Horley to Crawley to Barbados 2016

On a murky Sunday morning in 2016, Mandy and I found ourselves back at Gatwick Airport, ready to escape the dreary British weather for the warmth of the Caribbean. The grey clouds above mirrored the early hour, but that didn’t dampen our excitement. We were heading to Barbados, and the nine-hour flight on the Dreamliner only added to the anticipation of what lay ahead.

Once we touched down in Bridgetown, the warm, tropical air enveloped us as we stepped out of the plane—a far cry from the chilly weather we’d left behind. We made our way to the port where the "Thompson Celebration" awaited us. The sight of the ship, gleaming against the blue Caribbean sky, set the tone for the adventure that was about to unfold.

As dusk began to fall on that balmy evening, we watched from the deck as the ship slowly slipped out of the port, leaving the twinkling lights of Bridgetown behind. The air was soft and warm, the sea calm, and with a slight breeze that felt like the Caribbean was welcoming us in. There was an undeniable sense of excitement—our Caribbean journey had begun.

The following evening was the Captain’s Gala dinner, a formal affair that always adds a sense of occasion to any cruise. Mandy and I dressed up for the event, with her in a lovely evening dress and me in a jacket and tie. The dining room was elegant, with the soft hum of conversation and the clinking of glasses as we were welcomed by the captain himself. The dinner was exquisite, a true celebration of fine dining, and it felt like the perfect way to mark the beginning of our tropical adventure. Surrounded by fellow travelers, delicious food, and an atmosphere full of excitement, we toasted to the week ahead, eager for the days of island hopping and warm, sun-soaked memories to come.

Time to Travel to Gatwick

Its that time of year when we pack our bags and head out on our travels. It was a case of deja vu as we hopped on the Easyjet flight to London. Once again we had superb views of the snow capped Alps. Arriving at Gatwick airport and made our way to the small town of Horley where we once again checked into the Cumberland guesthouse. In the evening we made our way down to Ye Old six bells in for drinks and dinner.

Cold Weather and Jude Speaks

The cold weather continues in Cyprus with temperatures at night dropping close to freezing. The Troodos mountains are now covered in snow and look a picture from Pissouri.

           Back in South Wales, Jude finds his voice.

Storm Clouds approach

Pissouri is set to be hit by Stormy weather, below is a time lapse of the gathering storm Clouds over the village.

This morning we made our way down to Pissouri bay to see the state of the sea, the first thing that we noticed was the amount of sand on the beach, the beach is normally covered is stones with patches of sand, but today the beach was just total sand.

Mandy's Birthday and Wine tour

To celebrate Mandy's birthday we took a wine tour of the Troodos mountains. our first stop was Vlassides which is located in the village of Koilani were we were given a very informative talk about wine production before sampling their wines.

We then moved onto Constantinou winery and were shown around the fermentation hall and bottling plant before once again tasting the wines produced.










Our third winery was at Tsiakkas where the owner, Costas, gave us a very interesting talk on the history of wine in Cyprus, followed by more sampling of his very good wines.










We then made our way up to the village of Pera Pedi and headed over to The Symposium restaurant  for a very good meze. The Symposium is run by Nicos who once ran a taverna in Pissouri square. A big thanks to Harris for organising our day out.

Sunday Lunch followed by High Winds

We were kindly invited by Sheena and Bryan to their house for a Sunday lunch, we were joined by Arthur and Jane and their son, Stuart.
After a superb meal someone brought out some very strange coasters and the fun began.

The Island of Cyprus was battered by high winds this week, the high gusts caused widespread damage with trees uprooted and bringing several road closures. The following morning we took a trip down to Pissouri Bay to watch the surfers.

2015 A New Year begins

We would both like to wish all the visitors to our blog a very Happy and Healthy New Year. It has been ten years since we first started this blog, how the time has flown by. Enough of looking back, lets turn the page and see what 2016 has in store for us.














Lets start of with a giggle and a video of our recent "Pie Face" Challenge.