Month: July 2010

We had a nice day at home around the pool.  Tariq and I did go shopping in the morning. Water melons are now 50 kurus a kilo, just as well as the boys demolish one a day, along with grapes.

Grandad cooked the evening meal and it was lovely out on the terrace accompanied  by the elephant trunk and the cement mixers,building what we all think is the replica of Edinburgh Castle, below us. It started at 1/4 to 7. It is now 9.00pm and it is still going along with washing the mixers out and tipping all the rubbish into the ravine.

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We were up early and set off for Saint Hilarion Castle. It doesn’t take long to get there now the new bypass is open. It opens at 9.00am, a good time to start before the midday sun.  Mal and I paid 7 lira each and the children are free, so a bargain! The boys even made it to the highest peak. They really enjoyed it.

In the evening we went to The Roof for our dinner. It is in Alsancak, upstairs of what used to be Lacem Restaurant (now The Barrel). The prices are very good, when you think we are feeding 6 of us, well worth a visit. The boys loved it there and they do a good brandy sour.  A sample meal, pizza (highly recommended!) and a cola, 7 lira.

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Happy birthday Torin…still in Madrid!

Another day in the pool, the boys are getting much faster at swimming. In the evening Margaretha brought her people carrier round as she said we could borrow it. Really very kind of her.

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Tariq and little Torin were up early and so went for a walk with Rosie and I. During the day the boys did some of their challenges and also swimming trying to better their times for two lengths.

In the evening Grandad cooked us all a BBQ. Later Torin rang and told us he was “stuck” in Madrid because of the French Air Traffic controller’s strike. He went for the day to work, went to the airport and joined the chaos there to find his flight amongst many others had been cancelled and of course all the hotels close to the airport were already full. He found a hotel but of course had to go out and buy things as he had nothing with him. Poor Torin, it is his birthday tomorrow and he can’t get a flight back until tomorrow night.

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PEACE AND FREEDOM DAY

There was a firework display at 1.00am in the morning. At 9.00am there was a 21 gun salute. The early morning was the dawn vigil at Alsancak Landing Beach.

In the afternoon we went into Girne where there was a parade. We went upstairs in Carob restaurant in the harbour, where Margaretha had booked tables for us. We all had our starter and then went up on to the roof terrace  to watch the air display. It was fantastic, much more risky than the Red Arrows. This was the Turkish Stars. They fly so low to the sea and the harbour really is the best place to watch the display. The boys loved it, especially the end where they flew right over our heads and the noise was deafening.

We then went to the downstairs terrace and had our main course. It was quite late when we left and then had ice creams on the way back to the car.

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The water man came in the morning to top the swimming pool up. The boys were really amused at Rosie as she loves catching the water as the huge hosepipe goes into the pool. She gets soaked but loves it.

Today River had his turn at being journalist on Grandad’s newspaper.

see link

It would be nice if people actually filled in the questionaire.

They then had timed swimming, two lengths twice timed and then Grandad said they could have money for seconds they took off their best times. Tariq then managed to get 19lira straight away!! This goes on all week. I think we will be broke before long!

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Tariq was up early and so we took Rosie down to the beach. We bought fresh village loaves on the way back to have with our bacon and eggs for breakfast.

More swimming time, the boys spend a lot of time inthe pool. The afternoons (12-4) they do things indoors, we don’t want any burnt boys.

As it cooled a little in the evening they bucketed water up and down the drive to water the plants. Not an easy job but they are all very willing.

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