Larnaca

Yes, ok, I missed a day. I was too busy tangoing in Paris.

Actually there isn't any interesting to write about a day spent moving from Malta to Cyprus, bus, check-in, plane, customs, taxi, ad nauseum. I arrived about 2000, was so tired and also had been fed on the plane so I didn't bother to look for dinner. Then there were the small annoyances; I was dealing with Greeks here after all. I couldn't figure out to turn on the air-conditioner. Luckily it wasn't a sultry night. In the morning it turned out that the window must be closed to enable a magnetic switch. So I will start with the first full day. This is one end of Finikoudes, a beach with a palm tree lined promenade. And rental umbrellas.

For lack of moxie to choose something I went to the old castle in Larnaca to join a free walking tour of the artists' district. The tour guide was personable and knowledgeable, but the group was large and it was hard to hear what she said. Anyway there was a bit of history of the castle and the Turkish invasion in 1974 and subsequent partition of the island. The situation remains unresolved. Where the artists are concerned a few have returned to their ancestral properties in Larnaca.

The first workshop we visited was a statuette maker using moulds, cast from the original object or from a scaled down copy of some archeological find, followed by a maker of, well, pretty objects. You can see that I don't know much about artistic methods, though I like admiring pretty objects.

Here is a potter and the tour guide. One of the things he made was the clever Pythagorean Cup. A couple of people bought one from his showroom.

The tour ended shortly thereafter. The guide suggested eating on the back streets rather than the more expensive seafront and bade us farewell. I realised that with all our wandering in the artists' district we had come full circle. Larnaca's streets are not rectilinear but are descended from its fishing village days.

I was ravenous at this point. Ruling out any place offering any kind of foreign breakfast, I picked a kebab restaurant. This proved to be a good choice and my main was preceded by mezes of pickled vegetables, olives, tzatziki and fresh bread.

Feeling uncommonly tired, I siestaed the afternoon away.

In the evening, I obtained the help of Vasillis, the exceeding helpful concierge, to book a tour to Famagusta the next day. I wanted to do a Segway tour of Nicosia on Sunday but that was their day of rest. As I say they are Greek here. So I'll have to do a walking tour.

I explored the promenade and surrounding streets. There are a lot of upmarket stores here catering for the tourists. Lots of waterfront apartments.

And food and drink establishments all  along the promenade. Tuck Inn, haha, I bet the owner was chuffed when he thought up the name.

Dinner was just outside this Church of St. Lazarus. But when I asked for the calamari, they said no fish today. What's with that? Was it because of Friday? I'll find out some day.

I tried some honey puff pastry from this street vendor.