Cyprus!

 Our next apartment was at Elysia Park. The location isn't great - Quite a bit of a walk from town. But the pool was amazing!

My favourite Indian restaurant in Paphos is Curry House. Order the Chettinad! It's so spicy!

Covid means there are strict instructions at the entrance to all supermarkets. No kisses!

And no dancing in any of the bars :(

Paphos castle looks beautiful at night. 

The best local beer is Keo! (With Leon coming in a close second).

Pigsy Merchandise

One of my favourite artists, Pigsy, now has merchandise available! Pigsy is an Irish Artist & Architect (ODKMarchitects) - currently based in Malaga, Spain. 

Here's my new mug that I ordered, I'm delighted with it!

"Phoenix Rising" is a painting that expresses positivity and hope for the future. 

If you'd like to purchase Pigsy merch (What a great Christmas gift idea?!) you can browse all the products here: https://www.ciaranmccoy.com/pigsy-merchandise-unique-art-gifts-store 

Cyprus!

 We had to move apartments halfway through the trip due to the water leak. But it wasn't the worst. Our new place didn't have a pool but it did have this amazing balcony that we had our meals on and evening beverages also.

Manzanillo Restaurant:

This is a table full of Cypriot Meze. It's like tapas except its a full main meal. I loved it. 

Cocktails in a Coconut down at Bania. 

We drove to the sunset viewpoint which is about a 20 minutes from from Kato Paphos towards Coral Bay.

Beach Time!

This is the oven that the traditional Cypriot dish "Suvle" is cooked in. It's barbecued meat on skewers.

Cyprus!

In August I visited Cyprus!

My flight was with Ryanair and it was 5.5 hours long. This is the longest Ryanair flight I've ever taken but it was perfectly fine! I bought some snacks and drinks in the airport before I boarded. Because of Covid I wore my mask at all times in the airport and on the flight. 

I stayed in an AirBnB at the Amorgas Gardens complex. It's a small block of apartments. I loved the pool, I have a thing for rectangular pools.

I ordered an Ouzo in Estia restaurant. The waitress said that in Greece they drink their Ouzo long, mixed with water, while in Cyprus they sip it from a shot glass.

I drove to the nearby city of Limassol for fun. The landscape is beautful.

This is the view of the prom where I went jogging in the evenings. There is over 10km of coastal walkways in Paphos.

Cypriot food is very tasty!!

There was a water leak in my apartment so the kitchen ended up like this :(

Cypriots love to drink frappes or "Fredo" as they call it!

 

Wavedancer - Paphos (Half Day All-Inclusive Barbecue)

 I was lucky enough to go on the Wavedancer twice this Summer! The first time it cost €48 but the second time there was a special price of €39 which I thought was a much better value price. The trip consists of 4 hours on the boat: Sailing from Kato Paphos to Coral Bay and back again, then some time to dip in the water, a barbecue lunch, live music and also an open bar. 

All Board!!

The water at Coral Bay is prefect for swimming. We brought our snorkels but there was literally no fish so we ditched them and just swam around instead. 

After our swim the barbecue then begins. I'm not sure how it's normally done but becuasse of Covid we were called up in groups of 10 to get our food. The crew served us (I think normally it might be self-service?).

On my first trip the food was amazing! On my second trip I was extremely disappointed with the food :( 

The barbecue consists of all different types of meat with vegetables, potatoes and (my favourite!) Greek bread.

We arrived after the bus (which collects the tourists from their respective hotels) so we were last to choose sun loungers. At first I was dissapointed as this meant our sun loungers were in the shade- However it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as instead of sitting on our loungers we explored all the different parts of the boat! We had lunch sitting on the deck in a nook we found on one side of the boat :)

The trip includes unlimited local drinks and I can't fault them at all. 

I definitely recommend a trip on the Wavedancer for anyone visiting Paphos! They also do a night time cruise with dinner and fireworks but I prefer being on the water in the sun. My advice for anyone would be to try to get there before the bus with the rest of the passengers arrives: Although we arrived at 10:30am (the trip starts at 11am) and already all the loungers were taken except those in the shade. 

Burgers of Paphos

 I have a thing for burgers! Here's my review of the most prominent "burger joints" in Paphos that I visited this Summer.

Phil's Bar and Grill

It's  not in Paphos town exactly- The address is Peiya but it's actually in Coral Bay. You can catch the 615 bus from Kato Paphos every 15 minutes (It's €1.50pp before 6pm and €2.50pp after 6pm. Most of the reviews on Tripadvisor for Phil's say that the food is great but service is bad. I would agree. The inside of the bar is done up like a 1920s speakeasy!

Menu: 9/10 (It's a full steakhouse menu)

Presentation: 7/10

Taste: 9/10

Drinks: 10/10 -> I had two Caipirinhas and I felt like I was back in Brazil!!

Service: 1/10 -> Really. It was BAD

BUR-GER

This is the number 1 rated burger bar on Tripadvisor and I can see why. It's very modern. You order by filling out a questionnaire style sheet. You can select a pre-made burger or build your own. I built me own. I also tried the wings: They come in "Original" or "Effing hot" - The "Effing hot" ones were definitely not hot. 

Menu: 8/10  It's just burgers. Didn't bother me since I came specifically for the burger. I loved the way I got to order on paper :)

Presentation: 8/10

Taste: 8/10

Drinks: I only had a Keo so can't comment on cocktails

Service: 8/10

Argos Burger

Argos burger is uptown Paphos. It definitely has more of a 'local' feel about it. The menu is broad with lots of different types of burgers to choose from. I ordered the "If you dare" burger and was warned that it was spicy - It had a little bit of a kick in it, but definitely not enough for it to come with a warning! I sat outside on a picnic bench style table which I loved. 

I was charged €4 for a portion of vegetables and when it came out it was a small plate of red peppers, courgettes and mushrooms. I was disappointed at this. 

Menu: 7/10 -> It's just burgers. Again, didn't bother me since I came specifically for the burger

Presentation:         10/10 -> The burger came out all dressed up and a chilli adorned the top. Loved it!

Taste: 7/10 -> The burger itself was tasty but I definitely wanted more spice from the "If you dare" burger

Drinks: I only had a Keo so can't comment on cocktails

Service:                 8/10

I'll update this blog if I get to taste more burgers!