Trip to the North!

It is always good to spend times with friends.  People you have known for sometime, have shared some special moments with and you feel easy in their company.  So a two night trip to Geoff and Hazel Turner's home in Northern Cyprus is always a good time to have.

The journey from our home to the border crossing at Lefkosia (Nicosia) takes about 45 minutes and then another 35 minutes on to Girne (Kyrenia).  There we stopped for a wander around the shops looking at 'copy' Prada handbags trying to search one for Emily.  This is not Dubai and whilst the copies were good so was the price!  We will need to go again next week when Emily is here and she can chose to splash the cash if that is what she really wants.  I do like Girne.  The harbour is lovely and in the warm winter sunshine many were sitting having lunch.  The streets are narrow and with the town backed by the mountains it has a different feel to the south.  There is also the fun of converting prices from Turkish Lira into euro / gb sterling.    This is where the XE app on an iPhone comes in useful.

Friday night was party time with about 24 guests, all from the Korineum Golf Club descended upon Geoff's for drinks and splendid eats with goulash and fish pie.  Its always good to meet new people, all of which seem to play golf -5 times a week every week.   If only we had a douse near by in the south.  It certainly is a vehicle for meeting new people.  The last guests left at 0230 yet it was still up fairly early for beach walking.  As Geoff and Hazel live halfway up the hillside there is a need to go by car for the start of any walk there.  However it was a splendid circular walk along a secluded and empty Turtle Bay.  Geoff told stories of them helping conservationists at the hatching time and how the turtle nests are protected.

Back home it was breakfast on the patio with the most fantastic view across the water to the mainland of Turkey.  Saturday afternoon / evening football watching, a draw at home for Ipswich and a relatively late night watching the 'Strictly' final!  Sunday morning pairs golf with 8 couples, all of whom had been at the party playing.  Lillian and I faired badly, we just don't play enough, on what is a difficult course where any hit that is not straight is severely punished.  The bushes collected three of my balls.  However the weather and views of the very blue sea were lovely.  After drinks on the patio of the golf club we all shared lunch together ago a small restaurant right on the edge of the sea.  A good end to a lovely weekend.