Well as I thought it was a LONG and not very comfortable night. It is just not possible to sleep much on these planes (unless maybe you are in first class which isn’t likely for us!). As soon as it became light the flight attendants came with breakfast—today it was an egg muffin sans meat, a banana, and coffee. Mike also had orange juice which I never drink on these flights (I have an aversion to orange juice stemming from a bad college experience with orange vodka—you all can just guess what that was!!).

About 10:30 a.m. Athens time (they are 7 hours ahead of Atlanta) we landed. Once we disembarked from the plane we were funneled into the line for customs and passport check. We had no problems with this so we walked to the Cyprus Air desk to get our boarding passes. Once we had our boarding passes in hand and before we searched for the gate we made the requisite stop at the WC (Mike says we should practice what is called the Prince Charles method—whenever there is a chance to visit a bathroom one should do so). Then we went in search for the gate although it was still an hour or more before our flight should be leaving. To get to our gate we had to go through another security check and passport check. This time they searched my briefcase and found a metal nail file I always carry in my backpack (they threw it away of course). Then we were allowed to walk to the gate. By this time it was about 11:40 a.m. and we were supposed to begin boarding about noonish.

Boarding began as planned and we were off to Cyprus! This plane was also very crowded as were the two earlier flights. Once we were in the air they brought us a snack as they called it—a slice of pizza (mozzarella and arugula—Yuck! I dislike arugula a lot!), a drink (diet cola for me and water for Mike), and a cookie. We arrived in Larnaca, Cyprus on time (about 2:30 p.m.), collected our luggage, went through a brief customs check and passport control, and then out into the main part of the airport where George, our driver, was waiting for us.

Off we went to Limassol at lightening speed (if you haven’t been to Cyprus, just know that they drive REALLY fast!). We arrived at the Jasmine Hotel and Apartments about 4 p.m. and checked in. We were in room 20 on the mezzanine floor—it was a minuscule room, similar to the one I stayed in last October. We quickly unpacked our bags, took a brief rest, and then showered and walked down the street. Our first action was to find a bank ATM so that we could have some cash to spend—we found one across from the Holiday Inn, a few blocks down the street from our hotel.

On the way back we stopped at a little bakery and bought a large meringue! Oh be still my heart! We stopped at the Jasmine and asked at the desk if my colleague, Mike G. and his wife, Emily, had arrived yet—but they had not. So we walked on up the street to the Papas Cash and Carry and bought some Nescafé Gold, sugar, evaporated milk and a bar of soap. Then we quickly walked back to the hotel. Once we put everything away we went downstairs to the bar to see if we could get the WIFI to work there (it wasn’t working in our room), but nope it wasn’t working there either. As it was happy hour we just decided to have a drink—a Keo beer for Mike and a white wine for me. While sitting there Emily came in and said hello. They had arrived while we were out shopping and Mike was now teaching his class.

Once Mike was back from class, the four of us (Mike G., Emily, me and Mike) walked up the street to have dinner. We decided to go to the Cabin Restaurant (aka the jacket potato place). We all shared 2 bottles of “still” water and 2 bottles of red wine. Mike G. ordered starters of grilled halloumi cheese, saganaki, and tahini with pita. Yum! For dinner Mike G. and I each had calamari and chips, Mike had a baked potato with chicken salad, and Emily had a Village salad (what we would call a Greek salad). This delicious dinner was followed by fresh fruit—watermelon, white melon, kiwi, grapes, and nectarines. The fruit is SO good here. 

After this wonderful celebratory meal we all walked slowly back to the hotel. Mike G. looked at our room and agreed that it was WAY too small. We looked at theirs which was just across the hall from us and although it was small it was still a lot larger than the one we were in. He said he would check about changing rooms tomorrow and about us taking a tour to the village of Omodos in the Troodos mountains. By this time it was nearly 11 p.m. and we were REALLY exhausted!