Back to reality.........nearly!

Well, back from my hols now and I had a lovely time, shame it was just for a week, but it is nice to be back home with my hubby. I did end up getting the bus to T5, hubby had to work and he would have had to drop me at half 5, so by getting the bus I got to there at just before half six, and it was free!

This is the view from the pool on the first morning, as you can see, nice and sunny, the temp being in the high 20's - about 28, so not too bad for late October. The weather on the whole was good, bit overcast on Wednesday, though still warm and we had heavy rain on Sunday night (my last night - typical!), but again still quite warm. Was able to do the sitting out late into the evening in shorts and sun top while drinking the odd glass or two most evenings, breakfast outside every morning, so can't really complain.

Did not do much while I was there. Having been to Cyprus just a few times, have done the major tourist sites, well the ones to the west of the Island anyway, haven't managed to get to Nicosia (Lefkosa) yet, but I am sure we will get there one day. Also am proud to say I have never been to Ayia Napa (Ayia is a female saint in Greek!!!), but that is right up in the east of the island, closest I have managed is Larnaca airport, which is nice and new and shiny!!!

This is Guzelyurt (in Turkish) or Morfou (in Greek), the closest town across the border in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or Turkish Occupied Cyprus depending on whose side you are on!!! We went over (to the dark side!) for lunch, which was very nice. It used to be that you could only cross the Green Line (that is the cease fire line that is monitored by the United Nations - still to this day) in Nicosia, but Turkey now wants to join the EU and the 'Cyprus Question' is a major factor standing in their way (well there are a few others) and over the last few years it has been becoming easier to cross and the Friday before I arrived a new crossing point was opened at Kato Pyrgos, which is just along the cost a bit from Polis - well it would be about half an hour, but because of the Kokkina enclave, you have to take a rather large detour inland to go round it. Generally, Northern Cyprus is just like the South, but a bit more run down and the road signs are in Turkish and English, as opposed to Greek and English, though approaching the border, you get signs in all three!

As I said we had a very nice lunch in a restaurant overlooking the coast, I had some type of kebab, which was described as a donner kebab, but was kebab meat wrapped in very nice bread, so it ended up being a bit like a sausage roll. Very garlicky and very nice!

Rest of the hols was spent relaxing..... did a bit of wine tasting. Went to SODAP, who are a major alcoholic drink producer on the island (the other being KEO), they probably do the best commercial zivania and will definitely be going back, though you definitely have to go with a designated driver. The bar, which was about 2 metres long, had bottles from end to end.....................and you could try them all if you wanted. Bought a bottle of zivania as well as a bottle of Commandria (bit like port I guess) and managed to get them home without them breaking!!!! Also spent the night with some old friends of ours, hubby's best man and his missus. They, like us, also used to work in hospitality and like us, though longer ago, managed to escape. Both worked for the MOD at one point, and hence their now living in Cyprus. Was nice to catch up. Also, went out to dinner with some old friends of the 'olds', who lived in Holland for a short time when we were there. Went to a new golf club, designed by Nick Faldo. Food was very nice - they have a posh restaurant, though the kitchen was incredibly slow, but it has just opened, so I am sure they will get better. Also VERY expensive.

Then, it was all over and I had to come home, back to a cold and wet England. I still have a few days before I am back to work, Saturday in fact, so reality bites......almost!

And as you can see, as a legacy of if you had a Northern Cyprus stamp in you passport, you had great difficulty getting into the Republic of Cyprus, they still stamp you in and out on a separate piece of paper!!!

Autumn sun

Well not much has happened on the work front since I last posted, probably as I have spent the majority of the last two weeks doing registrations - yippee (not!). No-one, myself included, has so far managed to beat my record of 54 (would not have been happy if they had), and things appear to be calming down slightly. Generally we are up to about between 30 and 40 a day instead of 40 and 50. However, for me, marathon registrations sessions are over, as I have four night shifts and then I am on leave for two weeks, so as I don't go back to work until the 30th October, things should have calmed down considerably by then, we are over half way through the term after all.

Am looking forward to spending a week with the 'olds' in Cyprus, will also be catching up with some friends while there. The temperature in the eastern med is still in the high twenties, so am really looking forward to catching a bit of later autumn sunshine, especially as you cannot call what we had in the UK, summer!! Unfortunately hubby is not coming with me, am leaving him and Amber at home to look after each other.

Bit of a shame hubby is not coming, as apart from our holiday to South Africa at Christmas, we have not had a holiday together at all this year. Hubby had a week off when he left his last hotel before he started training with the bus company, and we had always planned to take two weeks off in October together, go to Cyprus for a week and spend a week doing bits and pieces. When hubby started with the bus company, he told them he had planned holiday in October, which they said no problem, though they did want to see the tickets, not that we had booked them at the time, but then hubby thought about it, and figured, he probably would only been driving for about a month, so he decided he would not take any hols, as he felt it would probably be too soon. As I have to use or lose my hols, I am still taking my time off, and as the parents are in Cyprus at the mo, have decided to join them for a week.

So, all that now stands between me and my leave is four night shifts and a weekend. I fly out on Monday morning at 08.50, which means having to travel to Heathrow through the Monday morning rush hour ..yuk!, but I may be taking the bus; depending on what hubby is working, and the fact the the queues at T5 are horrendous, I want to get there nice and early.........plus the bus is free -courtesy of my staff pass ;). So, my next post will probably be from sunny Cyprus with brandy sour in hand!!!!!!

Finally have remembered to pop a picture of Amber on here............hamsters are a bugger to photograph............they just won't sit still!!!!