The Paphos Chronicles - Part 1

This summer the Boy and I decided to stay in Cyprus for the summer - after all, millions of tourists can't be wrong about the things there are to do and see in Cyprus.
So, here we are in peaceful (thank God) Paphos, reading and relaxing by the pool.

Obviously we couldn't keep this up for very long; we were only going to be in Paphos for a few days so we had to make the most of it. We decided to explore the nearby wine villages, an idea which came from this month's Taste magazine (if you don't read it, do yourself a favour and go get it from your nearest newsagents - they have well-researched features and beautiful photography on everything this blog stands for).

Our adventure included driving, walking and photographing our way through the villages of Stroumbi, Kathikas, Arodes, Ineia and Droushia:

In Droushia we even found a weaving museum!

Droushia also had another little surprise in store for us: Droushia Heights. I love discovering hidden gems, and this certainly fit the bill. The Boy assured me that until last year, Droushia Heights was nothing more than a pile of rubble, rocks and lots of dust.

And then there was this:

...and the waitress actually spoke Greek!

After a glass of fresh orange juice and a milkshake, we were off on the road again:

Since we were going through the Cyprus wine villages, it was only logical to visit Sterna, one of the wineries in Kathikas:

There, we were greeted by the manager and encouraged to look around. 

Look around we did.

Wine maturing

If you're going to buy just one thing to remember your visit (apart from wine obviously), make it a box of Yeroskipou delights, a well-loved local delicacy.

And then there was the wine sampling.

After chatting with the manager and sampling a wine or five, we left happily with a bottle of vintage port.

Then we got home. And we were hungry (so incredibly unpredictable). So we fired up the grill in a true Cypriot manner and put these bad boys on:

...which were eaten and washed down with two cold ones by the pool.

We were two tired but very happy piglets.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Paphos Chronicles!