A visit to Cyprus for the first time was the main
event which kicked off our October 2008, a chance to
see a new country and get some sun.
Below, Valeria and I on an evening cruise off the coast
of Larnaka.
Cyprus is split between the Northern part (Turkish
owned) and the Southern part (Greek owned) and over
the years there have been many disagreements between
the two sides. The picture on the right (below) was
taken in the capital and border area between the two
sides in Nicosia, with the view from one of the windows
of Ledra Museum and Observatory (11th floor
of the Shacolas Tower). If you look carefully you can
see the Turkish flag painted onto the hillside in the
Northern side just across the border. It is very easy
to cross the border from the South to the North in
Nicosia and the border is hard to notice. So much so,
that Valeria and I were inadvertently wandering from
the South to the North, until we started noticing some
Turkish flags.
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All
photos by Valeria Lo Iacono & Paul Symonds - 2008
The photo below on the left is still Cyprus, a beautiful
sunset seen from the airport. On the right we (Paul and
Valeria) are in Sicily, in Valeria’s dad’s
favourite restaurant on the Etna, where they serve
their specialty, 'porcini’ mushrooms.
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From the 27 Celsius in Cyprus, we headed back to the
cold in the UK. Below Valeria with her 4 hot water bottles
as she prepares to go to bed. In Sicily
it was cold too, as you can see from the Etna covered
in snow seen from the balcony in Valeria’s
mum’s
house.
More pictures from Sicily below:
Sicilian and Italian pubs in general are different from
British traditional pubs, as people there go not only
to drink, but mainly to eat. Italian pubs are more informal
then restaurants, but people still sit down at tables
as though they are in a restaurant.
On he left our friends Annarita and Filippo in the Agorá hostel in
Catania, which not only is a hostel for backpackers but also has a pub that is
very popular with locals.
The picture on the right was taken in a new pub, where they
brew their own beer, called ‘La Caverna del Mastro
Birraio’ (The
Beer Maker’s Cave). This
is quite a big place and it is located in Acireale, a town
near Catania. In the picture from the left: Paul, Antonio
and Marisa (Valeria’ uncle and auntie), Valeria and
Egle.
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The last couple of months have been busy for Valeria,
also because she has started running her own belly
dance classes, during which she teaches beginners.
After 6 years of practicing belly dance, Valeria has
also started making her own choreography and performing
solos. You can see her in the picture, practicing for
a performance.
December
was, as usual, a festive month full of parties and celebrations.
One of our friends, Swedish Jenny, is a very talented
cake designer and made the cake below. A quick congratulations
at this point also to our good friend Helena Conlon and
Padraig on their engagement. About time Helena!!!
Finally, the funny picture of the month
shows John (one of our friends in Bristol from Italian
lessons) being ‘attacked’ by
a bull.
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