the grand finale

saturday was charlie's last day :(

luckily, she was a smarty pants and booked her flight for later on in the day so that we would be able to get the most out of it before having to send her back on her way.  the down side was that ben's practice was situated at a very inconvenient time, where we would have to leave her a few hours before she really needed to be at the airport, but we all decided to make the best of what we were given.

we woke up super early and were in larnaca before 11.  we walked the beach for quite awhile, and were amazed at how warm the day was turning out to be!  we popped into starbucks, but got our coffee to go so that we could take them over to the sand and sit by the water enjoying the scenery and the weather.  for the first time since october, i was completely comfortable just sitting in a shirt with no sweater... in fact, i was hot, and wishing that i'd worn something even more summery!

as we finished our drinks, we all agreed that we were pretty hungry and could do with a bite to eat, so we perused the street front to chose a spot to go into and decided on an indian restaurant.

when we sat down, we noticed that this indian restaurant aaaaalso had a sushi menu.  bingo!!  we all know what i'll be eating for lunch then, huh? ;)

after our (very yummy) lunch, we set off for a little bit more of a walk, and ventured down the street where there was an old castle.  we circled the entire castle trying to find the entrance, only to find that it was on the side where we were originally facing.  the problem was that it was closed on weekends... what fun is that?!

5-year-old benjamin wasn't very excited about the fact that he wouldn't be able to go inside and play make believe.  he likes to act out the attacks of the olden days, envisioning fleets of boats sailing in to attack, etc.  poor benboy.

after a bit, it was time to head back to the car to take charlie to the airport.  i was not excited, to say the least.  we drove past the salt pond with the flamingos, and then arrived at the airport.  as much as i tried to drag out the goodbye, we really couldn't do it for too long because ben was on a pretty tight schedule for practice.  then, like the blink of an eye, she was gone.  or technically, we were.. but still. 

i guess it's right what they say... all good things must come to an end... :(

xox k

gray skies in ayia napa

tuesday, we woke up and it was pretty cloudy skies, but we decided to head down to ayia napa regardless, figuring that it would be better for charlie to see it on a nice so great day than to not get a chance to see it at all.

we head down, and our first stop is nissi beach - the one that everyone "raves" about.  we hop out of the car and it's windy as hell... gray skies.. chilly.. but all is good because we're at the beach.  we spend the next half hour messing around at the shore, taking silly pictures, and just enjoying life.

from there, we head over to a gorgeous beachy cove that ben & i found at the end of a random street the last time we were down there.... the spot where i found all the tiny shells!  while we're there, the sun starts trying to come out, and it's not quite as cold, but then all of a sudden, it starts to rain & we're back in the car.

we take a little trip down the main street to show charl the shops and restaurants, thinking that maybe we'll find somewhere to sit for a coffee, but we find that they're all shut down and boarded up for the winter.  we knew ayia napa was a major tourist area, but we had no idea that everything would just stop and close up shop during the off-peak months.  our only option was really to head back up to nicosia and take it from there.

we wind up heading home and opening a bottle of wine to spend our evening with while ben had practice...

... all's well that ends well, eh? ;)

xox k

ayia napa take II

thursday, saturday, and sunday are all supposed to be days off because they had so many games so quickly in a row, and we decide we're going to make the best of each one.  on thursday, we kind of had our hearts set on heading down to the beach, despite the fact that the weather report was pretty dreary (meaning there might be some clouds in the sky).  ben being from england means that clouds aren't a reason to stay away from the beach, and me being absolutely obsessed with beaches means, well, that i like to go pretty much rain or shine.  or hail, or sleet, or blizzard.  you get the point.


we head down to ayia napa and off in the distance we see some blue sky.  fingers crossed, right?  ben's convinced that it will turn into a beautiful day, but such is typical of his ever-optimistic personality.  


as we get close, i remember that the last time we went, we stayed on the motor way for too long, so i suggest we get off at the next exit.  it turned out to be one exit too soon, which wasn't a big deal, and in the meantime, we pass this quaint little church sitting on a hill with a beautiful view of the sea.

across the street is this house that i ask ben to buy for me.  he laughed.. i wasn't kidding.

we get down to the shore and decide to make an attempt at checking out a different part of town than we did last time.  we take a side street down to the beach a little quicker off the main drag than we had when we went before, and wind up in a beautiful little cove area.

at first, it was really cloudy, but we weren't about to let it ruin our day.  the sun shining through the clouds was absolutely beautiful, and the rock pools along the water proved to be very entertaining for my child of a boyfriend.  


as we're walking, i look down hoping that maybe this will be the beach that i finally find some shells on, and i see one!!  a closer look, and i realize that there are thousands of tiny little shells mixed in with pebbles lining the shore.  that's pretty much a wrap, because i could have spent hours on end sifting through the pebbles in search of the little guys.  ben is crouched down, too, helping for awhile and then goes back to throwing rocks into the water or whatever other pastime a toddler would be intrigued by.  by the time i stop, i have hundreds. guess i shouldn't be the one to talk!

after a bit, it winds up that ben was right, and the sky begins to clear.  the entire cove turns a breathtaking color of aqua blue that these photos wont even begin to depict.  it was crazy, because it was like from every angle you looked, the sea took on a different color.  i haven't done a single thing to enhance the colors.

we decide it's time to move on, and head back to the car to move it somewhere where we wont have to worry about it being towed (we left it at the end of the street in front of a tree when we came through to this spot).  we wind up deciding it's easiest to put it where we did the last time we were here and then have a wander around again.

on the way to park the car, we pass a chinese/japanese restaurant that looks quite trendy and decide that's where we'll eat when the time comes.  in all honesty, it's only about 4pm but i'm becoming pretty hungry.  shocker.  the sun is beginning to make its decent in the sky, and i am getting really excited for another gorgeous coastal sunset.

once we park the car, we figure we might as well just do an early dinner, and set off walking the mile or so back to the restaurant.  as we walk by a little path down to the water, i catch a glimpse of the sun beginning to set, and think that we should head down it just to catch the sunset before we continue on to dinner.  we start down the path, and three adorable street cats come out to play, two of them tiny little kittens!  i seriously fell in love with these little guys, especially this one, who i named ashe.

we stop to play for a bit, dangling ben's key lanyard for them to paw at, scratching their backs, cuddling with them, and then continue down the path... and they follow!  we're literally headed along with three cats pouncing after us trying to keep up.  one runs ahead and pauses for us to catch up and then continues like that all the way down the path.  it was so freaking cute!

we get down to the end of the path just as the good part of the sunset is starting and keep playing with our new friends while we enjoy the scenery.  just as the beautiful colors were at their peak, the kittens decided to sit and watch along with us.

really, how cute is that??

once i decide i'm over it, we head back up the path, kitties in tow, and say goodbye when we reach the street so we can go eat.  we finish our walk to the restaurant, are seated, and enjoy another fabulous meal together before heading back home to nicosia.  in reality, it didn't wind up to be such an early dinner after all.

beautiful scenery, beautiful food, beautiful company.  i have nothing to complain about these days!

xox k

my weekend with suzie q & more bus shenanigans

saturday & sunday was girls' weekend.  ben and i drove down saturday after lifting and spent a few hours as the three of us, and then he headed back to nicosia for practice, and i stayed with sue for some quality bonding time relaxing in the sun.

we spent the day by the pool, swimming in the mediterranean, relaxing, and chatting.  it was an amazing day, i think, for both of us.  mumma eaves is under a lot of stress at home with work and typical life challenges. meanwhile, i'm under a lot of stress here with what to wear, what to eat, where to go.... you see why we needed the mental health day... ;)

after the good sun starts to dwindle, we decide to head back up to the room and get ready to head out for dinner.  the plan is to catch a bus into downtown larnaca, (her hotel was about 20 minutes further east), and have a look around the town and find somewhere to eat.


we shower, dress, and are ready to go with plenty of time to get down to the bus stop for an 8 o'clock bus.  we're there with about ten minutes to spare, wait for a bit, and see a bus pass by without even pulling into the bus stop.  OUR bus.  pass.  without stopping.  you can understand why things get a little frustrating around here from time to time!  we wait for the 8:30, and that one doesn't come.  finally, we decide to scrap the original plan and head across the street to check out the local restaurants.


honestly, i'm glad we did.  the place we ate at was absolutely phenominal.  our meal was fantastic.. both of our dishes were about the size of double portions, which we finished off with no problems whatsoever, despite having said there was no way we'd be able to eat it all.  in retrospect, i'm not sure why i said that in the first place, considering the fact that i'm pretty much famous for my ability to eat my body weight in good food.  with dinner, we enjoyed an amazing bottle of local red wine (the wineries on the island, i'm finding, are outstanding), and finished up with coffee brandys.  it was an incredible night, really.  we sat down to eat around 9, checked a clock somewhere around 10:15, and the next thing we knew, it was going on midnight!  talk about a lot of chatting!


we head back to the hotel, change, and are asleep probably in under fifteen minutes.  guess that's what happens when you have a hard-working day!  try not to hate me too much ;)


sunday, ben comes back down pretty early since they don't have lifting in the morning.  we enjoy a bit of chatting, but mostly just the sun, have lunch, and before you know it it's time to head back to nicosia.  mister benjamin's first game is the next day, so sue will catch a bus up (hopefully) like she did last time, and we will all head over to see it pan out!


xox k

mother goose in town

late wednesday night (the 19th), ben's mom flew into cyprus to stay in larnaca for the week.  we planned to go down to see her the following day because it was really too late to do a round-trip journey at the time she got in.


thursday, ben had shooting in the morning and a practice at night, but the idea was to go in between, have some lunch, sit by the pool, and catch up.  mister benjamin gets home from shooting & the sole of his shoe looks like it's talking.  it is literally dangling off from the bottom of the shoe.  the first game of the season is in a couple of days, so we decide it's necessary to make a pit-stop in nicosia at the shoe place his team gets a discount at before heading down (in the opposite direction) to larnaca.


we stop, ben finds shoes that he's obsessed with, used to play in back in the day, change colors, sing, and dance, so we're good to go.


at about 2, we're in larnaca... only an hour or so after we had told sue we'd be there.  i take all of three seconds to take my clothes off and find myself a nice spot in the sun to enjoy the beautiful day. 

meanwhile, much to sue's dismay, ben didn't bring his shorts.  "i just can't belieeeeevee you're not going to take advantage of the facilities!"  she was right, though, ben pretty much looks like an idiot sitting in khaki shorts, a black polo, and a fitted hat, while sue & i are lounging in our bathing suits.

we chill for a couple hours, catching up, grab some food, and then have to make our way back home to get the big boy ready for practice.  the day flew by and was over way too quickly, but we made plans for her to bus it up to us the next day, and the whole week was in front of us, so it wasn't too bad.


pretty uneventful day, but sometimes those are the best, right? beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day :)

xox k