Flying into Rome 2015

 We  finally did fly out of Paphos after a 4 hour delay and made the 2 hour 50 minute flight into Rome.

We hopped on the airport bus and made our way into the heart of the Eternal City, even from the bus window you could see numerous historical buildings.

Our base for our visit was the Giglio del Opera hotel which is situated near the central terminal. The main reason for our visit was that years six Nations match between Italy and Wales, and so were joined by 10 Welsh friends from Cyprus and Wales.

Even though we were several hours late for our reservation, we were pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome from the staff. The restaurant was bustling, filled with the lively sounds of conversation and laughter, which added to the vibrant atmosphere we had imagined. We were immediately shown to our table, and it felt like we were part of something special, sharing in the dining experience of locals and fellow travelers alike.

 

 

Will we make it out ?

There are  nine of us due to fly out to Rome (Italy) this morning for the Six nations rugby match between Italy and Wales but we have learned that the Italian Air Traffic controllers are going on strike today at Noon. At the time of writing we think our flight is still scheduled but we have fingers crossed and we travel in hope.

St Patricks Day

St Patricks day was spent at the O'Vraka restaurant in the Village square where Harris put on a superb bbq and we sunk a couple of pints Guiness.

Storms in Pissouri and a Village Website

This weekend a huge rain and hail storm hit Pissouri and sent a torrent of water through the village square.


For anyone interested in learning more about Pissouri, please check out Pissouri Village and Bay

Saffron for Arthur

To celebrate Arthur's birthday we made our way down to the Saffron Indian restaurant in Pissouri Bay. The food and service was superb and the birthday boy enjoyed his night out with friends.

Birthday Lunch at The Hillview

Continuing the Birthday celebrations we were joined by several friends for a Sunday lunch at The Hillview restaurant. Just to add, the birthday candles were NOT put their correct order.

Snow in Pissouri and a birthday treat

We woke up today  to "blizzard" conditions in Pissouri as a very rare snow storm hit the village. 


After 30 minutes it had all cleared away and Mandy told Rob that she had booked him a birthday treat, a couple of days in a hotel in Limassol to celebrate the old fella's birthday.

Pissouri Slimmers and Storms

The Pissouri slimmers held their weekly meeting and this week the members were asked to make a low calorie soup and bring it with them so the other members could get a taste. A variety of soups were on offer and the members left the meeting with some terrific ideas.
As a postscript, Mandy won slimmer of the week with a loss of six and a half pounds.









Since we returned from holiday the weather in and around Pissouri has been nothing but high winds , rain and thunderstorms. The heavy rain has caused some rockfalls around the village and today one particular rockfall blocked a local road.

The Troodos Mountains looked a picture from our window.

Return of Simmo and Maggie

Two of our friends that used to live in Pissouri made a welcome return this week, Simmo and Maggie flew in from Scotland for some much needed warmer weather.

A Video of our recent trip

Badmington duo and home to Cyprus

We spent the day in Crawley doing a bit of last minute shopping and around 3.00pm it started to snow so we popped into a local pub  to warm up and have a glass of wine. 

We were sitting quietly next to a couple when the gentlemen asked us if we knew where a local store was, we told him that we were not from the area so we could not help them. We got chatting and they turned out to  be a very interesting couple, Elliot was from the North East of England and Ava was from Sweden and in their younger days they were both badminton champions.

  Mandy and Ava were soon chatting away in Swedish and they told us that they had now retired and lived on the Algarve in Portugal. Eva's career can be found at  Eva Twedberg. ........and then after 18 days on the road we flew home to Cyprus

Day 17 - Returning to London

Our Thomson flight from Montego bay to London was delayed some two hours but with a tailwind of over 100 mph we soon made up the time and the flight lasted just over 7 hours and we got back to London Gatwick around 7.00am local time. 

The first thing  we noticed was how cold it was,  hovering around 8 degrees , a huge 20 degree difference from Jamacia. We then took the short taxi ride to our hotel where we crashed out both dog tired. In the evening we popped over to the local pub, The  Gatwick Manor for a drink and a bite to eat.

Day 16- The long trip home

We left Negril and drove along the coast to Montego Bay airport, we checked in our luggage and treated ourselves to the comforts of the executive lounge before the 10 hour flight to London. 

We are looking at the departures board and noting that the flights to New York are all cancelled due to the snowstorm. We know that feeling from last years vacation.

Day 15 -Negril - A fond farewell

Our final day in Negril began will a trip out to sea on a Hobycat, Kevon, our guide took  just the two of for a trip to the local reef and Booby Cay Island.

 We managed to see one last wonderful sunset from the beach.  In the evening we went for our final meal at "The Feathers restaurant" and we both agreed it was  exceptional and as a bonus they made a mean Irish coffee. ....We have had a wonderful time at Couples swept away and the staff have been outstanding.

Day 14 - One Love bar bus

The day started with Rob going to the gym and Mandy doing her lengths in the impressive swimming pool.

 In the afternoon we joined the "One Love " bar bus that visit 7 local bars. Our fellow passengers were 36 Americans and Canadians and it was standing room only on the bus. The final bar that we visited was set on a cliff over and gave superb views of a breath taking sunset.  As we pulled back into our hotel, our driver, Lambert, announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the British Embassy "

Day 13- Negril- Beach day

Another beautiful day here in Jamacia and we started it off with a lovely breakfast of fresh fruit in the "Patios". 

We then took a stroll down the beach and met some interesting local  characters, most of them wanted to sell you trinkets or something to smoke but they were all very pleasant and we exchanged some light hearted banter.

After  tasty  lunch of Red Snapper we settled down for a relaxing day on the beach and watched a glorious sunset...In the evening we were joined by eight American guests from Ohio for a buffet dinner poolside.

 We then watched the evening's show which included a limbo dancer, contortionist an a dance troupe telling the history of Jamaican music.

Day 12- Negril- A long day

We started the day off with a visit to the gym/pool to work off some of our recent indulgences. We then took a boat out to a local reef for an afternoon of snorekeling , followed by a long, slow walk down 7 mile beach.In the evening we went to the Thai restaurant called "Lemongrass"  for a nice meal in a lovely setting. We then watched the staff put on an entertaining  and finally we ended up in the piano bar for a sing song.

Day 11 -Negril - Couples Swept away

We started the day off with an orientation tour of the Couples swept away complex with local guy Huit. First up was the very impressive sports complex which is huge. 

We then visited the six restaurants that are available on site. After a spot of lunch of sushi we bumped into 6 Americans in the sea, they ordered us some drinks and we all had a good old natter.