shopping and a road trip

a few days later, the boys had a game in larnaca against a team called aek ("ike").  stasa and i decided that we wanted to make the trip down to watch the game, but that before we went, we wanted to go downtown and do a little bit of shopping.


ben and i had to go to the bank, so stasa and i arranged to meet at noon at the starbucks downtown and then head from there.  ben dropped me off, and stasa was already waiting, ready to go.  we spent a couple hours wandering around the shops and ended up with a couple of cute finds each.  when it was about time for the guys to go to the gym for the bus, we grabbed a taxi to head back to stasa and cico's apartment, and then went to the gym with cico.


finally, the guys were boarded on the bus, we had the car turned around and ready to follow them, and we were ready to go!  the trip down was interesting, following behind a massive red bus that was weaving in and out of traffic and around the roundabouts like a crazy person, but we made it down there safe and sound.


stasa parked the car, and we were off to find our way into the gym (which is way bigger and much nicer than ours, by the way).  we get in and find seats, and are ready to go.  the boys start warming up, and a police officer comes over the the two of us.  he asked if we were here supporting apoel, which obviously we were, and told us that it would be safer for us to move to the other side of the gym.  i couldn't help but think that this was going to be an interesting night...


anyway, he walks us down a set of stairs, through a few back hallways, and stasa and i are kind of looking at each other like, umm is this the part where he kills us?  we go through a set of double doors, and we are on the court!  he leads us across the court - literally - and then through more doors, up more stairs, and into the seating area opposite where we were before.  we were two of like ten people sitting on that side, and there were gates separating us from the other side.  fans must be pretty crazy, eh?


now can i just say, this gym, nice as it may be, is absoluuuutely freezing.  freezing!  we were sitting for a few minutes before we realized it, but then our fingers and toes started to go numb.  because it was a nice day out, i was dressed completely inappropriately for the temperature, in a mid-thigh dress and a cardigan, and i pretty much wanted to kill myself.  at halftime, we went outside so stasa could have a cigarette, and it was literally warmer out there than it was in the gym.  i wish i was kidding.  we would up going to the car to get her huge winter coat to use as a blanket, and for the second half of the game, we did just that.


the end of the game was a nail biter.  we had a pretty big lead throughout most of the first half, but apoel has been pretty notorious for messing it up towards the end of the game.  low and behold, they did it again.  the last minute or so was back and forth points where apoel and aek shifted a point here and there for who was in the lead.  stasa and i were going absolutely mental watching and trying to figure out what the outcome was going to be.  


luckily, we won!


we headed back to nicosia, again following the bus, and the committee ended up giving everyone money to go enjoy a meal or drinks or something to celebrate.  we headed to bennigans, a nice irish restaurant kind of like an applebee's type place, and spent a few hours relaxing and enjoying the night!


i'm really starting to get used to this lifestyle!  a girl definitely can't complain.... ;)


xox k

a go with the flow kinda day

sunday was amazing.  benjamin had the day off, and we slept in pretty late.  when we woke up, we looked outside and it was gorgeous (it had been cloudy the day before). because it was already about noon and we hadn't even showered or had breakfast, we ruled out any big extravaganzas.

without any plan in mind, we hop in the car & head out for a coffee.  we order our coffee "for here," and go find a seat.  coffee shops in europe are much more restaurant-like than they are in the states.  there are tons of outdoor seating areas with couches and coffee tables around, some in the shade, some in the sun.  if you order your coffee "for here," you are served with big mugs just like you'd snuggle up with at home, and when you're done, you leave your dishes on the table and the waitress comes to clear them for you after you've gone.

we must have been sitting there for an hour, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the briskness of the chilled breeze; much longer than it took us to finish our drinks.  the two of us were so baffled, though, as for what to do next!  it was a gorgeous day, but there wasn't enough time to do any real exploring, and we had just been to old nicosia yesterday.  

we wind up heading down there again for another wander, regardless of the fact that we've done this a million times now.  i'm livid with myself for not bringing passports with us so we could have a wander around the turkish side, as i'd promised myself i would not forget them the next time we headed that way (in my defense, we didn't know that was the plan).  

we start off on a stroll through old nicosia, and decide to explore the streets less traveled, if you will.  what began as a right turn where we normally would have continued straight or turned around led us into all kinds of desolate back street areas where people live high above the street in old buildings very much in need of renovation, or at least a paint job.  it was like time stopped somewhere between 1960-1970 and kind of was just at a stand still.  it was both beautiful and devastating at the same time, and i couldn't decide if i would love to live there or hate it.  one building would be adorable and quaint and show so much character, and then the next would be missing the windows and tagged with graffiti.  so bizarre!

after a bit, we head home because i have to start cooking something to take over to eboni & kevin's for dinner.  they had invited us all over, kyle too, which ended up being a really great night out of the house.  we got there for about 7 and left after midnight, following dinner, chatting, and card games that turned into drinking games that turned into lots of laughs.

it was a lovely end to a great, completely unplanned day, and i wouldn't hesitate to do it all over again!

xox k

on the border

on saturday, we decide to take kyle into old nicosia to show him a bit of what this place is all about.  we parked in "our" lot, and headed across the street into the quaint little area we are so beginning to love.

after wandering down the main strip a bit, we continued past the part where we've typically turned around. things changed in style from the clothing shops and restaurants we had come from to more of a souvenir shop type feel.

i looked across the street and saw a "police station" tucked into the corner of this tiny little nook in the cobblestone streets.  it was such an unlikely place for a police station, not to mention it seemed kind of pointless - like what are they going to do in an emergency?  i decided i had to take a picture.  i pull out my camera, and just as i'm about to lift it to focus for the picture, i look literally 5 meters in front of me and realize we're standing at the greek/turkish border.  guess the police station makes more sense than i thought.  if i had taken the picture, i probably would have been in big time trouble.

i explain the border to kyle, how it's the last divided city in the world, and that the two sides despise each other.  at first, i was under the impression that only E.U. passport holders could cross the border, but i'm now reading things that insinuate that i might be able to as well.  at one point in time, the hatred was so intense between the two sides that if you were, at any point in time, on the turkish side & had the stamp in your passport, you were no longer allowed back to the greek side.  ever.  to this day, they do "passport" stamps on separate pieces of paper, rather than in the passport itself.  i wish we had our passports so we could have tried to cross the border!!

...next time.

xox k

a whole lot of rain... and wine

so apparently as much as it "never" rains here, when it does, it really does.  from the time kyle got here on sunday morning until pretty much friday, the skies were gray and it was raining on & off.  rain, for me, has always made for a lazy, relaxing, do-nothing type of day... and this entire week was pretty much just that.  


every morning i would wake up, look outside from the bedroom & decide that the day was forfeited to the rain.. i mean come on, how much fun can exploring be when you're soaking wet, cold, and cranky?  it'd be one thing if we were staying local, but to really adventure out means long car rides, and i wasn't motivated by sitting on the ride back soaked to the bone like a wet dog.


finally, come thursday, i'd had enough of sitting cooped up inside (as was my choice) and decided to see what eboni was up to while the boys were at practice.  turned out her & irie were just sitting at their apartment hanging out, and so i grabbed a bottle of wine & headed out for the two minute journey walking to their house.


"nim! nim!"  irie's excited to see me, but can't quite grasp the "k" at the start of my name... which i love.  ben's more of a "enn" too.  irie isn't even two yet, but knows all of our names and can put them to our faces.  she's literally better than i am at the names of the guys on the team (maybe not quite but i'll give her that one).


anyway, first things first was to pour a couple glasses of wine, followed by about five house tours given by irie.  "momma dadda room, irie room, momma dadda room, irie room.  oooh noooo!! wa wa! oooooh noooo!! ooooh noooo!!!"  i guess eboni had mopped the floors earlier, and irie was telling me that the floors were wet so be careful (wa wa is water).  i'm sure they had been dry for a few hours by now, but hey... can't be mad at the girl for trying to keep me safe!  she's way too smart for her age, i swear.


we sit & enjoy a bottle of wine and an adorable little girl, and before we realize it, kevin's home from practice.  i was like, "you're home early!"  wrong.  evidently, hours had gone by & we didn't even realize it.  


ben calls from downstairs to tell me he's here, (i had asked him to pick me up there on his way home), but there's still a good bit of wine in my glass, and i'm not about to waste it.  he & kyle come upstairs for a bit while i finish, and we introduce kyle to irie.  a few minutes later we head out because it's way past dinner time and everyone was pretty hungry by then. eboni & i decide to hook up the following morning for a grocery shopping & coffee date before the fourth basketball game.


we leave, and i feel great to a) have gotten out of the house and b) have someone other than ben to have meaningful conversation with.  it's actually amazing to have someone that i get along with so well here too, especially since she's done the same leave work behind, go abroad with a basketball player, enjoy life thing too.  some of the conversations we had that night will be with me forever, i just know it... and i love that.


note to self:  do this every night while the boys practice.


xox k

art, food, & shopping... my 3 loves.

oh... and boyfriend.  4 loves, that's right:  art, food, shopping, and... eerrrmmm.. the boyfriend.  hmmm.
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saturday rolls around and we decide it's a good day to go searching for art/craft stores.  i'm in desperate need of wire for my jewelry, and ben has the magnificent new idea that he will make greeting cards.  in all fairness, it's a pretty good idea.  he's an extremely talented artist, and has come up with a plan to do some loose sketches of whatever it may be and have them printed on greeting cards to set up an etsy shop and potentially earn some money.  i'm all for it.... i think it's a great idea.


anyway, liiike i was saying, we're going to find an art store.  we google art shops in nicosia, and nothing.  google arts and craft shops in nicosia.. nothing.  google shops in cyprus. nothing. perfect. finally, a couple options show up somehow and we literally have to play detective to figure out where they are.  ben finds one, rainbow art, that he is convinced will have "everything." i, on the other hand, am not so convinced.  the photo on the website - if it even counts as a website - looks like a pile of junk sitting in the middle of an old beat up store.  you can imagine that i am less than intrigued.  i, on the other hand, find a craft store about 15 minutes away that specializes in beading, jewelry crafting, etc.  hmmmmmm... wonder where we should gooooo?  he picks rainbow art. awesome.


we proceed with a photo taken on the ipod... as if that's a surprise.  i'm not excited.  another surprise.  we get into nicosia and are wandering around pretty much aimlessly by this point.  i'm beginning to lose patience, in all honesty. driving in circles really isn't my idea of a fun time... who knew.  another half hour goes by, and we somehow wind up in the old town where the roads are about as big as my pinky finger. even better.  something is telling me this isn't where we're supposed to be putting a car, considering the mirrors are inches from the walls on either side.  cranky kimberly has begun to take over.  we're also nearing the border to the turkish side of the city, and i have visions of armed military men coming after me with ak-49s or whatever they're called & asking for my documents.  once i get going, there's really no stopping me.


we wind up making our way back out of the small street area, and i'm clearly beginning to loose all patience with this brilliant idea of benjamin's.  i can be a real bitch sometimes.  honestly, it was like someone knew that i was about to break, and just as we turn the corner, the place is on the right.  out of control!


we go into the shop and ben was right... kind of.  they have the wire i need, but the beads are pretty much a waste of time.  i'll give him half credit on this one, i think.  mister benjamin finds the sketch book and pens he needs for this new project of his, i grab my wire, and we are out the door.


on the way through the maze we took trying to find the place, we passed a farmer's market that i decide we should check out while we're here.  we leave the car parked by the shop and wander about a half mile back down the street past a really cute church, to the market.

opposite the farmer's market, for some odd reason, is a ferris wheel.  normal place for a ferris wheel, right?  wrong.  i'm not really sure, though, why we didn't hop on for a ride, because i would have enjoyed that waaay more than your typical person.  maybe next time?

we walk into the farmer's market and kind of realize that we don't really have a reason to be there.  ever had that feeling where something seems like a brilliant idea, and then you do it and you're kinda like ehhhh well that was fun...?  i come up with (another) great idea and propose to benboy that we go through the market and buy one of everything that we've never seen before.  i actually still really like this idea, but we didn't do it because it occurred to me that if we didn't know what it was, we wouldn't know how to cook it or if it was safe to eat raw.  not really in the mood for food poisoning, salmonella, or any of those other lovely visitors while i'm here.. just saying.  it really was a pretty great farmer's market, but my photo is terrible.  ya win some ya loose some.

rather than just head home, we wander back into old nicosia and have a walk around.  i somehow found myself drawn into a really great store.... and spending way too long (and too much) in there.  woops.  we finish the afternoon off with a late lunch at a sweet little asian-ish restaurant, where we are again surprised with yummy free desserts.  i'm finding that things always taste so much better when they're free.

practice is coming up soon, so we head back to the car and trip back home so he can get ready, probably eat again, and be on his merry way.  


he played for two days sketching in his new sketch book.  now, it is tossed in the corner & completely disregarded like a child after a week of playing with his new toy.  reason number 38723065723 why benjamin is a 5-year-old.


actually, he must have gotten some subconscious feeling that i was talking about it, because he just picked up the sketch book, flipped through his drawings, and tossed it back in the corner.  strange.


xox k

the first encounter with cyprus buses..

we decided that sue would come up to us the next day on the bus, and we'll meet around midday on our end.  she had a look at the bus schedules and where the different lines run, and it seemed like it should be a pretty easy journey.  we had given her my cell phone and kept ben's so that we'd be able to keep in pretty good contact about her whereabouts and stuff, and pretty much just had our fingers crossed that it would work out.


friday morning, ben gets back from practice, we have some lunch, and decide to take a walk to one of the few bus stops that are around the apartment just to get a head start (if that even happened to be the one she got off at).  we walk down towards "our" park, turn around, and there she is!  apparently, the only reason she knew where to get off the bus (short of guessing) was because we had told her the other day that we found a park to walk around in... but seriously, what a coincidence that as soon as we get down there, she's just turned the corner, right?


anyway, we decide to pop into a little gyro spot in the neighborhood for lunch, and i get my first gyro since i've been here. can i just say, ooooh my goooodddddddd.  it was honestly heaven.  i seriously can't wait to go back again, and i'm honestly not sure why we haven't, considering the place is literally across the street from our apartment!


after lunch, we take her back to the apartment, show her around a bit, and decide to wander into nicosia for a coffee.  we wind up sitting outside of starbucks for a couple hours chatting about randomness and hearing the story of her adventure into nicosia from larnaca.  it had taken her 4 hours to make a journey that should have been 2.5 because of the way the busses run around here (or don't run, for that matter).  apparently bus drivers have the same attitude as many of the people here regarding doing things they don't want to, and if it doesn't suit them to stop where/when they're supposed to, they just don't.  long story short, two of the three buses she needed to get in order to make it from the hotel to us were very late.


ben has an early practice, so it's a pretty short day.  we leave her in the city to catch a bus (hopefully) back to larnaca with plans to meet up again saturday poolside!  unfortunately, she misses out on a spectacular sunset....


amazing how having family around makes you feel at home in a foreign place, isn't it?


xox k