Wine Tasting...You Would Think It Would Be an Instant Success.....

So this last Saturday Matt and I went on a wine tasting tour in the Trodoos Mountain. We were excited because we haven't been up there yet so it was a good opportunity to check the area out a little without getting lost, turned around, confused, or being responsible for driving. It was set up through the base so it was also a chance to meet some new people out there that weren't immediate coworkers. We did meet some interesting characters, mainly some fun Brits that made fun of the way Americans talk and only knew Maryland because there are cookies (biscuits) that are called "Maryland" that they thought were made in the state. We had to burst their bubbles and tell them no, those cookies aren't made there and we've never had them before. I saw them at the store on base (Ermes) and was tempted to try them for the sheer fact that they are called Maryland, which now I will do because they said that they are super tasty. The one fella went on and on about the different types and why they are good. However, he was also wearing a fuzzy fur vest so we can't be too sure if his opinion is a good one to take ;) We also happened to be wearing very similar shirts which was a little scary; I was cuter in mine though! Needless to say we did make some new Brit friends (YAY!) and the one actually will live fairly close to us when we move to our new place and we've already been invited out to the pub on base for the Halloween party on Friday. I kind of want to go to see how people will be dressing and to just hang out and get to know them better. They were pretty funny. Apparently, they think we say the following words oddly/wrong: oregano, basil, anti(ante) as well as call things wrong such as cookies (biscuits), biscuits (scones), pants (trousers), undies (pants/knickers), and of course soccer (football). We also talked about their dirty words that we (as Americans) think just sound cool and they freaked out a little-I told them I already knew what most words meant and that I didn't use them because I knew what I was saying and it was not nice (thank you Peter Kingsley for teaching me!!). It was a good time. They teased us, we teased them, international relations were strengthened!
The wine for the most part was absolutely terrible! Really, it was nasty! There was only one place we actually liked the wine somewhat. The first place we went to was tasty, the second the guy blew through like 12 wines so fast you couldn't even really taste them and most people ended up getting tipsy off of it b/c he went so fast (not us, we sipped then poured it out!) and the last place was gross too. Wine wise it was disappointing. But in reality we didn't expect to taste the greatest quality of stuff. We did also get to try the Cypriot version of grappa which is called Zifania. It tastes like liquid fire burning you from the inside out. We weren't too keen on it, not many people were. The first vineyard gave us a little history of the wine and the process which was great!
We stopped at this nice little restaurant for lunch and it had a great view and ambiance. Then We went to this little touristy town and walked around for a little bit. We will probably go back to it and take our time some more. All in all it was a fun day filled with lots of laughs, some pretty sites, and some nasty wine.

At the last winery overlooking the valley.

King of the Valley!
Again, a valley area with the small town we visited to the right.

The fierce protector of the stall!

Where we ate lunch-the vines gave great shade!

The lighting isn't that great I know, but the bottles are cool!

Not happy to be tasting crap ;)

Super cool chandelier-iron and wine bottles! We're doing this one day!

I liked the shadows

Lots of wine in the barrels-they are there to age for a little while.

Kato Paphos

So in continuing with doing touristy things we went to a close by city called Paphos. They, like everywhere else here, have a historic, archeological area which is known as the lower area, Kato Paphos. Matt's been such a good sport going to all these places with me, I know he hasn't been too crazy about them but he has been enjoying himself I think.

The city of Paphos is smaller than Limassol and quite touristy. We only got to explore such a small part that we'd like to go back at some point and look around some more. They offer lots of water activities on the harbor, as it gets closer to the end of the day, the prices get lower. One guy offered us a speed boat ride out to an island for 5 Euros-not bad!

Well, KP has all sorts of important history and ties to the island, blah blah blah. Just kidding. It was a fun place to visit and they had a castle-yay! It's fun to be somewhere that has these structures that are part of history and stories, even if they are smaller than what we imagine. This one was right on the coast, it was complete with a moat! I like to imagine what it was like to live in there, even if it was built for defense purposes. It wasn't a very tall castle so the view wasn't as grand as others (at least how I imagine the ones in England, Scotland, Germany, and the like look).

Kato Paphos Castle

Inside the entry way

Matt barely fits through the doorway-he's a big man ;)

On top looking out into the harbor

Right outside the castle on the sea

So close to the castle is the archeological area that is part of UNESCO World Heritage Center (http://whc.unesco.org). Basically this means that they think this site contributes significantly to the world's history and it should be protected and preserved for all to see. There are several sites on the island that are part of this program, KP being the first one we got to visit. There are several monasteries and old churches/basilicas on the list that I would like to visit; they are mainly in the Troodos mountains. I think it could be fun to try and visit these sites throughout Europe during our time here. The list for the US is pretty diverse and one could easily see all those sites which include some national parks, the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall, and Monticello.
Anyhew, we had fun wandering around and taking pictures. KP has the largest amount of mosaics recovered on the island, which is a huge reason they are part of UNESCO. It just fascinates me how detailed and time consuming each work is and would take to produce-and they were walking on them! Now there are all sorts of platforms built around them so you can see them clearly. But, they are kind of hard to photograph with lighting and shadows. I've been discovering that I love the columns that were built and am liking comparing the differences between different sites!

See, columns

He indulges me, like a good hubby!

Man-strength! Trying to pick up the cap of a column. Can we say hernia?

On of the mosaics that has been restored and well preserved.

Reflection time...

There was a lighthouse on the grounds that obviously has nothing to do with the Roman ruins, but it was pretty.

Sadly, these stairs led to a locked door on the lighthouse where I wanted to climb up to get a better view.

Cacti by the lighthouse-large and wild!

The prettiest little view. I thought it looked very tranquil and inviting.

No place is complete with out an amphitheater!

The sun was starting to give off some good light!

He's king of the ruins! If you look closely, it looks like his foot is crushing the palm trees ;)

On our way home we stopped by Aphrodite's Rock (check back to random facts about Cyprus to see info on it!). We knew the sun was going to be setting as we passed so we figured that is was a good time to stop and take some pics! The coast line is lovely and we did get some good lighting. It was a fun day all in all and hopefully this small number of pics helps to show it!

Man I LOVE him!!

He's going to kill me for putting this up but I think it's a GREAT pic! I just LOVE it!

There's her rock! We didn't go down for fear of becoming oober fertile ;)

This photo would be popular here b/c of the crooked horizon!

Sun going down on another amazing day!