Cyprus (again?!?) Part 2

I bet you're wondering why I'm making ANOTHER Cyprus blog post! Well, as I mentioned in the last one, we tend to go to Cyprus as a family most years, so Dad decided to book a Cyprus holiday for the 5 of us (mum, dad, me, Charlie and Alex) for later on in the summer. There were 5 days in between Charlie and I coming back and going away again! I was so busy in those few days, though! I had rehearsals for my next theatre show, including some 12-hour ones, as well as the show itself, which was the night before we left for the airport! The show went quite well, to be honest considering we only had one rehearsal where the entire
cast was there. The show was a variety of musical theatre songs, and I had my first-ever solo, which was "Ireland" from Legally Blonde!

What was crazy was the fact that I hadn't had time to pack yet, so once I got home from the show at about 10:30 pm (I had to skip the after-show party as we had to be up at 6 am the next morning), I had to pack insanely quickly! In the end, I decided to give up and go to bed, so I set a super-early alarm for the next morning. We left at about 7 am for Manchester Airport- the journey took about 3 hours, with a stop at a service station on the way.

Last time I went to Manchester Airport was when I went to Florida in 2015, but we were in a different terminal then. This time, Dad had booked the Aspire Lounge for us, which is where you pay a certain amount per person, which entitles you to go to this exclusive lounge prior to boarding and get unlimited free food and drinks (alcohol costs extra), as well as wifi and a great view of the runway. We usually fly from Edinburgh Airport and have used the Aspire Lounge there before too- it's a great pre-holiday treat.

We flew with EasyJet again this year. The first time we flew with EasyJet (that I can remember!) was in 2014, to Cyprus. Prior to that, all I knew about EasyJet was what I had seen on the TV show Airline, which was a documentary series about the airline, set at Luton Airport. Anyone who remembers the show will remember that things always seemed to be going wrong! Hence, I was quite worried back then about flying with EasyJet. But there's literally nothing to worry about! The staff and crew are amazing and friendly and the planes are modern and spacious. Because EasyJet specialises in short-to-mid-haul flights, there is no in-seat entertainment, however, that doesn't bother me, as it's only a 4-5 hour flight and I always bring plenty of books on holiday with me!

We flew directly to Paphos Airport, although there was a minor delay, as the plane had missed it spot on the runway at Manchester, which meant we were about half an hour late taking off. This also meant we had to circle over Paphos for about 15 minutes whilst waiting for space on the runway. However, this was fine, as the lights of Paphos looked beautiful in the darkness.

We eventually made it to our villa in Pissouri at about 10:30 pm. As usual, we did our first night ritual of ordering pizza and sitting under the outside canopy to eat it. It felt so great to be back, and the good thing about having a later flight was that the heat didn't hit you so much the second you stepped off the plane. Don't get me wrong, it's great to feel that blast of heat, but daytime temperatures were mid-to-late 30's at that point in the summer!

The view from our villa

Pissouri Bay at sunset

Now, I could go into detail about each and every of the 14 days we spent in Cyprus, but then this post would probably end up the length of a novel! So I'll just talk about my personal highlights of the holiday:

FOOD! So, because Cyprus is in the Mediterranean, the food is pretty much a Mediterranean diet. This means lots of salad, veg and meat. Pretty healthy, huh? Well, yes, unless, like me, you supplement it with a lot of ice cream! It's just so hot and people are selling ice cream just about everywhere. Our favourite ice cream is from a chain called Pahit Ice, which, until I googled it just now, I thought was only in Cyprus. However, it turns out there's also a branch in London, so you know where I'll be heading next time I'm in the Big Smoke! Whenever we go, I always get the same thing- one scoop of lemon sorbet and one scoop of dark chocolate ice cream. The combination of flavours is mouth-wateringly brilliant and now I'm writing about it, I really want some! But ice cream isn't the only good food in Cyprus (can you even call ice cream food?!?). If you've never tried a meze, then you're definitely missing out. Basically, a meze is a meal which consists of a series of different foods, brought out at a leisurely pace. Similar to a Greek version of Tapas, I think! Our favourite place in Cyprus for a meze is Mahmouts in Limassol. Dad has been coming here ever since he moved out to Cyprus in the early 80s, and we usually come at least a couple of times when we're on holiday here. Another great place to eat is Chris Blue Beach (or Chrissy Blue's, as we call it) on Curium Beach- the Halloumi and Lounza paninis are gorgeous, and the views from the restaurant are stunning, especially at sunset. Other greats restaurants include the Vine Leaf Tavern in Pissouri Bay and Bella Napoli in Limassol.

At the Vine Leaf Tavern in Pissouri Bay

FASOURI WATERMANIA! This is another place we like to visit every year. It's become more expensive in recent years, but we just love it so much there! There's something for everyone there, from what I call the "Fanta Tower" (even though it's now sponsored by Lanitis instead) for the younger ones, to the many tube slides (different levels of scary-ness!) and the ultimate thrill, the Kamikaze Slide. There's also a lazy river, which is very relaxing and provides some great photo opportunities- professional photographers from the park will offer to take your photo, which you can buy from the shop. I always worry that they're going to get their very fancy-looking cameras wet and ruined! We always grab lunch at Pirates Cove when we go to Fasouri, which is a pirate-themed fast food restaurant. Unhealthy, yes, but also delicious!

HARD ROCK CAFE! Last year, we spent a day in Ayia Napa, and we liked it so much that this year, we decided to do 2 days there, with an overnight stay at the Cyprotel Florida Hotel. I'll talk more about the hotel in a bit, but the highlight of my Napa visit was dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. When we were in Florida in 2015, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe Orlando, which was amazing! The Napa one was just as great and I had a gorgeous BBQ Pulled Pork burger. I just love the atmosphere there, from the rock music blaring out to the music memorabilia covering the walls and the attitude of the staff (think drumstick-carrying, pin badge wearing). It was also beautiful to see the sunset over Ayia Napa and all the neon lights turning on. Next door to the restaurant was the Hard Rock merchandise shop. I spent almost all my holiday money there, on a grey Hard Rock hoodie, which I love! It's so soft and cosy (and very big!)

Hard Rock Cafe, Ayia Napa

BOAT TRIPS! Whilst in Ayia Napa, we also went on a boat trip run by Galaxy Dolphin Safari. The boat had a glass bottom, so whilst the boat was going, we could see the sea life underneath it. We even spotted turtles! The trip included a snorkelling opportunity near the Turquoise Lagoon, which was breathtakingly stunning- the water is a beautiful turquoise colour and so clear, too. Snorkelling equipment was included so we could explore underwater. I saw some amazing shoals of fish in all kinds of amazing colours! Also, there were unlimited complimentary drinks throughout the trip. We loved this boat trip so much that when we went to Latchi for the day later on in the holiday, we decided to hire a boat for the afternoon so we could explore the area ourselves. Dad drove the boat (he knows how to, don't worry!) and we stopped off at many points down the coast to explore and go snorkelling- after the Napa boat trip, we had bought our own snorkelling kits. We saw more sea life here than we did in Napa, including eels and some crab-like creatures which we (as well as the people at the boat hire place) couldn't recognise! They looked similar to crabs, but they almost seemed to have wings! They were sand-coloured. If anyone reading this knows what they are, please let me know in the comments below!

Snorkelling off the coast of Latchi

Unfortunately, the one downside of the whole holiday was the hotel we stayed in whilst in Ayia Napa, the Cyprotel Florida Hotel.

Whilst the hotel lobby was quite modern, the corridors were dark, gloomy and looked like we were on a ship and the rooms were small, stuffy and over-decorated with antiquities. What's more, the air-con barely worked, which isn't great when it's mid-30's Celsius outside. The pool was grubby and the breakfast in the morning wasn't great either.

But that was such a minor inconvenience compared to the rest of the amazing time we had! I think this was the best Cyprus holiday yet! I'm so grateful to be able to go back year after year, as Cyprus is such a beautiful place to visit. A massive thank you to my parents for taking us xxx