Anastasia Drawing & Dreaming

There's No place like home.......

We're home!!! Wow, we had such an amazing holiday and I cant believe how fast the 6 weeks went. We had a brilliant time soaking up the sun, sightseeing, driving around, eating and drinking!!

Ive been home over a day and this is the first time Ive switched on the computer -Ive totaly suprised myself, I CAN survive without a computer haha, I only checked my emails twice during the whole trip!! well the internet cafe did reek of cigarette smoke (whats with Europeans lighting up every second of the day??) and it was SO slow, it was hardly worth it - too much to do, too much to see!!

Im sporting a healthy tan (ie no sunbaking) and a thicker waist as we ate our way through Cyprus!

Boy was it hot!! we arrived to a cool and gray Sydney yesterday and it was such a relief after having such intense hot hot days with such bright bright sunlight and we even experienced an earthquake in Larnaca last week , 4.7 on the richter scale but it sure woke us up!

Having lived in Cyprus in my early 20's, the island has a very special place in my heart and I have many cousins and friends there. I hadn't been back since 2001 and the changes to the island are phenomenal - I still dont know if its for the better though as it is a small island with less than 1million population but I guess as humans we need and strive for change - maybe because its been so many years since I had last visited the changes were just more obvious. I think since its entry to the European Union in 2004 things have developed at such a fast rate - I just hope it doesnt lose its identity.

The sea promenade with its gorgeous tall palm trees is now lined with fast food shops - KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks....sigh...that to me is not how change and progressing into the future should be...I mean when I travel I love to try out local cuisine and even though its easier to grab a 'Happy meal' for the kids, who wants to eat McDonalds when you can try the local fast food - Souvlaki & Salad in pita bread - simply scrumptious, healthy and so filling!!!

we searched the back streets where the locals hang out and found some gorgeous greek tavernas. I couldnt stop eating!! the food is amazing! We ate some unusal stuff too like snails, quail eggs, goat meat, lamb brains.....sounds gross but they were really yummy (really!!)

anyway its SO good to be home!! I quickly checked my bloglines account and you all have been really busy blogging away - Im looking forward to clearing all the dirty laundry and storing away stuff so I can get into your blogs for a read!!

Ive taken so many photos too - will post to my flickr account soon!!