Not much to write about today. We got up at 8.30am and set about packing all our stuff up in our single large suitcase; I put the broken hot-brush into the bin. We didn’t have to check out of our room until 11.00am, so we pottered around for a while in our room, then went down to breakfast. I really couldn’t face another of the Paphiessa’s sub-standard breakfasts, so we thought we would take a walk along to Mikey’s to see if they were open for breakfast.
Lugging our case and our rucksacks down to the reception, we asked if they could look after our bags as the coach was not coming to take us to the airport until 19:20 hours tonight, for our 22.20 flight to Newcastle. They were happy to keep our bags, and we put them in a room behind the main desk, which also contained other guests’ luggage.
The weather was already hot and sultry, and we walked the short distance to Mikey’s. Seeing some people inside, we walked in, but the barmaid told us that they weren’t open yet. Typical! We therefore continued along the road; although it wasn’t quite 10 o’clock, we knew there must be somewhere that would be open and serving breakfast.
Soon we came to a pub on the corner called The Meeting Pub, which was advertising breakfast. It had literally just opened, so we went inside and order the full English each, as well as a cup of Americano coffee. The place started to fill up, and we got a little disgruntled when we noticed that people who had come in after us were being served their food before us. It was about 30 minutes before our egg and bacon was placed in front of us!
The food, however, was worth the wait and we tucked in. My hearty breakfast included bacon, eggs, beans, mushrooms, hash browns and a couple of slices of toast, butter and marmalade. We knew that by enjoying a good brekky we wouldn’t want too much to eat later on.
Afterwards, we returned to the Paphiessa where Mohammed, the waiter and barman, asked us where we had been as we had missed our breakfast. 🙂
We decided to sit out by the pool and enjoy a couple of beers, as we couldn’t return to our room. Really, today was just a case of killing time until our flight home. We didn’t want to walk too far in the heat and get all sweaty and wilted before flying home, so we just spent the time relaxing around the pool, reading and people-watching.
During the afternoon we took another walk along to Mikey’s, where we stayed for a couple of hours, enjoying the ambience in the pub as well as their beer and Aperol Spritz. With each drink I ordered, I asked for a large glass of water as well; it’s far too easy not to drink enough water and to become dehydrated in the 27°C heat.
The time passed in its pleasant way and when Olive, the friendly barmaid, finished her shift, she came over to us and gave us a hug and wished us a safe journey home. What a lovely lady; she was one of the ones who made our visits to Mikey’s so good. What a great little pub!
Walking back to the Paphiessa, we waited in the shaded lounge out of the sun. This was what it was all about now – just waiting. Around 7.00pm we collected our luggage from reception and went to the front of the hotel to await our coach to the airport, which arrived on time.
So here we were – our week’s holiday in Cyprus had passed in the blink of an eye and, while we hadn’t really made the most of it, we had nevertheless still enjoyed our time and had seen and done lots of interesting things.
It took about 45 minutes to get to the airport, which was crowded with travellers. We checked our case in for the Tui flight to Newcastle, then went through security until we were airside. Then it was more waiting, which wasn’t helped by our flight being delayed by an hour.
It was 23:20 hours before we took to the skies, and I took a photo of the lights of Cyprus as the aircraft’s altitude increased (see featured image). Then we settled back in our seats for the four and a half hour flight back home.
When there was about an hour of the flight to go, I looked out of the window at the lit-up landscape below us, which we correctly estimated had to be the Netherlands. It was a sight to behold, and I marvelled at man’s ingenuity that made it possible for humans to fly.
It was around 02:10am when we landed at Newcastle, and left the aircraft for the short shuttle bus ride to the terminal. Of course, it was pelting down with rain and I was glad my rucksack contained my cagoule, which I hurriedly put on.
It was 3.00am before we arrived back in the house. Another holiday was over, and now we could begin counting down until the next one. 🙂