Our last few days flew by and I'm writing this in Istanbul Ataturk airport on our way home.  Have had the most fantastic stay this time despite sharing the house with builders for a couple of weeks.  We're really delighted with the new bathrooms and hope you will be too.  Lovely showers and nice and bright and white.  Next time we have 2 bedrooms and the kitchen needing new blinds and we might remodel the downstairs bathroom.  Have something rather lush in mind for that....

​So, we cleared up the last remaining jobs, gave everything a good water.  We nearly got a wonderful, large olive tree for our orchard that was being relocated but we only had the offer last night and could not locate a mechanical digger in time.  So disappointed.  Next time we hope.  We have wanted olive trees in the garden for a while but large ones from a nursery are very expensive and small ones will never come to maturity in our life time!!!!  So, we must keep an eye open for a tree that needs relocating.  We'll get one!

​Last night after fond farewells to Marion, Eddie and Pamela we went out for a last dinner.  When we first bought the house in early 2006, and for lots of years afterwards, our favourite restaurant was The Address in Karaoglanoglu.  Fantasstic seafront location and really good food and prices.  We ate there a lot.  Then, quite inexplicably it went to the wall in about 2012 amid mutterings of financial flight.  It has remained closed for all this time.  Then last autumn we noticed it was being completely renovated.  It has in fact opened again under the name The Dogus Adres.  Looked really very very nice from the outside so we decided to give it a try for our last evening.  A very good choice, and we will definitely be back often in the future.  The menu is much the same as the old Address.  They do a full a la carte but also mezes built around main courses or around the theme of "meat" or "fish.  Bob and I both had a fish meze and it was amazing.  Everything delicious and so well cooked.  It was about £9 each including help yourself dessert trolley.  Wine was £2.30 a large glass.  The location is sublime just above the water on two sides and in a very beautiful room.  Highly recommended especially with Ambiance out of action this year.  Well, it is open but the renovations are massive and have turned the surroundings into a building site.


​Weather was beautiful this morning for our departure.   Warm enough to breakfast outside at 5am, warm enough to swim at 6.  Quick drive to the airport and we were on our way.   Hope this blog has given you some ideas for your own Cyprus holiday

We've only got 3 days to go now before we leave first thing on Thursday morning.  Tomorrow we want to leave free to have a day at the local beach and Wednesday will largely be taken up with closing up the house, packing, seeing friends for the last time and cleaning.  So today we felt we had to make a big push to get all the small jobs remaining finished.

​I am so lucky to have Bob.  For many reasons, but one of them is that he is simply brilliant at diy.  He can do almost anything: tiling; woodwork; painting; plumbing; electrics; mending things.  He's really good at mending things.  This trip he's tackled tasks as small as whittling a new spear for my Kenyan warrior wooden statue, to rewiring terrace lights damaged in a storm; building a cage around an a/c unit to keep out the pigeons, rebuilding from planks of wood an outdoor dining table, mending small leaks in the pool gulley; and fitting all the new small fitments to the bathrooms. 
​He is a genius and has saved us thousands over the years.  It's tragic that schools have stopped teaching these skills and thus consigned generations of young men to reliance on paying tradesmen to do even the most minor household jobs. 

​Anyway, we went out and chose the fitments for the ensuite this morning and Bob has fitted them - towel rails, rings, toothmug holder etc.  They look great.  He also did a host of other small jobs.  I helped where I could but generally my input was mopping all the floors (still a lot of fine dust from the tile cutting ), deadheading hundreds of geraniums, watering the pots.   

​We did fit in time for a haircut and shave for Bob at the local barber shop, Big Men.  Always gives us a chuckle.  He had the full nine yards today - haircut, eyebrows trimmed, ears and nose tapered, head and face massage, hot towels - the lot.  Came to about £7.  While he was doing that I went and got my feet "done".  Pedi, toenails shellaced with a rather fab silver glitter polish.  So very sparkly.  Can't do a lot about my beat up feet but they did their best.  About £17. 

​By the end of the day we were both knackered.  I mean: It's hot too.  So feeling in need of a cooling beverage.  Which brings me to my next topic: alcohol.

​It is fair to say that alcohol is very cheap out here in comparison to the UK.  You can get pretty much anything you want.  The local beer is called Efes.  The most common form of Efes is a lager but they also do Efes Malt and Efes Extra Strong.  Its cheap. A 500ml bottle is about 60p. 

​There are Cypriot wines but all are made (at the moment) in the south so not very available in the north.  Many Turkish wines are available: Doluca, Yakut, Angora being very popular brands.  They run from about £1 per bottle.  All supermarkets sell wine and beer.  You can also buy international wine brands in the supermarkets.

​If you want something a little bit special, then we recommend visiting The World of Wines which is on the main road between Alsancak and Lapta.  Turn left at the bottom of the hill and it is on the left after about a mile.  They have a large selection of excellent wines from all over the world and are glad to advise in a friendly manner.  We really like their South African Silver Boom wines.  Delicious.  Not expensive for the quality and they have all sorts there.  Give them a try.

​All sorts of spirits and liqueurs  are widely available.  We like the Cypriot spirits ie gin, rum, vodka, brandy.  They are generally on the lower shelf of the supermarket under the international branded drinks.  Honestly, in mixed drinks, they are indistinguishable and at about £3 for a 750ml bottle, a heck of a lot cheaper.  Lord Jim is a popular local gin.  The brandy is also very smooth.  

So, we cooked in, some pork souvlaki washed down by nice cold Efes.  Then watched Guardians of the Galaxy which we have on dvd, which was greatly enhanced by the Cypriot brandy.  An enjoyable yarn.  Rubbish really but oddly likeable.   

This morning we went for a walk along the seashore in Lapta.  About three years ago a walkway was built just above the rocky shoreline with lots of benches and stopping places along the way.  It runs for several kilometres and is ideal for jogging.  Eventually it will extend farther.  Anyway, a most pleasant walk and we stopped for a nice cup of coffee at a little café along the way.

​Coming back to the villa, we lay out by the pool and John decided to try a bit of scuba in the pool.  The first time he'd been underwater with his new hip.   Then of course Bob had to have a go.  Really lovely sunshine too.

​Tonight we went up to Bellapais and parked alongside the ruined abbey.  Such a romantic village perched high on the hills above Kyrenia.  The views are amazing.  We went into the Tree of Idleness bar, made famous by the Durrells.  Had Brandy Sours and watched the sunset.  Then we went across to Cybele, the restaurant within the abbey.  We had a fantastic table with a view straight down over the hills to the sea.  It is a really sublime location.  The food is good and they definitely aspire to be fine dining.  Just not quite there to be honest.  It's not bad, just nowhere near as good as it should be given the location. I had quail for my main course, a Cypriot speciality.  Delicious little succulent birds. 

 sFabulous day today. Started off with breakfast on the terrace in the sun and also getting the bathroom guys settled in again to start the second bathroom.  We decided on a day away from the house because experience with the first bathroom told us that today they'd be hammering and electronically lancing off the existing tilework.  Noisy. Yes.  So made the guys coffee and they started to settle in.  All seemed well and at about 930 we set off for our day out. 

​First stop was the weekly market in Kyrenia.  It's a very large market and a mix of clothes/shoes/knickknacks and a central fruit/vegetable/plants area.   The produce is absolutely remarkable and fantastic.  All local stuff and you can wander around tasting.  We bought some amazing fruit and veg - tiny little apricots, super sweet; green beans; olives both black and green; artichoke hearts.... the cherries are just starting, strawberries fully ready.  A lovely experience.

​After that we headed uphill to drive along the mountain track at the pinnacle of the Besparmak Mountains that runs from St Hilarion Castle all the way along to Lapta and Karsiyaka.  It is now tarmacked all the way although it is narrow in parts and with sheer drops on both sides at other parts.  The views are extraordinary.  At times you can see the coast all the way along the northern coast towards the Karpaz and at other times you can see across the great central plain of Cyprus towards the Troodos in the south and the sea again in the west.  And all the time you are driving through wonderfully scented pine forests, with viewpoints round every corner.  Shortly before the road starts to descend towards Lapta and Karsiyaka, there is a tank memorialised from the 1974 conflict which is interesting to see, blown off the road and hanging on the mountainside.  After that the road descends with clear views over the reservoir and out towards Camlibel and Guzelyurt.  A really great little road trip which I highly recommend.

​We got back to the house about 1pm having stopped for some fresh bread and milk.  Had lunch on the terrace and then pegged out around the pool with our books.  The builders finished stripping out the ensuite bathroom about 2pm and headed off for the day so it was a peaceful afternoon.

​Tonight we met up for a sundowner at 615 then headed down to Kyrenia for dinner.  We were eating at Efendi Restaurant in the old Turkish quarter of the city.  Very peaceful and picturesque.  We stopped at the Kyrenia Tavern on the way to make a reservation for Saturday night but it was closed.  As we got back to the car, the son of the family came up and explained that they were renovating and that mama and papa had been ill, so they had been only patchily open for the last year.  Shall await the reopening with interest.  Anyway on to Efendi.  We had asked to eat outside and were lucky enough to have a table set up on our own in the courtyard garden.  Everyone else was eating indoors.  No idea why, plenty hot enough to be outside.  However, our gain.  It was so atmospheric and romantic.  Food was amazing.  Wine was even better.  I started with mushrooms stuffed with a blue cheese cream mix, Bob had tempura prawns,, Sue had salmon in a beetroot gravadlax, John had black pudding with chicken liver parfait and an onion chutney.  All divine.  Such nice waiting staff too.  For mains, 3 of us had breast of duck on a bed of red cabbage, with a red wine sauce, thyme carrots..... John had lamb tagine with buttery flatbreads.  All fantastic.  Most of us couldn't manage dessert but John, brave man, had a tropical fruit sundae and we all had several rounds of Turkish coffee, the latter ones taken sprawled on some chaise lounges under the stars. Rated the number one restaurant in Kyrenia at the moment and well deserved.  It's not cheap by Cyprus standards but excellent value.  We had a round of pre-dinner drinks, 2 bottles of a good wine, bottled water, 2 course dinner x 3 and a 3 course dinner x 1, rounds of coffee and it was about 150 ytl/£30 per couple. Fantastic!

​ A fabulous day and I do recommend the mountain road trip especially.

Today has been a very good day!  It started with brilliant blue skies and hot sun.  Then, at breakfast we picked the two ripe lemons off our little tree.  There are two more developing.  It's brilliant for such a small tree which started off as a patio plant.  Anyway, I used one of them in the marinade for our leg of lamb which we were having for dinner, cooked in the wood oven in the garden.  The marinade was the zest and juice of a lemon, a head of garlic chopped, olive oil, salt and pepper and rosemary.  Which also came from the garden.  So the lamb went into the marinade for the day.

​Then we ran off in the car to World of Wines and John kindly stocked us up for the next 2 weeks.  Some very nice wines of all types and most of them at around 4 or 5 pounds.  Would be at least double that back at home. 

​Spent the afternoon at the pool, multiple swims.  Lunch out on the terrace.  Reading.  Bob went off to get a  few diy supplies and took Sue to Amore for a pedicure.  Her feet came back looking fabulous.  Really nice colour. 

​Then we had the best news.  Daisy has had her dream job offered to her.  As a researcher with an entertainment media company who maintain a massive database of celebrity events for clients such as the tv companies, most newspapers, other websites, theatrical agents etc.  She starts next Monday!!!  Its been such a hard slog to get to this job and she's tried incredibly hard.  So very happy for her. 

​So, tonight we first celebrated with a lovely bottle of Taittinger Rose and we aimed toasting back towards the UK and Daisy.  The leg of lamb was in the oven sitting on a bed of roast potatoes and I also roasted some gorgeous asparagus at the end and dressed that in butter and parmesan.  We had a lovely lamb dinner sitting outside on the dining terrace as the sun set.  Washed down with a lovely bottle of Fleurie, courtesy of John and the World of Wines.   

​Ended the evening with a movie from the massive dvd collection washed down with espresso and liqueurs. 

​A super day.   

It's really heating up here now.  34C today dropping to the upper teens at night.  All the restaurants are now serving dinner outside, which we love.  Because I've been ill, we haven't gone out for dinner yet but tonight we are going to go to one of our local favourites, Tervetuloa.
​Quite a busy day today.  We have some friends coming at the weekend for a stay.  They are flying in and out of Larnaca and so we needed to go and buy the special 3rd party insurance for the hire car so that we an take it over the border into the Republic.  In order to do that we had to get a letter from Gunray, our hire car company, saying that as owners they give permission for us to do this.  Not a problem, but we had to go to Kyrenia to pick it up.
​We have also decided to have full health checks at the medical centre while we are here.  Our friends who live here have been telling us about the superb health checks available on an almost walk in basis in Kyrenia.  They run a whole raft of tests and scans and you get a full report.  It costs about 130 euro.  So, we have booked in for one each of those next Tuesday and today we picked up their paperwork and some "jars" for us to take our samples along in.  To give you an idea of the tests to be done:
A physical inspection by the doctor
Chest X Ray
Abdominal Ultrasound
ECG
​Bone Density test
Mammogram
​Cervical Smear

Lab. Tests:
Blood Sugar
Bun
Creatinine
Uric Acid
Sodium
​Potassium
AST
ALT
LCholesterol
​HDL Cholesterol
LDL Cholesterol
Triglyceride
Cholesterol Risk Factor
Complete Blood Count
Sedimentation
Stool Occult Blood Search
Urine
​TSH
CEA

​CA125 Ovarian Cancer Screen

​The above are just the tests for women.  Bob's tests are somewhat similar but include more male oriented tests.  We think it will be money well spent.
​So, having picked up our paperwork, we headed up to the border in Nicosia and crossed over, stopping to purchase the insurance.  It costs 25e for a month's 3rd party cover which is all you can get.
​We made a quick foray to a couple of supermarkets to pick up some supplies.  AlphaOmega which is a sort of Tescos equivalent, and LIDL.  Got some taramasala which you cant get in the north and some filo pastry spinach pies.  Also some Filfar which is our absolute favourite orange liquer and which you can't buy anywhere else.  It's delicious. 
Got home about 2pm and had a swim and pegged out by the pool for a while.  That was nice.   Then I made my Slut's Red Raspberry Jellies for tomorrow. 
​Tomorrow we are going to a special concert/picnic in the gardens of the British High Commission in Nicosia.  Pam and Eddie have a table in support of the British Legion and we are sitting there.  Each couple is bringing a course.  Much more on this tomorrow.  Really looking forward to it. 

​So, tonight we ate at Tervetuloa, our go-to local restaurant.  There really is just too much food!!!  You pay the price for your entrée - in my case this was 4 lovely grilled lamb chops served with rice and chips.  Bob had lamb baked with vegetables in a clay dish also served with chips.  This would be a decent dinner in itself.  However, included in the price is a 15 item meze - hot and cold - and then after the entrée there is a dessert and coffee and brandy.  All in, we paid about 65 ytl each.  Such a bargain. 

Cypriot hospitality is legendary.  Whether in Cyprus or in London or in any of the many diaspora locations throughout the world where Cypriot communities have become established, restaurants are the number one occupation.  Unsurprisingly however, nowhere is Cypriot food better exemplified than in Cyprus itself.  On this island, there is a perfect storm collision of generous hospitality, sun-ripened fruit and vegetables, naturally grown meat, delicious wine and - best of all - low, low prices. 
​It goes without saying that you can eat any cuisine in Cyprus.  The cuisine of the heart though... the central offering that any decent Cypriot will want to offer you is the meze.  What is the meze?  The meze is a multi course feast of a meal.  A never ending banquet of tiny plates, each offering a delicious taste of island produce, sometimes served plain, on it's own, standing on its own deliciousness; sometimes mingled with other ingredients, herbs, spices.  Typically, a full meze will begin with around 13 cold meze plates, followed by 7 hot meze plates, then a main course, then a dessert, then coffee and a liqueur.  Typical cold meze plates will include: beetroot, salad, yoghurt, bulgar wheat salad, houmus, tzatziki, goats cheese, olives, breads, aubergine salad, tahini; hot meze plates will be: liver and onions, meat balls, lamb sausage, grilled halloumi cheese, potato pancakes.  Mains: lamb cutlets, shish kebab, chicken kebab, fish kebab.
​
​Around Villa Rockheart there are a number of excellent restaurants serving meze - or sometimes called "full kebab".  Here I list my favourites in all their different flavours of fabulous feistiness!  All of the restaurants below serve a la carte menus but meze is the "main" offering.

​Cenap:  A traditional restaurant in the centre of Alsancak village, about 10 minutes drive.  You can have the massive meze or the slightly less massive meze.  It's a huge feast.  Go hungry. The massive meze has about 50 dishes :)  You can eat inside or outside and there is generally musical entertainment.  Around 55 - 65 ytl per person

​Archway: A traditional restaurant in the village of Zehtinlik, about 15 minutes drive.  Huge restaurant where staff dress in traditional Cypriot costume.  Often musicians play.  Otherwise offerings very much like Cenap.  Superb outdoor setting on a summer's night with views down a ravine towards the sea.

​Villagio Templos: A lovely Turkish style house in Zehtinlik village.  Excellent ambience both indoors and outdoors.  The meze is built around a large joint of lamb: either leg, shoulder or crown roast.  You can choose large meze or slightly less large meze around this main.  The dishes here are a bit more unusual than in other restaurants.  The joint of lamb is massive.  Cost is around 50 ytl.  Highly recommended

​Charcos: A quirky restaurant in an old Turkish house and garden in Lapta (20 mins drive).  This is only barely a meze but it is a delicious offering.  You choose your main course from a large menu and this determines the cost of your meal.  Included in this price is a starter which is generally a generous bowl of thick lentil soup; you also get bread, garlic butter and olives; then your main comes served with a large salad and a huge bowl of fabulous "from scratch" chips.  The meal ends with a dessert, coffee and a liquer - all for the price of the main course.

​Tervetuloa: Lovely Cypriot restaurant more or less at the bottom of our hill, just off the main road where the Merit Hotel sign is.  You can eat in the garden or inside.  Like Charcos, the price of the meal depends on the main course chosen, generally around 40 ytl.  There is a wide range of choice from lamb cutlets to sea bass, meat cooked in a roof tile, chicken.  For the price of the main you get 13 cold meze dishes, 5 hot meze dishes, the main, a dessert, coffee and a liqueur.  Fantastic value and a very welcoming atmosphere.

Stonegrill:
​10 minutes drive away near Escape Beach. Like the previous restaurants, the price depends on your choice of main.  Steaks are a feature here and they are very very good.  The twist is that you cook them yourself on a hot stone on the table.  Various sauces accompany the main together with a large salad and chips.  Before the main you get around 10 cold meze and 5 hot meze dishes and there is also coffee and liqueur.  About 50 ytl.

​The Kyrenia Tavern: In the old Turkish Quarter of Kyrenia, this quirky but much beloved restaurant is an old house and garden, run by an aged Turkish Cypriot couple and their son who worked as a chef in London.  The meze is huge and imaginative.  You have to book in advance and the choice surrounds the main: lamb shank, chicken or vegetarian.  Most people oft for the lamb shank.  The meal also includes a choice of red, white or rose wine.  A very large number of cold meze plates is followed by a large number of hot meze tastes, then the main course, then a small dessert, a HUGE fruit display plate, coffee and liqueurs.  Price is around 55 ytl.  A very unique experience.

​Niazis:  Traditional Cypriot meze served around a choice of kebabs, served in a lively, buzzing atmosphere.  The restaurant is almost opposite the Dome hotel in Kyrenia.  Prices are around 45 ytl. 

Whenever we are in Cyprus we always have at least one trip up to the long arm of the island which stretches off to the north east: the Karpaz Peninsula.  With a new road built about 7 years ago, what was an arduous trip is now a pleasure. From the villa to the very far end is about 2 hours, making  day trip very possible.  We often just go for the day, but occasionally we stay overnight.  It is so very very unspoiled up here, that it is a great pleasure to stay in the utter peace of this natural paradise.
​There are lots of interesting sites to visit on the way and I cover them in previous trips, so look back.  This time we were with two friends who had also been several times so we varied our usual itinerary.  The weather is still gorgeously hot - 32C today and cloudless - there is also little wind at the moment.  Perfect Karpaz conditions.  We set off after breakfast enjoying the excellent coast road which gives brilliant views over the blue sea and golden beaches.  Our first stop was the Karpaz Gate Marina for coffee.  It's a fantastic marina, really top class with every facility.  It has taken a couple of years to build up but there seems to be a healthy number of both sailing and motor yachts moored up now. 
​From there we pressed on to our little hotel right at the gates of the national park and reserve high up in the Karpaz: The Blue Sea Hotel.  We have stayed here several times before.  It is a quirky little place on a tiny fishing harbour and family run.  The patriarch of the family is both the chef and a fisherman who catches the fresh fish on offer there.  Often swordfish.  He is extremely chatty and a genuine eccentric. "I Fisherman" he often proclaims whilst plying you with bottles of free brandy after dinner.  I once had to literally crawl upstairs along with a dear friend of mine who shall remain nameless, could we have been more Ab Fab if we'd tried.  Oh but we paid for it the next day...... 
​Anyway, in the year since our last visit they have finished renovating a massive stone barn that backs the harbour.  "Go and see rooms.  You choose" he said.  Wow!  What a surprise when we opened the door.  The rooms are massive.  Simply but quite tastefully furnished They have a king size and two twin beds in, so excellent for a family, fridge, sitting area and a wet room.  Still enough space left over to hold a small ball.  From the chairs outside a clever fisherman could cast directly into the harbour. Some of my friends would find this a very attractive option!    We dumped our bags and headed further into the reserve.
​Our first thought was lunch (naturally) and I had in mind a little place on a cove I'd spotted before.  However, zounds, when we pulled up, there were two huge coach parties sitting there.  Coach parties!!!!???? Unbelievable.  Needless to say they couldn't accommodate us.  We drove on and received a grumpy rebuff at another place before finding Golden Sands View, set above Golden Sands Beach, with utterly divine views down to it.  Beyond the restaurant was an optimistic sign marked "Beach".  Well... yes.... if you were either a mountaineer or a paraglider.  Anyway.... lunch was fab.  Stuart and I had the grilled calamari stuffed with halloumi cheese.  So tender and very flavoursome.  Bob had fried calamari, also very tender with no hint of the "rubber band2.  Fi had grilled halloumi.  It was all accompanied by a large local salad sprinkled with feta cheese and historically wonderful chips.  Yum.
​After that we rove down to the beach itself and pegged out on some beach beds there.  The sea is fantastic.  So clear, warm and blue.  Super calm.  It was really hot, perfect day.  Then a bit of a surprise.  A young boy came along and asked for money for the loungers.  That was a first!  Never happened before.  It was only £3 for two.  And they weren't broken which they often were in the past, so it was worth it.  There is no development of any type on the beaches.  In the dunes behind there are some very primitive eco huts but these seemed deserted.  Anyway, we had a fantastic afternoon on the beach, sunbathing and swimming.  It really is perfectly beautiful.
​Then back to our hotel, about 20 minutes away.  Saw some of the wild donkeys on the way and put down some aged greens we'd brought with us.  Had a lovely shower in the room and then moved across to the lounge of the main hotel for g&ts as the sun set.  All served by "I fisherman" himself.  He actually said it at one point and I stifled a grin.  Dinner at 8.  A small meze followed by freshly caught, grilled swordfish for 3 of us and mixed kebab for Fi.  The swordfish here is the best I've ever had.  Not at all dry.  Amazingly moist and juicy.  It must be the freshness.  Tonight it was just as amazing as ever. This is the only place I ever order swordfish because generally it is so dry.  Anyway, fully sated we turned in...

fFood is paramount in Cyprus.  There are so many restaurants and, honestly, it's hard to find a bad one.  If they're bad, they go out of business.  Fast.  The food is driven by the quality of the produce here and the overall generosity of the cuisine.  Expect tables groaning with food.  Hosts that hug you in welcome as if you'd been frequenting their restaurant for years and an even warmer welcome for your children.  And you'll struggle to pay more than about £10 to £15 per head for a feast of food and a free brandy and coffee to round it all off. 
​Bearing that in mind, I have to say it is also a huge pleasure to dine at home in Villa Rockheart. We love to use the bbq, built with love by our dear friend, Dave.  He built it over a stay in February..... the coldest February in 50 years. The only February when a sprinkling of snow fell on our side of the mountain slopes.   It took grit and determination to stand out in the icy wind.  And then to add insult to injury, the weather remained hideous enough that they never got to use the bbq throughout their stay.  Luckily, they're returning very soon and it will get a real baptism then....
​We also have the wood burning oven too, the traditional Cypriot method of slow cooking everything from leg of lamb, kleftiko to bread.  We have also used it for pizza, made in literally seconds..... unbelievably delicious. 
​So...... so far we have sampled both restaurant and home cooking.  Last night we visited Villaggio Templos, a fantastic, traditional Cypriot restaurant, set in olive clad hills.  The have a full a la carte menu but the stars of the show are the two meze menus.  One at £12pp, the other at £14pp.  Both menus centre around a main course of either rack of lamb, shoulder of lamb or leg of lamb.  The lamb is preceded by bread, olives and dips, a number of cold small plates, a number of hot small plates and followed by dessert, coffee and local brandy.  We opted for the cheaper of the two mezes but it was still huge and we ended up taking home a doggy bag of roast leg of lamb.  The lamb was just so delicious.  Melt in the mouth tender, and super juicy. 
​Tonight we ate at the villa.  Bob bbq'd some enormous pork chops, purchased from The Pork Shop, a speciality butcher at the bottom of our hill.  They were the size of rib eye beef steaks: thick and huge.  We also cooked potato wedges drizzled in olive oil, garlic and fresh coriander and washed the lot down with Turkish red and white wine.  Dessert was scoops of local Mardos ice cream, from the parlour at the bottom of the hill.  So delicious.  I had cheesecake and chocolate scoops.  There are so many flavours. 
​So, take your pick.  We will eat at home many more times before the end of the holiday.  The bbq is just too ideal this time of year.    And we will no doubt eat out at many more local restaurants.  Eating well is not a problem here. Well.... only picking which restaurant to choose... that IS a problem!

Lamb is king of the meats in Cyprus!  Served in a host of different ways, it is a yummy, flavourful mouthful of meaty pleasure.  We have had two lamby nights. :)  Baa Baa....

Last night we had lamb ribs marinated in soy sauce and then dipped in nigella and cumin seeds and baked on a rack in the oven.  They crisped up beautifully on the outside and remained juicy and succulent on the inside.  Lamb ribs are a really cheap cut of meat, akin to a breast of lamb joint.  They make a very good supper at a bargain cost.  A welcome change from pork ribs yet with similarities.  They are quite fatty although the cooking method removes much of the fat but there is no getting away from the fact that its a cut you have to be willing to pick up in your fingers and bite into. For us a bit of a revelation that we will definitely repeat at home.  So easy to make.  Heat the oven to 150C.  Mix 4 tbl soy sauce, 1 tbl sunflower oil, 4 tsp nigella seeds, 4 tsp cumin seeds. Put the ribs into the mix and scrounge them around.  There isn't a lavish amount of mix but that's ok, you are just lightly coating them.  Put the ribs on a rack over a tin in the oven and bake for between 1 and 2 hours.  That's a massive cooking range I know but it totally depends on your ribs.  Thinner, leaner ones will be ready before fatter, fatty ones.  You are aiming for a crisp outer but still juicy inner.  Keep checking. 

Tonight we tried a new restaurant which will now firmly be a regular favourite on all our visits: Villaggio Templos at Zeytenlik.  We heard about this restaurant from a friend who mentioned they offered a complete shoulder of lamb as the main course of a meze.  Well.....  This was irresistible.  I rang ahead and the owner told me that they offered three lamb mains: shoulder; leg and crown roast.  As we've had a lot of chops, and a couple of legs, we decided to go for the shoulder.  They offer a variety of meze choices based on your main course.  We'd opted for lamb, but they also have fish, and beef.  The meze comes in two "weights" and you can also order a la carte i.e. not meze. 

The restaurant is a visual delight, set amongst olive groves in the very picturesque village of Zeytenlik.  We have been there before to dine at the Archway restaurant.  I have to say that Villaggio blows Archway right out of the water.  At this time of the year the dining has largely moved inside but the outside areas are beautiful.  Inside, it is a traditional Cypriot house decorated in white and turquoise, with beautiful shuttered windows and arches.  More Greek than Turkish. 

The welcome was good and service throughout was exemplary.  The waiter caught on that we were interested in food and he took care to explain the dishes to us.  The courses were not rushed.  We were in there for over two hours which is quite long by Cypriot standards.  But it was just as well because there was A LOT of food.  More than we had expected.

We began with a cold meze of perhaps 13 plates: a beetroot puree and walnut dish (utterly sublime), cream cheese with aromatic herbs, black eyed peas in a marinade, smoked aubergine salad, artichoke hearts stuffed with carrot puree, 2 types of marinaded olives, humus with nuts, tahini, a large feta and green salad, bread, chicken liver pate, asparagus with a creamy mushroom sauce, local sausage slices.  A feast already. And to be noted that the chef makes all of these dishes from scratch.  Nothing is brought in.  Then came the hot meze:  vegetables in a tempura batter (amazing), halloumi cheese deep fried with a sharp lemon zest, liver and onion, vegetable and goat cheese kebab. 

Out came the shoulder of lamb, cooked to perfection.  It had been slow cooked for 8 hours and it literally flaked off the bone in succulent splendour.  So full of flavour and juicy deliciousness. It was served on a massive platter with potatoes, lemon wedges, accompanied by an amazing rice pilaff and a potato/beetroot Lyonnais.  It was massive.  We bravely ate at least half feeling reassured by the fact that the waiter had said that he would pack up what we couldn't manage.  It will be lunch tomorrow.

Following on from the lamb came a dessert of nut and honey pastry.  Somewhat like baklava, again made in house that day.  It was tiny and just hit the spot.  Washed down with Turkish coffee.  And then a surprise.  A complimentary offering of French cognac.  Yes.  French.  And a very generous pouring. 

We couldn't have eaten another crumb and went away happy and content and carrying our lunch for tomorrow.  It wasn't just the quantity though.  The quality of the food was outstanding.  Absolutely outstanding.  The chef here is a treasure and he combines technical expertise with a great talent for combining flavours and foods.  This restaurant has definitely leapfrogged to the top of our list.  How much for this feast you ask?  £12.  yes...  £12 each for all that lovely food and deliciousness.  Amazing.  We washed it down with a £7 bottle of Spanish Cab Sauv/Tempranillo that went well with the lamb. 

Do try Villaggio Templos.  Don't leave it to the last night.  You will want to go again.  We do!