of English as a second language - will be breaking up for the summer soon.

I still can't believe I'm on holiday for the next two months. All I know is that I'm going to make the most of my summer break. I'm going to read books, that's for sure and, perhaps, publish my book on T.S.Eliot on TypePad. Considering that during the school year I work from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, I'm certainly going to hang out with my girl friends for a coffee at Finicoudes, go out with Alkis more often, cook his favourite dishes , such as Beef Stroganov. And I'm going to take a holiday, as always somewhere in the Greek Isles. I can't imagine spending a summer holiday anywhere else. I've been fascinated by the Greek Islands since I was a little girl and to this day I still think they are magical.  

I'll love you and leave you with one of my most favourite songs. Hope you enjoy it!

 

Sunday Stroll in Larnaca

 

Sunday Stroll along Finicoudes Promenade

 

I sometimes take for granted the beauty of the town I've been living in for the last 28 years. When Alkis and I first moved to Larnaca back in November 1984, I could hardly call it home.. We both missed our hometowns - Nicosia and Serres.  Living in Larnaca wasn't easy for either of us, but very soon we both fell in love with the beautiful city of Zenon to such an extent that we no longer miss our hometowns as much as we did when we first came to live here.

The Medieval Castle at the end of Finicoudes Promenade

 

Last Sunday, we had the pleasure to meet up with some good friends from Thessaloniki and enjoyed a stroll along Finicoudes Promenade which boasts probably the best beach in Larnaca. Such a pity the sea was too cold for us to swim! Finicoudes means little  palm trees in Greek. The seafront was named after the palm trees that were planted there hundreds of years ago. Now they are tall palm trees that have survived time and often adverse weather conditions. After our leisurely stroll, we had lunch at Meze-Meze - a Greek restaurant I strongly recommend. There's great food, excellent service and good value for money. 

Larnaca-Finicoudes

 

During our stroll, we noticed that Larnaca has already started the preparations for the country's greatest summer festival called Kataklysmos   - or the Flood Festival -  which marks the beginning of summer and attracts thousands of visitors every year.