Independence Day

The past couple of weeks have been relatively routine for us. Alex has really been enjoying school. He had to miss a couple of days last week with a fever. Sofia also had a brief fever, lasting only 24 hours. We were lucky it wasn't anything more.  Also this week, the US embassy sponsored an absentee voting day held in the UN buffer zone. It made voting from afar an easy process. Plus, that is an interesting area of Nicosia with many old buildings and some still abandoned since the invasion more than thirty years ago. We spent some time driving around to explore the area a bit more. Yesterday we made it to the pool for a final day. As of today it is closed for the season. Cyprus weather is incredibly consistent. Currently the high temperature is around 90 degrees and pretty much sunny every day. I rarely even check the weather forecast, especially during the summer. I think there were only two brief rain showers during the summer. So imagine my surprise when we woke up to a cloudy sky this morning. Usually a rain shower would be welcome but today is Cyprus' Independence Day (from the British in the 1950's) and we literally didn't want it to rain on our parade. No need to worry, the little sprinkle lasted only about ten minutes. The parade was very different than those in the US. It was primarily military vehicles, such as tanks and missile launchers, and various companies of soldiers marching. There were also ambulances and police along with two military bands. No floats or candy thrown in this parade.  About half way into the parade Alex asked, "Are you sure this is a parade?".  Once he got used to it he did think it was neat to see all of those big trucks.

Very proud of the new shirt from his school

Trying to quickly catch some raindrops

Small Cyprus flags lined the parade route, but look at the cloudy sky.

Here come the tanks!  They were loud.

Cyprus has the cutest little fire trucks.

My little Cypriots.

And the soldiers

More and more soldiers

Finally, a band.

Some kind of missile launcher

May the Force be with You

Darth Vader was a special visitor to our home over the weekend.  "Darth" is the pet hamster from Alex's class.  Alex took good care of him and gave him fresh water and some food.  Alex has settled into school nicely and even wanted to go on Saturday. 
The weather here is still quite warm, making it nice to spend time outside.  Saturday evening we went to a small festival in downtown Nicosia.  In Venetian times (the 16th century), Nicosia Center was surrounded by a circular wall with a moat around it.  The wall still exists, but the area around it has become a bit run down over the years.  The current mayor (who was at Boston University at the same time as Demetris) is trying to revitalize the area and the festival was held in the space where the moat would have been.  The festival consisted of a few food booths, many craft tables, and some cultural exhibits.  Sunday we spent the day at one of my favorite beaches, Konnos.  It is a smaller beach with beautiful scenery.  The water is very calm and shallow, great for the kids.  The "sun beds" (lounge chairs) at this beach can also float in the water.  Our kids flipped one over and used it as a small water slide.  The kids are so happy at the beach.  All they need is a shovel and a bucket and they can play for hours. 

Darth Vader

At the festival.  They were supposed to continue the drawing that was already there.

Just chilling at Konnos Beach

All he needs is sand and water.

View from the restaurant at Konnos.

The sun bed slide.

Wine Festival

The town of Limassol hosts an annual wine festival that lasts for one week, and tonight we joined the festivities. I made the mistake of mentioning it earlier in the week in front of Sofia and she has since been demanding, "I want to go to the wine festival right now!". Not something you really expect to hear from a three year old. The admission for adults was six euros, and with that we got a bottle of wine to bring home and could sample as much wine as we wanted while there. There was plenty of traditional of Cypriot food available as well as some crafts and traditional music. One of the great things about Cyprus at this time of year is that it is still quite warm, so very pleasant to walk around in the evening. The festival is held at the municipal gardens. They made some areas of the park into open "restaurants". We were able to sit in an area next to a small playground to allow the kids a chance to run around a bit. There was also a booth for the local cancer society and for a small donation you could draw a number and receive the corresponding wrapped prize. Of course, Alex thought that sounded pretty great.  We let each of the kids pick a number. Sofia received a first aid case that she thought was cool. (It's empty but she has plans to put toys in it). Alex was clearly disappointed to get a napkin holder that looks like the top of a pair of pants. We let him try again and he was more satisfied with some cardboard dominoes. At least that was for a good cause.

The biggest wine glass ever according to Guinness World Record

Tasting station for one of the largest wineries

I think we gave her too much wine

Silly dancing

Now that is a lot of souvla he is grilling

First Day of School by Alex

I had a great day.  I loved it.  I loved playing with the balance bike.  I loved playing with the sandbox, too.  It was the best day ever.  I played a lot outside because that's what the teachers said.  I liked the color of all of the toys.  I loved painting my rock and coloring my picture.  It was the bestest school I ever went to.  The teacher told me what to do.

I was about to go to school.  I had a lot of things to take.

It's the coolest ever.  That's a fun sandbox.

I was painting the prettiest rock ever.

I'm drawing the coolest picture ever.

Birthday girl

Our sweet little girl, Sofia, turned three yesterday.  In the late afternoon, we went to the Athalassa Park for a birthday party picnic.  Sofia wanted a Barbie theme.  She calls them Bearbies, because that is what Sister Bear plays with in the Berenstain Bear books.  All of the cousins came with their parents, as well as grandma and Demetris' cousin, Alexia, and her family.  There is a very nice playground at this park in a slightly wooded area. We were lucky to find a group of picnic tables protected from the sun by a roof.  The playground kept the kids busy and they stopped just long enough to eat.  It certainly has become noticeable how much earlier it is getting dark now compared to the summer.  Around 8:00 we quickly packed everything up and headed to the cars guided by the light from iPhones.  What did we ever do without them?  On the way to the car Sofia said, "I had a good birthday."  One of her presents was a pair of Reebok shoes with lights on them.  She said, "When we go to Emilio's I can wear these shoes."  Emilio's is the restaurant that we go to in the village and it is always dark when we walk there. That girl is thinking!

Aunt Maria made the cake and I decorated it.

My birthday girl

Proud he climbed the chain ladder

Me and my girl

Make a wish

The cousins and grandma.  Alexia's daughter, Natalie, on the left.

Looking concerned that someone would take her Barbie.  See Alex in the corner?

Daddy recorded everything.  The playground is in the background.

Enjoying the potato head play dough from Alexia the next morning.

Movie Night

Here is a short conversation I had with Alex a few days ago:
Me:  Would you like to go to the movie Toy Story 3?
Alex:  Is it in Greek?
Me:  No, it says it will be in English.
Alex:  Will they be talking in funny English?

At first Demetris though he meant they would be saying funny things, but Alex was wondering if they would be speaking with a British accent. In Cyprus almost all native English speakers are British, and I have to agree, it does sound a bit funny.
After a day at the beach yesterday, we quickly cleaned up, ate dinner, and once Sofia strapped on her party shoes we were ready for movie night. This was the first time our kids had been to a theater for a movie.  It was held at an open air theater in a residential area of Nicosia. It was a medium size place with patio style chairs set on steps. Nothing fancy but being outside was nice. Sofia was shy at first and wouldn't face the screen until I held her on my lap, but in no time she was laughing along. The surprise was that it turned out to be in Greek after all. It didn't matter. We enjoyed it anyway. There was even an intermission to allow us to get more snacks.  Alex said it was a great movie!

Before the movie

The big screen

Engrossed in the movie

Village People

Lots to catch up on today.  We have spent the past week and a half at the village and there is no Internet connection there.  It makes us realize how much we depend on our computers.  A week ago this past Thursday we made our way to the village.  On our way, we stopped at the airport to pick up Aunt Margaret who was arriving from Athens.  She is married to Uncle Yiannis who is Electra's brother.  Uncle Yiannis had arrived the previous week, but Aunt Margaret had to pay a visit to her mother before coming.  Margaret is originally from Holland, and she and Yiannis have spent most of their married life in Athens.  They have a house in the village next to Electra's.  Demetris' siblings and families were also at the village because during this time of year pretty much everyone in Cyprus goes on vacation.  There happens to be a holiday on August 15 (Assumption of the Virgin Mary) and everyone plans time off around this.  We did our best to make the most of our time there.  One day we took the kids to a water park and they had a great time.  Alex and I went down some pretty big slides many times.  Sofia liked just playing in the water and floating down the lazy river in a tube with me.  The day ended with a bang.  As we were leaving, someone ran a stop sign in the parking lot and hit Diana and Michalis' car.  Quite a bit of damage on the front end.
Demetris and I like to search out new places to see.  One day we were planning to head to a beach, and on the way there we saw a hand painted sign that said, "beach this way."  It pointed down a rough dirt road but we chanced it and found a bit of a hidden jewel.  It was a beach in a small cove with only about twenty other people.  There weren't any amenities there, but the water was clear and the scenery beautiful.  On other days we enjoyed driving through the mountains and trying to squeeze in a bit of exercise when possible, including taking the kids on walks.  During our down time we watched the Olympics.  Cyprus won a silver medal in laser sailing, the first Olympic medal ever won by a Cypriot!

Picnic under the large cypress trees in Salamiou

An aqueduct we discovered on one of our adventures

This is all that remains of the river during the dry summer months

Aunt Margaret joined us on a hike on the Caledonia trail

Scenery at our newly discovered beach

The boys had to climb the rocks at the beach and Demetris ended up with another scraped leg.

"Little" Electra and Sofia