A special visit from an old friend

When it comes to the official job description of "Mum" I don't think annual leave gets a mention.  Nobody talks about it much but there are some mothers out there who allocate themselves a bit of time out and return (hopefully) refreshed and, in different ways, renewed.

My old friend "Weed" as I like to call her is one such person.  With a generous hearted husband who noticed some cheap tickets from Perth to Cyprus, she spotted the window of opportunity and without any hesitation she sent me an email entitled "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?" I was delighted; there's nothing like some quality time with one of my oldest friends.

Lisa, as she is known by everyone else, came for almost 2 weeks and experienced some of our life here in Cyprus; both the mundane and the interesting and, during family times, the LOUD. On one weekend, I also took some 'maternal annual leave' and we both flew to Crete.  It was fantastic to experience a new place together with heaps of time on our hands.  Walking, driving, bike-riding, beaches, shopping and eating....all glued together by a lot of great talking.  

The pictures say it all:

Encountered a massive hail storm en route to the 

airport

The weather brought about some beautiful colours around Aphrodite's 

Rock near Paphos airport in Cyprus

An early view of Crete

Good Morning Crete!

We can't stop taking photos...no kids to watch...new camera

The harbour in Chania

We soon realized that the town of Chania was pretty small, even for 3 days, so we bravely rented a car and drove ourselves to some pretty sights - all the while reminding ourselves "Keep Right, Keep Right".  Despite there being some hesitation in opting out of car insurance, we did just fine and made a great team.

Yes Weed...it really is the Mediterranean.

"hey, stop that, this rock is my only privacy"

Back in Cyprus, it was great to take Weed to some of my favourite places and do some cooking with some of my favourite people.

Walking, talking and sitting in the
beautifully natural Mahairas Forest

Menaka continues to watch over my
cooking of her Prawn & Coriander dish

Hanging out in the kitchen...

Bringing together 2 artists (excluding myself).
Afternoon Tea at Behnoosh's home.

Lunch at Bellapais Abbey

Visiting Ross at the World Vision office

An early morning bike ride discovering doors in the
old town

Weed learned to play Backgammon with
a qualified Turkish mentor!

Had to watch a football match!

A visit to the box shop in Kyrenia

And, on the last morning, tried a Frappe.

So, when you've tried a Frappe, you've really been to Cyprus. Weed, it was great to see you, thanks for coming! Graeme, thanks for minding the fort back home.