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

an oven & a game

don't think i mentioned this, but when i got here, benjamin told me that the oven was broken.  apparently, the light would go on inside it but it wouldn't get hot no matter how long you left it on for.  i'm a huge fan of cooking, and really enjoy stuffed peppers, mushrooms, apples, etc, that are made in the oven.  because mister benjamin is not typically a moron, i took his word that it was broken.  

we had been on top of the assistant coach, who handles arrangements like these, to make sure that the fixer upper guy came to look at the oven and get it working again.  evidently, the team paid the guy at the beginning of the season for all of the minor things he would have to do to maintain the players' apartments, which, in my opinion, was the the wrong way to go about it.  add to that the fact that everything here takes at least 2 weeks to get done from the time when you start really nagging, which we hadn't begun to do yet.  it got to the point where ben finally told the coach that if the guy didn't come over in the next week, he was going to go see him personally and tell him to come fix it.  he was here four days later.  sometimes ya just gotta take matters into your own hands.

anyway, the doorbell rings and the guy is here to have a look at the ac unit in the living room, which hasn't been working properly, or at all, for that matter, and the oven.  he fiddles with the ac for a bit & decides that it's not something he can fix and he'll have to call the company themselves to come check into it.  he then goes to the oven, and turns it on.  let me repeat: he goes to the oven, and turns it on.  benjamin, in all his glory, didn't turn the oven on the right way and concluded that it was broken.  we have been living, at this point, for three weeks without an oven that i was under the impression was not working.  amazing.  

i decide to skip the part where i explain to ben how to work an oven, because i can't believe that at 24 he still couldn't figure out how.  i'm being a bit of a prick here, really.... the reason he didn't get it to turn on right is because there's a safety feature built into the timer dial on the oven so that you have to put the timer to a certain setting in order for the temperature dial to activate and heat the oven.

i start going to town making stuffed peppers for dinner that night, deciding that since he has a game, we will be able to come home & just pop them in the oven for dinner!  soooo excited, you have no idea.  plus, we've been eating stove-cooked meals for so long now, that i think anything out of the oven would have been phenomenal! 

time comes around to head for the game, and we do.  i sit with my favorite new friends, well, my only new friends really (they'd be my favorite anyway), eboni & irie.  i spend most of the game obsessing over how freaking adorable she is.  seriously tell me you don't want to put this little one in your pocket!!

benboy has a great game... lots of minutes, points, rebounds, blocks, blah blah blah... all that basketball jazz.  to top it off, they win.  i'm a really really happy camper when it's all over, as is he.

we go home, pop dinner in the oven and enjoy a very yummy meal, if i do say so myself.  it's been yet another amazing afternoon & evening with my boo!

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

piecing things together

thursday we don't really have much planned other than to grab some groceries, so we decide to head into nicosia to exchange his shoes.  forgot to mention this, but he didn't like the first pair he got, even though he was so sure they were amazing because he'd played in them before.  i guess he got to practice that day and found out that they had changed something about the shoe since he had them years ago and the change didn't work with what he likes or something.  who knows.  that's the thing about men - they are always so indecisive, changing their minds and stuff... tehehe ;)  anyway, we are headed back to the store to swap them for different ones.


we decided on a different route to the store that popped up on google maps a day or so earlier, and are headed on our way.  as we start to get closer to where we're headed, things begin to look familiar.... and soon, we realize that we're in the same exact place as we were a couple weeks earlier when we were "super lost in an area of nicosia that doesn't speak english.." yeeaaaa, remember that? 


we pass the shop that we went into to ask for directions where the lady just kinda smiled and shrugged her shoulders at us, pass the pet shop that couldn't figure out what we were asking, and seriously in like two blocks, we are in downtown nicosia.  if we hadn't turned around and remained lost, we would have been right back on track that day in no time. goooood tiiimeesssss.


anyway, we get to the shop and ben swaps the shoes for a pair that he tries on & feels good in, and he's one happy camper.  he even cuddles with the shoe while he drives back home. i wish i was kidding.... i'm not.

we get back the the apartment, and he spends about a half hour showing me the tread on the shoe and explaining how it will be amazing... the way they've done it is trying to imitate the footprint and the small grips will help him on the court, and blah blah blah.


fast forward to after practice: he comes home & tells me they are shit, the tread doesn't work so he's slipping all over, and he can't play in them.  maybe third time's a charm??


xox k

old nicosia

wednesday was sue's final day in cyprus, and the plan was for her to bus it up to us and spend the day wandering through old nicosia.  she kind of ventured through a couple days earlier and was eager to show us all she'd learned.


ben went to lift in the morning, and i somehow turned the alarm off and fell back asleep when it went off for me to shower.  i was only just making breakfast when sue rang in from downstairs to be let in.. woops! we sat out on the balcony & enjoyed a nice cup of hot coffee made from the amazing kettle that she'd just bought for us while we waited for ben to get back from lifting.


once we're all set & ready to go, we hop in the car & are off to explore the old part of the city.  we park across the street from where we're headed in a decent size lot that costs 3 euros for the entire day... could do worse! we park and head across the street to have a look around & wind up in debenhams, a popular store, that happens to have 7 stories.  at the top is a viewing floor where you can see all of nicosia, including across the border to the turkish side.  we obviously check that out, and can see where the crossing point is between the two countries' occupied areas (where the flags are).

old nicosia itself is adorable... very quaint, with cobblestone streets and small shops and restaurants lining the way.  above eye level are absolutely gorgeous balconies and dormer windows that show the true character of the time period when this was the main downtown area.

we stop for lunch & an accordion player walks by serenading couples in the street and sitting enjoying their meal, and i feel for a minute like i'm in disney's the lady & the tramp.

we finish up with lunch and are back to walking around, as sue is just determined to find an even more quaint little area that she came across the other day.  our failed attempts thus far have made her "quite cross" with the fact that she hasn't been able to stumble back upon it.  ben & i remind her that today is not the end-all opportunity for us to find this spot - we are going to be here for approximately 5 more months and will have plenty of chances to make the 10-minute trip back into the area to have a look around.  


we finally surrender and are headed back out of town because ben has practice coming up and sue needs to catch a bus back to larnaca in order to make it to the airport in time.  as we're walking back to the car park, she recognizes a bit of the street and realizes it's the way to the area she wants to show us, asks if we have 5 minutes to flatter her and pop in for a look.  


we head over, and in her defense, i can understand why she so badly wanted to go back to this spot.. it's amazing!  we walk through an alleyway small enough that ben could probably touch both sides at the same time, standing in the middle, and it opens up into a secret little area.  there are vendors beckoning you to have a look at their displays, and restaurants and shops even tinier than the ones where we just came from.  it would have made for a wonderful painting.

we head back out of the old town, and begin our long goodbyes by the car as we prepare to leave her at the bus station and head back to the apartment.  we've had a coffee too many, i think, because i am dying for a restroom.... i finally announce that i will most likely pee my pants if we don't leave, and we do.


headed back to the apartment, ben & i reflect on what has been an exhausting, but just amazing, week with his mum.


i'm asleep, i think, before he's even left for practice that night.


xox k

opening game, the making of friends, & clubhouse dinner

monday, sue was planning on getting to us somewhere around noon, but with the way the buses were going, that turned into 12:30, turned into 1, etc.  eventually ben & i decided to lay down for a nap while we waited so he could get some rest for the game, and we could just kind of relax for a bit.


we get a text from her when she's down the street, get up, and head that way.  just as we catch up to her, she shows us a shopping bag with a KETTLE!!!!!! ben & i are by no means cheap, but we couldn't find a kettle that didn't mean paying a million dollars, and since we're not making lifelong investments while we're here, we couldn't really justify paying 50-60 euros for something that may or may not come with us when we leave.  somewhere in passing, we had mentioned it to suz, because she found a deal on one & bought it for us! such an amazing house-warming gift... we're so used to downing tea & coffee by the gallon, so it was seriously such a practical, amazing thing for her to bring us... i'm thankful for it about 6 times a day while i'm enjoying my teas & coffees!


we head up to the apartment, put the kettle on and chat for awhile.  after a bit, i make dinner (nothing fancy by any means, as we have to go grocery shopping) and we eat before heading out to the game.


until now, the only other girlfriend/wife i've met was the one of a serbian player, who barely speaks english.  their daughter, nina, is somewhere around 9 months i think and is the happiest baby i think i've ever seen.  as lovely as she is, it's very difficult to build a relationship with her because of the language barrier.  before tonight's game starts, though, we meet one of ben's teammate's wife & daughter.  eboni, kevin's wife, is somewhere around my age and from california, where i lived for a year and a half.  perfect!  finally someone i have something in common with.  irie, their daughter, is going on 2 soon, and is absolutely adorable.  she's got just enough of an attitude to keep her interesting, but warms up to you & is such a little love bug.  i'm thrilled at the thought that we might finally have people to hang out with!


the game has its ups & downs.  ben starts, but doesn't see much playing time... we chalk it up to it being his first game as a rookie, but are all somewhat nervous/upset about what the implications could be for the season.  at halftime, irie met nina, and gave her a kiss on her hand.. as well as sharing her half-eaten cookie..... so freaking cute.

they won, so we are all invited to go with the team & the committee to a dinner at the clubhouse, and do a pretty good job of keeping our heads up.  one of the guys on the committee finds out that i'm vegan and orders up a frenzy of greek vegetarian foods for me to try: baked mushrooms, peppers, salad, the works. petrou, the guy who takes care of the team equipment and stuff, teaches me how to eat it like a greek: drown it in oil and squeeze a lemon on top.  absolutely amazing. somewhere in the middle of dinner, sue got a terrible headache and had to leave the table to go get some fresh air, so ben & i kind of rush to eat and dismiss ourselves to take her back to larnaca.  truth be told, i was starting to get a headache myself, so it was good timing.


we get in the car and head back to the apartment to pick up her stuff before we head back down to the hotel, and my headache is getting MUCH worse as hers gets better.  i almost stay at the apartment and let them go on their own, but don't want ben making the return trip alone, so i stay.  as we make the trip down, i have my head in my hands covering my eyes from any bit of light, and occasionally a hand over an ear to make an attempt at blocking out any noise from their conversations. absolute agony of a migraine in the making.  by the time we get to the hotel, i'm visibly sick, and need a pit-stop in the restroom before attempting the return trip, which is absolutely no better.


we get back home, i crawl into bed, and don't get out for approximately 24 hours.  


tuesday is a day off from meeting up with sue, so i literally stay in bed for the majority of the day.  the one good thing about the day, though, was the sunset!!

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