Aparthotel Kition Larnaca

... visitors about 3.5 miles around the sites behind the Green Line. I followed the course along with a map from the tourist office explaining the old buildings. The Green Line and its fencing make an appearance every once in a while at the end of a block and I can't describe the feeling to be standing in a poverty stricken row of homes where just across the Green Line modern highrises and prosperity rise above it.

So yes, sometimes traveling opens up ...

... feeling in the world knowing I am going to get on the flight and a few bad apple gate agents don't treat me like I am some smeared piece of dog excrement just because I am trying to fly standby on my pass and I am making them have to work. You airline people out there know what I am talking about, right!!!???

But the best thing about today was flying on my favorite jet of all time...the BAe 146. If you are into aviation you know the plane and I won't ...

... of a National Enquirer at Publix because fringe kooks don't want the other 99% of us to live our lives. I am kinda partial to the European way of just letting it all hang out in the open. If you want to look, go for it. If not, look away and shut up. Amazing that in 20 years Bulgaria has opened up and we continue to go backwards.

And after leaving Billa, turn right and next door is a tiny storefront selling the latest in cheap ...

All packing and cleaning is underway !!! Only 36 or so hours left before we hit the tarmac at Larnaca !! Just need to get the dog wormed and de-flead (not that he has them !), groomed and then buy him a travel box for the flight !

Fingers crossed all our accommodation arrangements have been made for Athens and Samothraki !

Sunday, July 5th, 2009
This began one of the longest driving
days of the entire trip. If you get the chance look at a map of
Cyprus. We left Nicosia and headed to Agia Napa. En route we
stopped at a fishing village and several famous beaches. From there
we headed to Larnaka where following conflicting signs to the
Larnaca, Cyprus lantian1979

... in Turkey, relatively speaking. The
Turkish side was a bit more run down, however, signs of EU
intervention abounded demonstrating new agreements and a desire to
preserve the past. We came upon the top site in Northern Nicosia,
the Selimiye Mosque which combines medieval Christian architecture
with Islamic influence to create a most stunning Mosque. While
walking around the grounds, a gentleman by the name of Rammadan
(pardon the spelling) came and spoke ...

Spent a week in a resort hotel in the city of Limmosal. Toured the entire island except for the Turkish portion on the top third of Cyprus.

Most of the tourist signs are in 1) Greek 2) Russian and last but not least 3) English.

This ...

... to see the spring for themselves, they happened upon an icon of the Virgin. Interpreting this discovery as an omen, they decided to erect a church on the spot. Today, the monastery grounds provide a nice counterpoint to the brassy, busy tourist industry churning right outside its gates: as if preserved in time, it sits in the sun, with flowering plants drooping languidly in the courtyard, silently witnessing the rituals of generations. Later, we sped over to one of the ...

... On questioning the nature of the meat, I was reassured it was beef. Despite looking, tasting and smelling like lamb and having growing up on a farm where we slaughtered our own meat (lamb and beef), my credentials proved insufficient to argue the point, so beef it was! The next morning was a tour of some of the ancient sites - Othellos Tower which inspired shakespeares Othello, the monastary of St Barnabus ...

... especially so late at night. I pity those little ones, but the parents who have no idea what they are doing as well!!! The days go by and I enjoy every minute of my stay in Larnaca. I walk and exercise a lot. What else would somebody wish on a vacation? A peace of mind, and relaxation - this is what I have got here in Cyprus. I love taking photos, and especially during winter time, as I always sit on my pc and see my holiday ...