06/10/2014Phil's Travels - Nicosia, Cyprus (1014)
Phil's Travels Blog - Nicosia, Cyprus (Oct 2014)
On a foggy Friday morning in early October, we set out for Heathrow and a flight to Cyprus. The moody skies yielded a two-hour delay, meaning I had to suffer a disgraceful All English at a Japanese high street chain in T5 that has no right to pretend to be able to serve such breakfasts. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), the All English a-la-Japanese-high-street-chain experience took so long and generated so much diatribe amongst our group that the two-hour delay was soon spent and we had to run for the gate.
Side note - although I think T5 is the best terminal building in the world, I do not understand why they compromised on the hand-dryers in the water closets. The machines therein blow all the water off your hands and onto a shelf below. It then dribbles down the wall and pools on the floor (as if someone had missed the gentleman's standing facilities) - very unpleasant to look at. Such high volume facilities should always install Dyson's Airblades - clean, much quicker and the best for the best terminal in the world.
As a result of our outbound delay, we arrived in Nicosia around 22.00, just in time for a quick kebab. Following day, we had to be at the bride's house for 14.00 for the dressing ceremony, followed by service at 16.00, drinks reception at 18.00, dinner at 22.00 and dancing until 03.00. This was definitely a non-fat fabulous Greek-Cypriot wedding. There was no plate smashing, but lots of paper napkins were thrown - much more civilised these days. Lots of food, lots of drink, lots of noise and lots of family.
On Sunday, we had to be at the bride's father's house for lunch by 14.00 - more food, more wine and more family. No rest for the wicked though, as I had to spend much of the pre-lunch period repacking everyone as we had to leave Nicosia around 17.00 to head back for our return flight.
Some 46 hours after landing in Cyprus, we left and got back home in London at around midnight on Sunday. Great fun was had by all, but very tiring. This morning was a Monday morning in slow motion.
Couple of items to note: (1) the ceremony was in a beautifully maintained church belonging to the wealthiest monastery on the island, no sign of post-haircut crisis here; (2) the drinks reception was held in the former flagship Mitsubishi showroom in the heart of the city, once the most popular car on the island, and today this palace to the Japanese automobile is now a Spartan bar space. How the mighty have fallen. Still, at least it did not try to serve me English breakfast.
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