Blogs from Paphos, Cyprus, Middle East

Ruins, tombs, ruins, monastery, ruins, a cat and more ruins On this trip my plan was to stay in Larnaca the entire time and explore the island by going on daytrips from there. I could take bus both to Ayia Napa and to Nicosia, so those two places I could easily get to. Since the most remote parts of Cyprus could be reached by car in three hours or so from Larnaca I decided to rent a car for three days. I thought I had an excellent plan until I realised that they drive on the left side of the road. I guess I should have seen that one coming but I didn't. I was actually less afraid of driving on the left side of the road than I was of changing gears with my left ... read more

Gestern verließ ich mein Hotel und fuhr mit dem Bus zuerst nach Nikosia und dann weiter nach Pafos. Dabei kann es auch etwas chaotisch werden und nicht jeder Bus kann alle Fahrgäste mitnehmen. Dies ist in anderen Ländern besser geregelt, wo man vor Antritt der Fahrt ein Ticket mit einer Reservierung kauft. Auch das Gepäck muss man selber ins Staufach legen ohne eine Quittung dafür zu bekommen. Nichtsdestotrotz bin ich in Nikosia gut angekommen und habe die Wartezeit für den weiteren Bus zu meinem westzypriotischen Ziel in einem Café verbracht. Morgen werde ich hier wieder ankommen und zwei Nächte in der geteilten Stadt verbringen. Gegen 16:00 erreicht ich Pafos, welches 2017 eine europäische Kulturhauptstadt zusammen mit Aarhus war. Ich lief den guten Kilometer zum Hotel zu Fuß und bekam beim Einchecken schon eine kostenlose Erfrischung. Im ... read more

CYPRUS Sunday 12th February 2023 Well…...I hadn’t seen 4.30am for a while!! The taxi picked us up at the unearthly hour of 5.00am and we got to the airport about 5.45am……,and it was absolutely rammed with children and families! We had forgotten it was ½ term!! Survived anyhow and also survived the five hour flight to Cyprus! Cyprus is 2 hrs ahead of UK, so it was 15.10 when we arrived for our painless 15 minute transfer to the Dionysos Hotel. First impressions of Cyprus – they drive on the left and a lot of English is spoken. Its very green and is sort of a mixture between UK and Spain, with a bit of Portuguese thrown in!! Hotel and room were fine and we had a quick wander along the pedestrianized paseo and watched the ... read more

All good things have to come to an end sadly and today is our last day here at the Constantinuous Brothers Athena Royal Beach hotel. The first time we have stayed here and whilst researching prior to booking our holiday we found so many positive reviews from mostly returning guests! Since we have been here we have only met two other couples who, like us, were experiencing the Athena Royal Beach for the first time. From the moment we arrived the service has been wonderful, attentive staff always with a smile. We hadn't planned on doing much this holiday so have enjoyed just relaxing in pleasant surroundings with like minded people. What will we remember? 1. The free upgrade to a suite room. 2. Sitting outside overlooking the sea for breakfast without the worry of birds ... read more

To escape from the sun one day we took a taxi to the Kings Shopping Mall, a relatively new shiny shopping mall not far from the harbour. Inside was much like most shopping malls with designer shops, food outlets and a cinema complex. Some familiar names too Marks & Spencer, Mothercare and Holland & Barrett. It was nice to be out of the sunshine but not really our scene with all the designer brands with their size Zero goods on display. We left the mall and went to the harbour where we sat in the shade enjoying a coffee and people watching. It was Saturday and lots of local families were making their way to the beach areas. En our route back to the harbour we passed a tree covered in what looked like strips of ... read more