Cyprus

This past weekend we took a trip to the island of Cyprus with Mike and Gretchen. It is a 45 min flight from Beirut, so it is the perfect long weekend trip. We had Friday off for Lebanese Independence Day, so we took off Thursday night after Parent Teacher Conferences. When we landed, we got our cars that we rented, and realized they drove on the other side of the road and car. It was a lot of fun to drive, not that I drove much. We did manage to make a 20 minute drive to our hotel a 2 hour drive, the signs were not the easiest to follow, being in Greek and all! We figured it out though, after a quick stop at a police station.

We got to the hotel and were so pleasantly surprised with how nice the hotel was and we had a quick bite to eat. Our hotel was in Kalavasos, and we flew into Larnaca. Both of those names are different on different signs, which was part of the fun. The next day we took a drive to see some ruins, of course, what trip with Ryan is complete without a stop to see ruins. After, we went to the Cyprus Wine Museum in Lemoses, which is also called Limassol(?), which was hilarious, but the tasting was delicious.  That night, we hung out in our library at our hotel for a while playing card games and dominoes, which was hilarious. We headed out to Zygi for dinner, and had some amazing mezze.

The next day we drove all through the mountains and the amazing small villages. We then went down to Aphrodite's Beach and hung out. Ryan went swimming in the Mediterranean, it was a little chilly for me, although the weather was beautiful the entire trip. We then had to find a bar that was showing the Liverpool vs Everton game. Ryan had found a local Cyprus Liverpool Facebook page, and asked the guys the best place to watch the game. We found the place and it didn't disappoint. There were probably fifty guys there all decked out in Liverpool gear yelling and cheering the whole game. That night we ate at a local place called the Bridge House Tavern, and there was a guitar on the wall that Ryan picked up and played for us all.

The next day we went to Lekosia, which is also Nicosia. This is the capital of Cyprus, and it is a divided castle. The northern part of Cyrpus is occupied by Turkey. We went to the Ikea there, which was a treat for us since we needed to get a few cheaper items for our apartment. We then ate lunch in the town square, and took a walk through the UN Green Zone to the Turkish side. That night we went to the Salt Lake, which at this time is not full of water till the winter. We ate on the beach in Larnaca and then off to get lost to return the car. Overall, it was a beautiful trip, and I'll let the pictures prove that to you.

This week is another four day week, and we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday. Looking forward to a nice dinner with a lot of teachers. We will be back in the States in less than a month, which is so crazy. Enjoy the pictures! 

Ryan driving on other side

Rocks at Aphrodite beach

Aphrodite Beach

Cairn made at Aphrodite beach

Library at our hotel

Driving through the villages

Breakfast nook at our hotel

Wine museum

Bar we found to watch the Liverpool game Saturday

Lefkosis