Posts Tagged Cyprus

JM on YouTube, Sound of Silence
This is one of my favourite songs by Simon and Garfunkel, and a great job by JM, Alison’s son, performing at ‘Spotlight’ a small show for amateurs , run by the Premiere Society, a cultural society in Limassol.

I was noticing the other evening when I was writing a mail to Alison that I now automatically seem to use the UK spelling most all the time now. Well specifically those words that here end in ‘or’ where there it’s ‘our‘ such as humour and colour. Well that in itself isnt that uncommon. But I got thinking about it more and realised I also use phrases and words now that 2 years ago I wouldn’t have ever imagined saying.. simple things really like ‘petrol’ I am often sending my love a text kiss from the petrol pumps, (the romantic man that i am!) :) Well here we say ‘gas‘ of course and even that is showing how lazy we are to shorten it from gasoline. And then not only do we use ‘gas’ for that, we call propane ‘gas’ too! And on top of that we call just about anything in a gaseous state that we use for fuel or burning, such as acetylene and such… yes ‘gas’ again! well in polite circles a fart is called ‘gas’ too but I dont want to go rambling on too much in that direction… lol

I now also ring someone instead of call. I can remember well watching those BBC sitcoms from the 60′s and 70′s and hearing them saying to ring someone and laughing at how absurd it sounded to me at the time. Now I don’t think twice about it, either writing it or saying it~ And car park… there’s another one! I dont know when that slipped in really. Well I still use parking lot often too, but its about 50-50 now. Well I don’t know when but I do know how I got to using it. Ever since Alison and I have been texting we have got into the habit of sending some at very specific times during the day, well in addtion to those off and on just to say hi. Theres the wake up text and kiss… well they all have a kiss in them! and then one when we leave the house for work, well naturally the one after that is the car park text! Well as I said I still say parking lot just as often too. It was just so funny the other day someone at work was asking me if I had an extra box cutter, and I said ‘No, but I’ll go out to the car park and get one from my car’ and it was only after I got a funny look from him that I caught what I said!

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As special as this day of Love is my Beautiful Brit, no holiday will come close to the happiness we have found in each other on these dates. From the 5th of April in 2006 to this very day each has been a celebration of love beyond compare and I thank God and our angels for you my darling. Your name was written in my heart a long time before April 2006 my love, it was written the day I was born! We have always been together, destined from time beginning, always loved each other and we will always will. Happy Valentine’s Day my Beautiful Bride, I love you! XXXX
Chester XXXXX

We decided on Saturday to take a break from the tourist thing as well and spent most of the morning just around the house taking it easy. I finally met Churchill, the now famous Cyprus tortoise appearing on YouTube (along with a short cameo appearance by Benji and Natalie’s fingers.. I think!) Well he even came out long enough to pose and fill up his tortoise belly on some very good tomatoes, he’s quite an eater! And I remember Alison saying she wasn’t sure if it was a male or a female and with a little online research the gender confusion was all cleared up! :) The weather was still hot and we decided it would be a nice day to have a trip to the beach. There was a short trip or two to the store to pick up some nibbles before we got the car loaded and then we were off to get wet. It would have been nice we said to head down to Curium, but with us traveling so much the first couple of days we settled on something maybe a bit closer and a bit more secluded, Governor’s Beach. Well we didn’t want to scare the masses with the bright white body of mine! lol

the pics for this post are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon/Day4Cyprus

From the website: Governor’s Beach is located midway between Larnaca and Limassol and its sandy beach and shallow crystal water it’s ideal for families with children, but also for romantic couples. (hey, that’s us! )

The name Governor’s Beach comes from the British Colonial days when the Governor used to come for a swim.

Governor’s Beach also offers the spectacular white rocks area for those who like snorkeling, boating, fishing…or have a nice walk in one of the many nature trails on the hills near by, or on the beach watching a beautiful sunrise. There is a great selection of nice restaurants, where you can enjoy your lunch or dinner sitting under the trees… just a few meters away from the crystal water of the Mediterranean Sea.

The most memorable thing for me about Cyprus and the Mediterranean , besides Alison Michelle of course! ;), is the water! I was awestruck from my first sight of the colour and how clear it is too! I literally could stare for hours at it as the blue seems so intense and its just beyond description. Well we got there and got ourselves a bed and umbrella and laid back a while to soak up some sun and just enjoy the warmth and the sounds of the sea. This was actually where I saw the most grass I had seen in one spot in Cyprus since arriving! just above the beach is a grassy area where you can get a bed and umbrella if you don’t care to be right on the sandy beach itself. The sand is quite a bit finer than what we have here and its much darker too! I think a lot of the darker sand is caused by some many islands in the bed being formed by volcanoes so naturally its going to be different than our light coloured sand. well it doesn’t feel like our sand either, its softer in a way. We finally decided to test the water and see if it was warm enough for a swim, which as it turned out was lovely really. a little cool at first, but it didn’t take long to get used to it and the hot sun above made it feel nice. Well its shallow for a good ways out and we had to walk a bit to get shoulder deep. and that is when I had the most amazing site. Being up to my neck in the sea I could look down and see my feet through the water! Stunning! I was really amazed and had to laugh out loud! Well you would have to see the water in the sounds here in NC to appreciate it, you can’t put your hand but a few inches below the surface here and it disappears from sight! very murky looking, even more so once you have been in the clear water of the Med. It makes you wonder how a place where civilization has existed for centuries more than it has here can be so clean and clear still! Well I guess ours isn’t really dirty, just has more shallow quiet parts and a lot of vegetation and trees around which drop the leaves into the water and add more particles, sort of like a strong brewed tea if you will! Instead of tea leaves its pine and poplar and oak and maple leaf tea! Anyway we had a very nice swim and I really would be tanned by now if I lived there in Cyprus as I would live at this beach if I could! Marvelous! We went back and laid in the sun for quite a while longer before heading back home, were we laid down again and tried to take a nap! Its hard work laying in the sun don’t you know!

Well being in a lazy mood we didn’t feel to fix supper so it was out to eat. We went to a place called Pizza Express… well we have a place named that here in the States but its nothing even close to the same as it is there! Here it conjures up an image of a cheap pizza shop that has maybe a dozen different combos of pizza and beer or soft drinks, maybe a salad bar.. ;) well this place was looking like one of our fancier restaurants. It was a two story type place, the center being open and you can look down and see the crowd and tables below and they have a live band or some type of entertainment playing in the evenings. The night we were there it was trio singing a lot of various style songs, from rock ballads to reggae to soul and jazz… they were quite good and we had a very good view. The food was pretty good, but for the price I think it could have been better! Alison ordered a chef’s salad I think it was, well it was supposed to have some chicken or meat of some kind, but I think she only had two or three little bites in the whole thing! and it wasnt that big a salad either! Well they have all sorts of things on the menu, from pasta to meats to pizza.. well me not being up on the fancy names of things I just got a pizza. I can’t remember the kind of pizza I ordered as they had dozens listed, and not of the toppings we think of here! So I just ordered the one I thought would be the least surprising once it arrived! it was pretty good I guess but then we were both hungry too and would have eaten anything! lol Anyway we had a nice time and enjoyed to sit with each other and listen to the music, and of course exchange a kiss or two.. or three or four… and to be sitting so happy with each others company. well that was the best part of the evening! We really didnt stay out so late and headed on home. I think that was the night we sat to watch some dvds we hired from a local shop… guess he specializes in bootlegs as none of the three worked at all! Well one did fairly well but hung up a bit! Well that was day 4 spent… maybe it was a quiet day, but one of the most wonderful of my life as I was with my Cyprus angel again all day long! My heaven! I love you Alison Michelle! I do! :) XXXX

To Maureen and Jack for the wonderful engagement present! Alison’s mam and dad gave us a nice holiday within a holiday! We spent Monday through Wednesday in the Alexander the Great Hotel in Paphos. It was such a wonderful time and we both appreciate it so very much! Can’t wait to thank you in person, it’s a memory that wil last a lifetime! :)

Thanks also to Agneta and George for a wonderful lunch in Vouni, to Allyson & Marios and Thereza & Andros for making me feel welcome, to Dee and Philip for their hospitality, to Frosso for a lovely evening of chat and company, to Julie and the people at Mom’s bar on the base I met and had chance to speak to, to all of Alison’s coworkers at 3D for the welcome I received and a special thanks to JM for making me feel welcome and for getting the grill going!! lol :), can’t forget Benji either! What a wonderful time I had there and can;t wait to go back! Love and best wishes to all

this one I think would make a nice black and white pic

:) WOW I like this one! PHEWEEEEEEE

My Beautiful Brit

My Darling you look wonderful tonight

Our favourite pictures of the two of us in Cyprus. You can see these and the scenery and sights here : http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon

Our favourite pictures of the two of us in Cyprus. You can see these and the scenery and sights here : http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon

We decided to spend the third day just staying close to home and resting as the time difference was beginning to catch up with me by the third day and I think Alison was a bit glad to have a break as well! It was still quite hot too so it was a good day to be taking it easy. Well we did venture out and about close to home during the day.

Pics for this post are here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/garazon/Day3Cyprus

We went out early in the morning to the cemetery where Nicos’ memorial is located, not far at all from Alison’s house. It’s a very large cemetery with some very elaborate graves and memorials. It’s a bit of a difference between the cultures here and there in so many ways. Well its striking the appearance first off, all are marble or stone memorials covering almost every inch of the place and most all of them have the photos on them, along with an oil lamp that burns continuously, or intended to burn. Most are maintained and filled with oil. And most have areas around them where flowers and shrubs are planted and there is something blooming everywhere. Seeing some of these large ones in Cyprus ( as well as the smaller ones in the villages) and then seeing the average cemetery here in the States with simple headstones and markers is sort of a shock. Just different cultures and customs. Well that is another post in itself as well for another time… maybe. From the cemetery we back to the house and just spent most of the day relaxing, a run out to the local Carrefour, which is similar to our supermarkets here but a bit bigger, nearer to a superwalmart than just a supermarket as they have everything, clothing, electronics, etc. Well that was another culture shock of sorts. First walking in I noticed all the cashiers were sitting! And nice seats too! lol I have to wonder what some of the cashiers form the store I work would say if they had seen that! those poor folks in the summer time here are on their feet the whole day and can only sit when they take a break in the back, if they’re lucky to even get one. I forget now what we went in to pick up, but I remember mostly just glancing at the brands on the shelf. Well there are a few of the brand new names out, but just the overall appearance of the American name brands that were there looked like a flashback to the 80′s! Even some of the old logo’s. Odd in a way, and then to have them mixed in with the local brands, most in Greek, well I would likely be lost! We really are a spoiled lot here in the US. too many choices I think sometimes. I was particularly wanting to see the meats , since that’s my profession. Well I was shocked at what I saw. Well first of all beef is not as readily available or as popular as it is here, but what they did have in the cases was horrible looking! days old at least and some eye round roasts that were so dried out from sitting in the case they were closer to chunky style beef jerky! they would have sacked the whole meat department on the spot if that was here in the US! None of it was prepackaged either, they were all service type cases and as they were cutting, they just dumped it into the case, and I mean literally dumped it! lol Well I guess its what people are used to, as they seemed busy. Pork and chicken were the biggest sellers and a lot of lamb too from the looks of the case. Well I personally would be afraid to buy anything, but I’m the same way here as being a meat cutter I rarely buy anything unless I cut it myself! ;) It was interesting to see first hand the little differences between here and there, but I am telling all the Americans reading this, you have no idea how spoiled we really are as a nation and how wasteful as well. It gave me a new appreciation, and brought a feeling of shame as well for the nitpicking we do over what are really stupid things to begin with. Now that will be a post in the future, for sure! ;)

We went back to the house and just stayed in the rest of the day. Watched a little tv, tried to take a nap but it was a bit warm and I think really I was still just excited to be there and didnt want to miss anything! We took Benji out for a walk around the neighborhood and I got chance to look around a bit more as up to now it was near dark when we had taken him out. Like everywhere these days its building up fast in Limassol. One of the things that I was amzed about was when they build a house the contractors oor owners will just have the material delivers and they sit out on the sidewalks or road! Same with the demolition debris! Well I guess they clean it all up when they’re done, but for all that time the stuff just sits there, and noboby messes with it! Can you imagine buying a pallet or two of roofing tiles and just storing them in the yard or on the street here? they would be gone the next morning! LOL And I swear I think I could have built a house with all the leftovers just thrown about. When we got back JM and I had a nice game of chess outside at the table while Alison fixed a fabulous meal. She had bought a chicken roll of sorts, well its a boneless rolled stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon and cheese. No not from Carrefour! lol theres a wonderful meat shop right down the road from her house which was very nice as I found out a few days later when we went to get some minced meat( ground pork ) ;) We ate out in the garden and enjoyed a wonderful meal and some wonderful wine! :) I really have developed a taste for it… well some of it… ;) After dinner Frosso came by and we sat and had another bottle and a wonderful evening just chatting and it was a pleasure meeting her. Well I feel I already knew everyone so well from all Alison had talked about them and it didnt seem I was meeting them for the first time really so that was very nice. Well it had to have been a couple of hours we sat out there enjoying the company, and the wine ;) Another wonderful day in Cyprus~ I felt very at home, well, being with Alison… I was home! :)