Carnivale!

On Saturday we left from the house at around 9:30 a.m. We drove to Lafkara, a small village where they're famous for making lace and silver. It was a really cute area, full of cobblestone streets and colorful houses. We went into the Church of the Holy Cross where it is said there is a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on. I looked where it was supposed to be…definitely didn’t see any wood there…oh well, it’s kind of cool to think about anyway.

From there we drove to Kourion, where there is an archeological site. It was really crappy and rainy out, but there were beautiful views of the water from the hilltop we were on. At the site there was a Greco-Roman theatre and houses including the House of Achilles, with some really great mosaic floors.

Our next stop was Petra Tou Romiou or “Aphrodite’s Rock.” When we got there it was still rainy out and our not-so-cool bus driver wouldn’t let us step anywhere near mud for fear we’d get his bus dirty. It was still beautiful coastline. Ohhh, yeah, this is the spot where Aphrodite was supposedly born…she definitely just sprung her Greek goddess self right out of the waves and was like, “Here I am world! Let the sluttyness begin.” Oh Aphrodite. (ps – It’s late. I’m tired & a little delirious. School sucks. So if this is ridiculous and makes no sense, well, blame school)

So, we got to see the pretty rock and all got back on the bus with mud-less shoes. Yay, us. From there we went to the town of Paphos where we had free time for lunch. Becky, Teresa, Alex, and I went to seaside place called The Pelican. While we were there the rain cleared up and a rainbow came out, which was nice. Next thing we know, there were two actual pelicans coming out of the back of the restaurant and walking around. They were pink. They were awesome. I asked the owner if they would hurt me if they bit, he said no, introduced me to them…and the rest is fate. I now want a pink pelican…they were insane creatures, very cool.

After lunch we went to see the famous Paphos mosaics. We only made it into one mosaic house, but it was really impressive. Some day when I have my own house, someone can come do that to my floors.

Our final stop of the day was at our hotel, The Pavemar, in Limassol. It was oceanfront – right where I like to be. After some resting and unpacking we took a quick journey to the beach. It was dark out and I definitely stomped through some awesome seaweed, which is always nice. Anyways, that night we went out to a Mexican restaurant where we loaded up on strawberry margaritas and nachos. (It was about time I had some nachos on this island!) Afterward we went to a club called The Basement.

Sunday = Carnivale. When I woke up I went for a walk on the beach where a strange Frenchman approached me and let me know he was glad that Cyprus was a clean country, except of course for the “dog shit everywhere.” Oh, France. So…yeah. My roomie and another girl woke up and we went to Starbucks for some coffee. We got ourselves dressed and ready for the day and went to the Carnivale parade. It was very elaborate and colorful. I’m not really into parades but as far as they go, it was a good one. We stopped at a costume shop and bought stuff to dress up that night, which was kind of fun. Back at the hotel we all napped and were lazy for a bit before it came to “dress up” time. I was “Athena,” who many of you may know as the Goddess of Wisdom, but I changed all of that and took on the title of Goddess of Everything for the night. Yep.

So, we took over the roof of our hotel that night and had our own little rooftop Carnivale party, which was excellent. Afterwards we went to a few clubs where there were more men dressed as women than I have ever seen before. It was pretty much a good time…until I refused to get in a cab and started crying because I wanted to go home and see my brother. Yeah, I’m cool like that. And hey, walking home is good for you…exercise.

Monday morning I woke up and went shopping for a little bit. That was definitely nice. Then I went back to the hotel and had some good old fashioned continental breakfast with everyone. Afterwards, Becky and I decided we needed to jump in the Mediterranean…so we did. It was lovely, in a very cold sort of way. Anyways, we ran up to our room and threw clothes on and went to the bus.

Oh—a little aftermath of Carnivale – TWO people ended up in the hospital, TOO many ended up throwing up to count. It was a good time all around. Whew!

So Monday…yeah, I wanted nothing to do with life. I got myself on that bus and just wanted to get home. Too bad there was a castle and a chocolate factory in the way. So, yeah, we went to see a castle, it was closed so we just stood there looking at it, we went to a chocolate place and I didn’t listen to a single thing about it, and we went to another castle where I sat on the roof for a little bit. Then, we went home.

That was Carnivale weekend…good times.