My World

November is the month when the weather in Cyprus breaks from warm autumn towards colder winter. Around the middle of November temperatures begin to drop noticeably and the rainy season starts. During this month it can rain from three to six days. November is the third rainiest month after December and January. On average maximum temperature gets up to 22°C on the west coast and inland and 23°C-24°C on the eastern-south coast. On the mountains it already gets noticeably cold with temperatures not going higher than 13°C. At night, temperature drops down to 13°C-14°C on the coast and 10°C inland. On the heights of Troodos, it already feels like winter at night with the temperature staying as low as 6°C. The sea water is about 21°C. I can’t dare the sea water temperature, though. Some people are braver than me and enjoy a swim in the sea.  The sea has its ups and downs in November. It’s sometimes calm and  tempting, but it’s often  rough and gloomy.  Yet, we never ...

August in Cyprus is not only the hottest month of the year but also the month when almost everyone goes on holiday. A few years ago, I used to enjoy spending time in my hometown Nicosia which is a ...ghost town in August since most people are away. I used to enjoy the empty streets, the quiet cafés despite the heat which would often flirt with 40°C / 104°  F.  That was back in the 90s when I still missed hometown Nicosia a lot. Not any more. I love Larnaca so much now ! In the morning, between 6 - 7 am, the beach is quiet, not  really crowded, it's not too hot to walk in the sun as the temperature hardly rises above 24°C  / 75°F. August is a .... lazy moth filled with the beauty and the relaxing scents of the Mediterranean Sea.

What an adventurous morning! I got up at 5:47 am as per usual, had breakfast, went walking for 74 minutes, got back home and had espressos with Alkis w hile my wonderful cleaning lady Mrs Giorgoula was doing the housework.  I had my car washed at Splish Splash while enjoying my free Cyprus or Greek or Turkish coffee - it's the same anyway. OK end of digression!Then I went to the supermarket, did my shopping and then started driving happily back home. I was so taken with Neil Diamond's songs - a double CD my friend Faith had offered me that I forgot to turn left and drove straight ahead to the Cineplex area.  Believe it or not, I got lost in Larnaca where I've been living for the last 30 years. I don't have a GPS in the car, so I turned on my mobile GPS. How sad! My mobile phone had just run out of battery! I was so frustrated that I lost all sense of orientation.Fortunately enough, I found my way back home quite by chance!

A lot has been said about the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet - a healthy eating plan based on delicious foods and flavours of the Mediterranean. The traditional Mediterranean diet has been part of my eating habits for years. Lately, I've come up with some healthy ouzomezedes provided that you have only one glass of ouzo and only 2 small pieces of grilled haloumi cheese.  This is Fava - split pea purée.  Fava is Greek and has nothing to do with our louvana here in Cyprus. If you like real fava, use fava not louvana! I used Agrino Fava. Here's my recipe . Cucumber and Kalamata Olives with a pinch of salt.  Tomato salad with a splash of olive oil and salad herbs. No salt! I find that herbs and spices are much tastier than salt! Grilled Haloumi Cheese Feta Cheese light (12% fat) drizzled with olive oil and oregano. Frozen chicken nuggets cooked in the oven and my chicken fillet meatballs also cooked in the oven. Don't forget to add some ...

Larnaca is a small town of about 75,000 inhabitants situated on the southern coast of the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. When I first came to live here in November 1984, it looked like the middle of no where! People would stare at me as if I were an alien just because I I was different from them. Back to the 80s it was unheard of for a Greek Cypriot lady in her late 20s to have lunch BY HERSELF at one of the few tavernas then on Finikoudes Seafront. Finikoudes (the Palm Tree Promenade) is  the symbol of our town and the town centre.. The palm trees date back to bygone years but now the area boasts one of the cleanest beaches in the eastern Med which has won a Blue Flag. There are also many cafes , restaurants and bars - my favourite being  Coffee Island - the fourth in our town - and Panos Steak House. At the corner of Faneromenis and Agiou Lazarou Street is the church of Agiou Lazarou (Holy Lazarus), built in the 9th century by...

Weather-wise, March in Cyprus can be one of the most unreliable and unpredictable months of the whole year! Sometimes, in early March, you may enjoy a swim in the sea as the water temperature is about 18-19°C and in the afternoon you may feel like going skiing in the mountains!   March comes to announce that Spring is round the corner. Almond trees are now in full bloom and the sea air is intoxicating as it mingles with the aromas of fruit trees. Right now, we are enjoying clear, blue skies, warm days and cool nights and temperatures rising to 20°C . The good old saying  "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb"  seems to be going in the reverse direction, here in Cyprus.  Today, March has come like a lamb. I hope it won't go out like a lion.  In Cyprus, there's another saying about March:  "Ο Μάρτης πότε γελά πότε κλαίει." - March sometimes laughs and sometimes cries.  

As I was walking along the seafront this morning enjoying the early morning breeze, I couldn't tell where the blue seas ended and the blue skies began. I could only feel the rhythm of the foamy waves and the morning sun scattering diamonds across the water.   In my teens, I thought I was very unlucky! In Nicosia, I couldn't see the sea nor could I go for a walk along the beach just after school. I had to wait for the school holidays to spend a few days by the seaside. Later, as a student in Switzerland and despite the breathless beauty of lakes and mountains and forests, I always missed the sun shimmering on a calm, blue sea , pebbles startling the sea water into ringlets, the silvery sheen of the moon on the water , sleepy lagoons, the wave's trough, lazy, dozy days on a golden beach or miles upon miles of endless sea and sky. This morning I could smell the fishy aroma saturated in the air and felt the sweet surge and retreat of the sea . Slushy sand fil...

Carnival in Greece and Cyprus rimes with  celebration - a chance to escape everyday routine and enter a world of party, fantasy, high jinks and 'kefi' - high spirits - a feast of dance, wine and meat before the fasting of Lent  Karnavali or Apokries ( the carnival) started in ancient Greece and was believed to be an act of worship for Dionysos, the God of Wine and Feast.  In the Greek Orthodox tradition, Apokries is the preparation period before Lent. Apokries means literally saying goodbye to meat ... Apohi apo kreas -  apo-kreas.  The English word Carnival derived from Latin and has the same meaning : " carne'' =meat and  "vale"  - goodbye. Apokries runs for 3 weeks preceding the First Day of Lent, which is today. The Greek Orthodox observe 40 days to Easter Day - called "sarakosti". Hence the wish all the Greeks exchange this festive weekend : "Kali Saracosti" (Happy Lent) Today  is   'Kathara Deftera' (Green or Clean ...

Tsiknopempti (Burnt Thursday)  is the Greek equivalent of Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). It is  celebrated eleven days before the start of Lent. The "Burnt" part refers to the grilling of meats (barbrcue), a big part of the celebration of this day. Photo Credit The weekend following "Burnt Thursday" will also have parties and other events such as  the Carnival. Technically, that Sunday is the last allowable day for eating meat and is sometimes called "Meat-eating Sunday" .  In Cyprus it's called "sikoses" from the greek verb "sikono" literally meaning "to rise" , but , as a metaphor it means to be up and dance and be merry and eat to your heart's content ! Right now, all the Greek restaurants and tavernas are literally packed and the Greeks party, eating grilled meats, drinking wine, ouzo or retsina and dancing. Many Greeks also paint their faces black ...to match them with the spirit of tsiknopempti (Burnt Thursda...

February arrived in Cyprus with a huge grin and gorgeous sunny days. I could almost smell Spring in the cool breeze coming from the sea, flirting with my veranda throughout the weekend and spoiling us with mild temperatures rising to 20 degrees celsius on the coast. But just about as I was starting to consider getting rid of coats, boots and umbrellas, today's stormy weather made me have second thoughts. February in Cyprus is  a moody month. It will drift along lazily with its moods...on a whim. Now it's sunny, now it isn't!  Larnaca Medieval Castle Regardless of its moody attitude, February is one of my most favourite months. Its birthstone is the amethyst which symbolises piety, humility, spiritual wisdom and sincerity. Its main zodiac sign is Aquarius like my husband whose birthday is on February 17.                           ...

Halloumi is a Cypriot, firm, brined, white cheese traditionally made from a mixture of goat and sheep milk, but cow milk is also used these days. Its texture is similar to that of mozzarella except that it has a strong, salty flavour imbibed from the brine preserve. Cooking halloumi practically removes most of its saltness and empowers it with a creamy texture. Halloumi is always served in summer with some watermelon and it's an essential part of a Cyprus meze . The cheese also tastes lovely when grilled, pan-fried or thinly sliced on a salad. Halloumi cheese Source: cheese.com Actually, it is a very versatile cheese. You can  eat it in a sandwich with tomato and cucumber, you can grill it or fry it  and serve it as a snack, you can grate it and serve it with pasta  or you can use it as a topping for pizza. The only thing you can't do with it is boil it. In this recipe, I have grated halloumi and used it as the basic ingredient of haloumopita - a traditional chees...

You may not have heard of the Troodos Mountains, but enough snow falls on this normally sun-kissed Mediterranean island between December and March to make it possible  to go skiing and snowboarding in Cyprus.   Well, I don’t go   skiing or snowboarding but I do enjoy playng in the snow. Yesterday, my husband and I   set off on a day trip to Troodos and really loved the snowhite landscape. After some serious snowfighting and walking in the snow, we thoroughly enjoyed lunch at Kaledonia Restaurant in Platres.

Trahanas is known all over Cyprus as well as in many parts of Greece) .It is a delicious and nutritional food. It is soup with wheat kneaded in soured milk. Let’s see how this traditional food is prepared .   After the wheat is thoroughly washed, it is blended in a hand mill. Then it is mixed with soured milk and the mixture is placed in the fire. When it boils well, the mixture coagulates, and then it is moulded into small elongated pieces which lay in the sun where they dry out. These dry pieces are stored and so preserved for a year in the freezer. Each time the housewife wishes to cook trahana soup, she takes the desired quantity from the stored dry pieces. The pieces are placed into water, where they inflate and open.   Haloumi cheese can be added, chopped into small pieces, which also cooks inside the soup. Trahanas is served hot after some salt, pepper and lemon (optional) are added. Here is the recipe of Trahanas Soup in Cyprus  INGREDIENTS ...