Sofia's Selection 4

Howde Folks!

LIFE AT 6!


I've decided to embarrass her by going back to 'Life at 6'. You may remember that she was dreading reaching 60 and declared herself to be '6' for the next decade. Anyway, that was almost four years ago. She's perilously close to 64, now. We keep humming the famous song by The Beatles, "When I'm 64" just to annoy her.

Hello Everyone,

Yes, the 'Big Day' arrived and you can see from these photographs that I enjoyed it!

Now, I'm back in England at the start of my next decade.

As you have seen in the last blogs, Cyprus has been a whirl of excitement, visiting the sites, crossing the 'green' line in Nicosia, spending about ten minutes on Turkish soil as opposed to Greek and numerous other things. I've met new friends and been reacquainted with old ones. For those of you who remember my New Year's Resolution, which was to take every opportunity and challenge that came my way and enjoy them, after I had learned to use chop sticks at the Fortina; I can tell you that I've enjoyed a new opportunity - I've learned to play Rummikub! I'd never heard of it but now I love it. How many of you are still keeping up New Year Resolutions?

Anyway, I was getting concerned as the B day was drawing nearer...

On the 15th, I woke up and said to myself, (I can assure you that there was no one else in the room!) OMG It's the last day of the Brighton Line and for non-Bingo players, that's 59. It was a wet day which did nothing to help my forlorn mood. My new friend, Marion, was desperate to remind me of my impending doom at lunchtime. Feeling ancient I had a snooze in the afternoon and by dinner time I was almost counting the minutes until midnight.

Much to my surprise, it was a bright sunny day on the 16th and my first view was of the beautiful harbour and fort from my room. I remembered I was only 6 and declared that I would be more badly behaved this time round. Cards had been arriving for several days so I opened them with my morning cuppa and displayed them on the table. I had bought a special Tee Shirt for the occasion, I AM NOT 60, I AM 18 WITH 42 YEARS EXPERIENCE. I wore it with pride and went down to breakfast.

Marion was waiting for me. Then, I knew I was only 6 because presents of sweets and chocolates arrived. Marion had discovered Aphrodites Secret a shop selling honey almond sweets and purchased some which she deeply regretted and requested people assist her in devouring them. Well, one has to help a friend in need... Knowing how much I enjoyed eating them, as you can see, in the above photo, she kindly bought me some of my own! And another box of chocolates was handed to me by the SAGA rep, my dear friend Henry Phillips. I just kept my hand over the '0' on the Tee shirt and stated that I was only 6!

Later, I strolled to the harbour for a coffee at my favourite place. After lunch, I spent the afternoon on my sun lounger. I certainly did not do that the first time round! At some stage during the afternoon the birthday fairies aka Guest Relations at the hotel found their way to my room and left champagne and balloons.

And the perfect day continued into the early evening. At dinner, I was given another bottle of champagne; I had help enjoying it! Then, came the cake. If this is 'Life at '6'' bring it on!

One of the cards I received, had been left by a lady who had returned to England the previous week, I thought it was such a nice thing to do but her final comment was even more poignant and I would like to share it with you as my thought for the week.

Thought for the week: The best is yet to come!


                                                           ******



Love You Forever, Sofia (and Donald) xxxx

Captivating Cyprus

Howde Folks,

Sofia here again. Lady M is letting me escort you, this summer.

Sunset from her hotel room!

Geriskipou Church

Lania

Memorial at Coral Bay

St. Barnabas Monastery at Famagusta

"Wow, wasn't Malta beautiful? Donald and I certainly enjoyed it and we will be returning many times. Anyway, our next island is only a short flight eastward to Cyprus. Well, at least we are only getting five of her holiday photographs! Remember, she spent her 60th birthday there? Whether she remembers or not after drinking so much champagne is another matter. So, fasten those seatbelts and have a quick snooze while our pilot hits the skies and we fly to Pafos.

Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea lies between Turkey in Europe, Israel/Syria towards the east and Egypt in Africa to the south. It is a divided island, with Turkish occupation in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south. The Attila Line, also known as the Green Line, so called because it was drawn on the map in green ink, divides the island through it's capital Nicosia.

The Greek (Southern) area is in the EU and has the Euro as its currency. However, the Turkish northern part is, like Turkey, not a member of the EU and still has Turkish Lira as its main currency although Euros are accepted.

The main religion in the south is Greek Orthodox and in the North, Islam.

The major towns are Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos in the south; Famagusta, Morphou and Kyrenia in the north. Limassol is the main shopping and industrial area on the coast with a long promenade; it has very few historical or archaelogical sites. Only a small area on the western side of the town has the old fishing port and a mediaeval castle which houses a museum. Larnaca has the main airport and also the Church of St Lazarus, which is where Lazarus sailed to after being raised from the dead by Jesus; the church is built over his tomb. Paphos is a popular tourist destination having a small domestic airport, beautiful harbour and old market town as well as numerous historical and archaelogical sites. In the Turkish area, Famagusta, on the east coast, is known as the ghost town as part of it is still unoccupied after the Greek Cypriots fled during the uprising in 1974. It does have the St. Barnabas Monastery nearby. Morphou and Kyrenia are on the west side of the island.

Cyprus, due to its location, has been occupied by many different countries throughout the years; it is steeped in history and has numerous archaelogical sites. It is the island of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Her birthplace is a rock on the south west coast, a few miles from Paphos; her baths are on the north coast near to Polis.

Okay, Donald, I think that's enough information for this week. After all, Lady M has posted about Cyprus on several occasions. As it is the island of love, where shall we go? How about Afrodites Baths?"

"Sounds good to me, Sofia."

"So, we're signing off now and going to enjoy this beautiful island. Next week, we are going to Bali. Fortunately, Lady M visited it before she had a digital camera so we do not have any of her holiday snaps for you."

Mantra for the week: TAKE IT EASY!

Love to you all, Sofia