It was about midnight by the time we collected our rental car and drove the 52 kilometres or so from Larnaka airport to our hotel at Agia Napa in the East. We could tell immediately that Cyprus would be a relaxing two weeks; they drive on the left and road signs are in Greek and English. Even the plugs are the UK three pins, so no need for adapters.
Agia Napa is a holiday town primarily focused on English visitors, so there is Premier League football on TV everywhere, bitters on tap in local pubs and we could have eaten English breakfasts to our hearts' content had we been that way inclined.
We had hoped to do a day trip across into the Turkish side to see Salamis, a ruined Roman city, but we were all exhausted after a day at Athens airport and late arrival, so instead we had a slow start then headed for nearby Makronissos Beach.
It is one of the most gorgeous beaches we have ever seen. Perfect golden sand and beautiful clear, warm water. The only thing I would have changed it the number of loungers, which were spread all over the beach. I think it must be school holidays in parts of the UK and Europe as there were lots of families around no doubt enjoying an escape from the autumn chill. That afternoon we stayed at the hotel enjoying the on-site pools (which included a shallow children's pool) and play ground. Two very happy children and parents!
After a swim in the pool the following morning we left for Lemesos, which is a much bigger city. We stayed across the road from the beach, so had a lovely view from our 5th floor room; although Adrian took Eleanor and Leo for a swim and reported that the beach wasn't the cleanest.
From there we visited the Crusader castle at Kalossi on our way to see the ruins of Ancient Kurion. At the castle Eleanor took Adrian and I on separate tours (we took it in turns as Leo was asleep in the car). the tour included visiting a dragon landing pad at the top of the tour, the room where princesses have their tea parties (sometimes accompanied by dragons and knights) and the place Eleanor had seen a large lizard scuttle away at great speed.
Ancient Kurion is a cliff-top Roman city with amazing views out to sea. It is an great spot for a wander around the ruins on a sunny afternoon. We enjoyed watching paragliders above the ruins, who must have had a fantastic perspective on it all. We followed it with a swim at Kurion Beach at the bottom of the hill. The sand is fine and grey, and the sea is beautifully warm. We finished off watch the stunning sun set from a restaurant on the beach with an ice cream for Eleanor and Leo and a frappe and cheese cake for the adults.
The next day we drove to Peyia near Paphos, where our lovely friends Tracey and Roy have let us stay in their apartment (nine nights = proper unpacking! Davy, I always remember you mentioning this particular luxury in your South American blog and now know exactly what you meant!). Before leaving Lemesos we visited the compact castle filled with little rooms, and another tower complete with another dragon landing pad.
On our way to Peyia we visited a donkey sanctuary in the foothills of the Troodos Mountains; Eleanor and Leo loved it, especially because they got to touch a donkey's nose. We attempted to stop in at a vineyard not far up the road from the sanctuary to pick up some local wine, only to discover the three we saw were all closed.
There is a lot to see around Paphos, so we won't be spending all day beside the pool with a Keo, but we definitely intend to relax and recharge our batteries. Thank you very much Tracey and Roy for giving us this opportunity, it is greatly appreciated!
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Tuesday 23 October 2012
2012 10 Athens, Greece
2012 10 Athens, Greece, a set on Flickr.
79 photos from our time in Athens, Greece. Click on the link to see them all.Saturday 20 October 2012
Athens
Years ago a friend showed me photos of the Acropolis in Athens. It looked like an amazing place, although I do remember noticing that it was surrounded by a big, polluted city. Adrian had seen similar images so we have both wanted to visit for a while;
weren't sure what we'd think of the city though, especially as we had chosen cheap accommodation in a rough part of town.
Our room was small, but clean and comfortable. We shared the communal areas with a French Canadian man and a girl from New York (travelling independently) whose company we really enjoyed. The area itself is, well, rough... think prostitutes, drug users and dealers and general dodginess all taking place in amongst grimy buildings and you're about there. It is probably not an area many tourists visit, [Adrian: our guide book told us not to go there] but is definitely an interesting perspective on the city. The impact of the economic situation in Greece can be seen clearly on these streets and doesn't make for an easy life for the locals.
The Acropolis is amazing. There are views from different angles all
over the city. The Parthenon is partly under scaffolding, which was a
shame, but didn't detract from its impact. my favourite though was the
Erechtheion. There was a film crew shooting while we visited, we don't know what the film was and didn't recognise either of the stars. It was interesting but a little frustrating as our ability to wander freely was restricted at points and they needed quiet, which is a little tricky when Eleanor and Leo think it is hilarious to play 'monsters and screamers' on the rocks. If you see a movie set in about the 1960's in which the female lead is wandering around the Acropolis in a yellow dress, please let us know!
From there we walked past Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus to a
great playground in the National Gardens. Athens is littered with
ancient buildings in amongst the modern. Discoveries are frequently made when they dig foundations for new buildings.
We also went to Ancient Agora, which contains the fantastic 7th century Temple of Hephaestus that we had seen from the Acropolis the day before. It is largely as it would have been all those years ago. After another stop at the playground and repairing the second flat pushchair tyre in two days (none until Athens then two in two days!) we visited the Acropolis museum. The museum has a pathway leading up to the entrance that give a view onto ruins that were
discovered during its construction and meant the original site was changed by a few metres.
That evening we had dinner in the old town. The Acropolis illuminated
at night is a beautiful sight and the pedestrian streets full of restaurants and little shops were lovely for a post-dinner wander. Such a different part of the city to where we stayed!
We decided that a 45-minute tram trip to Flisvos, a seaside suburb with a big play area, would make a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the city. It did! The play area had at least 15 slides of all shapes and sizes and a rabbit warren of climbing frames, just perfect for small people. After a paddle (or skinny dip in Eleanor and Leo's case) in the warm sea, we headed back to Athens. Our tram stopped outside the parliament buildings, so we watched the changing of the guard outside the tomb of the unknown solider. It was great! The pompom-toed soldiers must have taken years to learn their leg swings and toe wiggles. Excellent! [Adrian: you train for years to kill people and then some officer says congratulations! you get to perform silly walks in dorky costumes for tourists!] We then raced back to pack our bags for our long-awaited two weeks in Cyprus.
We had noticed early in our stay that on the day we flew out there was to be a march from a square near our accommodation to parliament protesting against the austerity measures. We were pleased to be leaving first thing to avoid it as other similar demonstrations have ended with riots and arrests. While Adrian and I were a little curious to see it, we thought best not to be too close to the action with two small children, just in case.
When we were notified the night before we were due to fly to Cyrpus that our flight was delayed from 10.40am until 8.30pm due to a strike by air traffic controllers (we later learned it was a general strike), we considered our options and decided to go straight to the airport that morning and spend a few hours at the nearby zoo.
We left just in time to see the beginnings of the protest pass our accommodation and arrived at the metro station only to discover the drivers were also on strike. Adrian knew there is a bus, so we walked a couple of kilometres to the bus stop and got to the airport very easily. Once there, we found that the taxi drivers were striking too, so that meant no zoo visit (unless we wanted to hire a car). Fortunately there is an excellent free play area at Athens airport so what would have been a very long eight-hour wait went remarkably quickly and we arrived in Cyprus late and tired, but excited about the next leg of our journey.
As for what we thought of Athens... The sights are fabulous (the
Ancient Greeks were incredible architects!) and, while it is a large
and busy city, we didn't notice much pollution (I think there has been
significant work on this in recent years). Would we live there? No.
Would we visit again? Definitely!
weren't sure what we'd think of the city though, especially as we had chosen cheap accommodation in a rough part of town.
Our room was small, but clean and comfortable. We shared the communal areas with a French Canadian man and a girl from New York (travelling independently) whose company we really enjoyed. The area itself is, well, rough... think prostitutes, drug users and dealers and general dodginess all taking place in amongst grimy buildings and you're about there. It is probably not an area many tourists visit, [Adrian: our guide book told us not to go there] but is definitely an interesting perspective on the city. The impact of the economic situation in Greece can be seen clearly on these streets and doesn't make for an easy life for the locals.
The Acropolis is amazing. There are views from different angles all
over the city. The Parthenon is partly under scaffolding, which was a
shame, but didn't detract from its impact. my favourite though was the
Erechtheion. There was a film crew shooting while we visited, we don't know what the film was and didn't recognise either of the stars. It was interesting but a little frustrating as our ability to wander freely was restricted at points and they needed quiet, which is a little tricky when Eleanor and Leo think it is hilarious to play 'monsters and screamers' on the rocks. If you see a movie set in about the 1960's in which the female lead is wandering around the Acropolis in a yellow dress, please let us know!
From there we walked past Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus to a
great playground in the National Gardens. Athens is littered with
ancient buildings in amongst the modern. Discoveries are frequently made when they dig foundations for new buildings.
We also went to Ancient Agora, which contains the fantastic 7th century Temple of Hephaestus that we had seen from the Acropolis the day before. It is largely as it would have been all those years ago. After another stop at the playground and repairing the second flat pushchair tyre in two days (none until Athens then two in two days!) we visited the Acropolis museum. The museum has a pathway leading up to the entrance that give a view onto ruins that were
discovered during its construction and meant the original site was changed by a few metres.
That evening we had dinner in the old town. The Acropolis illuminated
at night is a beautiful sight and the pedestrian streets full of restaurants and little shops were lovely for a post-dinner wander. Such a different part of the city to where we stayed!
We decided that a 45-minute tram trip to Flisvos, a seaside suburb with a big play area, would make a pleasant change from the hustle and bustle of the city. It did! The play area had at least 15 slides of all shapes and sizes and a rabbit warren of climbing frames, just perfect for small people. After a paddle (or skinny dip in Eleanor and Leo's case) in the warm sea, we headed back to Athens. Our tram stopped outside the parliament buildings, so we watched the changing of the guard outside the tomb of the unknown solider. It was great! The pompom-toed soldiers must have taken years to learn their leg swings and toe wiggles. Excellent! [Adrian: you train for years to kill people and then some officer says congratulations! you get to perform silly walks in dorky costumes for tourists!] We then raced back to pack our bags for our long-awaited two weeks in Cyprus.
We had noticed early in our stay that on the day we flew out there was to be a march from a square near our accommodation to parliament protesting against the austerity measures. We were pleased to be leaving first thing to avoid it as other similar demonstrations have ended with riots and arrests. While Adrian and I were a little curious to see it, we thought best not to be too close to the action with two small children, just in case.
When we were notified the night before we were due to fly to Cyrpus that our flight was delayed from 10.40am until 8.30pm due to a strike by air traffic controllers (we later learned it was a general strike), we considered our options and decided to go straight to the airport that morning and spend a few hours at the nearby zoo.
We left just in time to see the beginnings of the protest pass our accommodation and arrived at the metro station only to discover the drivers were also on strike. Adrian knew there is a bus, so we walked a couple of kilometres to the bus stop and got to the airport very easily. Once there, we found that the taxi drivers were striking too, so that meant no zoo visit (unless we wanted to hire a car). Fortunately there is an excellent free play area at Athens airport so what would have been a very long eight-hour wait went remarkably quickly and we arrived in Cyprus late and tired, but excited about the next leg of our journey.
As for what we thought of Athens... The sights are fabulous (the
Ancient Greeks were incredible architects!) and, while it is a large
and busy city, we didn't notice much pollution (I think there has been
significant work on this in recent years). Would we live there? No.
Would we visit again? Definitely!
Thursday 18 October 2012
2012 10 Izmir, Turkey
2012 10 Izmir, Turkey, a set on Flickr.
Click the link to see the 18 best photos from our 18 best hours in Izmir, Turkey.Wednesday 17 October 2012
Izmir and a fond farewell to Turkey
A number of people suggested that we take the train from Selcuk to Izmir, so we did that rather than catching a mini-bus.
The train was absolutely full for most of the 1.5 hour journey, so we stood at the end of a cabin with quite a few others and all our gear. Eleanor and Leo sat in the door well with a nine-year-old girl. They played games on her Mum's phone, much to Eleanor's delight. It is amazing how children can relate despite an age gap of several years and no common language. The girl was very patient with Eleanor and Leo, and her parents oversaw the games and even helped getting our bags off the train at the end of the trip. I spent much of the journey talking to a friendly and interesting Indian couple who had settled in Canada. All in all it was a great journey, in large part because of the seating situation.
We had a rather nice proper hotel in Izmir, a real treat! Once we had settled in we went off to find lunch and a coffee. As we were in the area, we stopped into the Agora, which from the outside looked like a few columns and lots of piles of rubble waiting to be pieced together. It turned out that there was also the excavated basement of a basilica, which was worth a visit.
They have found evidence of settlements in the area dating back 8500 years. Apparently, historians believe Homer was born in this area. It left us reflecting that our lives are so rich and full, but are really just a tiny blip in the grand scheme of things!
As we left we noticed a slide across the road, so decided to pop over before heading back to the hotel. We stayed about a minute... it smelled of cat or maybe chicken pee, the slide was horribly dirty, the area was strewn with broken glass and Adrian found a decapitated chicken head at the bottom of the slide. We didn't stick around to see if the body was nearby. A shoo-in for the worst playground of the trip so far! [Adrian: that chicken head was sickening]
Dinner was take away pizza at the hotel and we spent the rest of the evening in the garden talking about how much we enjoyed Turkey.
There are some fantastic sights, but it is the friendly, kind and incredibly helpful people who made it so special. We were never lost or looking at a map for long before someone would offer assistance and Eleanor and Leo lapped up all the attention (particularly Leo; we weren't sure whether it was his blond hair or that he is a boy). They were often given fruit or a little toy when we met people or sometimes just walking down the street.
Turkey is now firmly on the list of places we intend to come back to one day. We barely scratched the surface of what there is to see and do, but we had a flight to Athens the following day.
The train was absolutely full for most of the 1.5 hour journey, so we stood at the end of a cabin with quite a few others and all our gear. Eleanor and Leo sat in the door well with a nine-year-old girl. They played games on her Mum's phone, much to Eleanor's delight. It is amazing how children can relate despite an age gap of several years and no common language. The girl was very patient with Eleanor and Leo, and her parents oversaw the games and even helped getting our bags off the train at the end of the trip. I spent much of the journey talking to a friendly and interesting Indian couple who had settled in Canada. All in all it was a great journey, in large part because of the seating situation.
We had a rather nice proper hotel in Izmir, a real treat! Once we had settled in we went off to find lunch and a coffee. As we were in the area, we stopped into the Agora, which from the outside looked like a few columns and lots of piles of rubble waiting to be pieced together. It turned out that there was also the excavated basement of a basilica, which was worth a visit.
They have found evidence of settlements in the area dating back 8500 years. Apparently, historians believe Homer was born in this area. It left us reflecting that our lives are so rich and full, but are really just a tiny blip in the grand scheme of things!
As we left we noticed a slide across the road, so decided to pop over before heading back to the hotel. We stayed about a minute... it smelled of cat or maybe chicken pee, the slide was horribly dirty, the area was strewn with broken glass and Adrian found a decapitated chicken head at the bottom of the slide. We didn't stick around to see if the body was nearby. A shoo-in for the worst playground of the trip so far! [Adrian: that chicken head was sickening]
Dinner was take away pizza at the hotel and we spent the rest of the evening in the garden talking about how much we enjoyed Turkey.
There are some fantastic sights, but it is the friendly, kind and incredibly helpful people who made it so special. We were never lost or looking at a map for long before someone would offer assistance and Eleanor and Leo lapped up all the attention (particularly Leo; we weren't sure whether it was his blond hair or that he is a boy). They were often given fruit or a little toy when we met people or sometimes just walking down the street.
Turkey is now firmly on the list of places we intend to come back to one day. We barely scratched the surface of what there is to see and do, but we had a flight to Athens the following day.
Sunday 14 October 2012
2012 10 Selcuk
2012 10 Selcuk, a set on Flickr.
92 photos from our trip to Selcuk, Turkey, the vast majority coming from Ephesus. Click on the link to see them all.
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