Sunday, 25 January 2009

Cypriot fare

20090125_big_footOn Friday nobody felt like cooking and we couldn’t decide what we wanted.  Neither of us had a great appetite, as we’ve all been ill.  In the end, I decided I wanted a steak and Elena wanted pasta.  So we set about finding somewhere open… at 4.30pm.

We tried Kolossi, where there is a steakhouse that seemed to fit the bill, but… not open til six!  Next, on to Akrotiri, Aphrodite… shut, Ryan’s… shut, then on toward Limassol.  At this point we wondered whether it wouldn’t be better to go to the supermarket and go home to cook for ourselves after all, things were going downhill!  I decided that an executive decision had to be made quickly, otherwise things would deteriorate into the usual bickering arguments which ensue when everyone is too hungry to bother reasoning.  Finally we passed TGI Fridays on the front at Limassol and I said, “That’ll do!”  In we went and I promptly ordered my New York Strip Steak, while Elena and Kyle both had pasta dishes.  20090125_Steak

My steak was OK, nothing special, just OK.  Something like a steak should be, just one third the amount you’d expect to get in the US for around the same in $ US.  The pasta was… well, pasta really, OK except the pasta was overcooked and the veg slightly overcooked.  Never mind, at least we know!  We won’t be rushing back there, that’s for sure!

Friday, 16 January 2009

Gathering winter fuel

wood1It has been getting quite cold for some time now, so we decided it was time to make a concerted effort to find some wood to burn.  I noticed, just off the beaten track to Akrotiri, that there was a fallen tree blocking the track and decided to pay a visit with a chain saw if I could lay hands on one.  Sean owns one, I discovered, so I borrowed it and went a gathering.  We managed to acquire a fair bit of wood to burn, but it was fairly hard work, even with a chain saw, since the tree was not that old and still quite moist inside.

wood2 Still, it makes you feel quite virtuous, getting your hands dirty and collecting your own winter fuel, as well as saving quite a bit of money into the bargain.  Now I just have to work through it slow time, sawing it up into fire-sized logs.