One Road- Ariann Mieka

“Have I ever told you the Meze story?” This shall be the opening line for many years to come, as I will most definitely retell this hilarious story till I am old and gray. Driving back to Lemesos after a fun visit to Aphrodite’s beach , Verse and I stopped in the old town. We wandered about a bit, checking out stores and an art gallery. Verse at this point was very hungry and really wanted to get a very small snack before going home. This small snack was meant to hold us until we went out to dinner later. Hurriedly (and hungrily), he chose a place to eat and ordered two vegetarian Mezes from the chalkboard menu at the entrance. The owner of the restaurant looked very confused and asked in broken English, “You want two vegetarian Mezes?” Verse replied yes as we sat down in the empty restaurant. At this point I had the urge to ask the man what exactly the Meze was as I vaguely remember reading about it in my lonely planet guidebook but because of his limited Engli...

On your birthday you expect to get spoiled and made to feel extremely special. Whether your loved ones take the time to do something big or small or you treat yourself to a well needed day of pampering, during your special day you can’t help but feel like a goddess.  What better beach to visit on my special day then but one of the places where the goddess Aphrodite emerged from the sea in all her glory. Aphrodite’s Rock and Beach is listed as a must visit in Cyprus’ guidebooks and as soon as we arrived it was easy to see why. Large smooth pebbles cover the ground and the various colours of the pebbles shimmer through the light blue crystal clear water making it look more like a resort pool than the ocean. Huge rocks jut out of the sea adding drama to the landscape. The beach is also known as Petra Tou Romiou (Rock of the Roman) due to the legend of the Greek hero, Digenis Akritas who used to throw large rocks to destroy his enemies. People swim out to these la...

Our second day in Cyprus happened to be a very special day and the very reason for our trip. It was my 30th birthday and I woke up feeling very excited and blessed! The night before, Verse took me out to dinner to bring in the special occasion. The waiter (even after serving me the wine I ordered) guessed that I was 15. I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing I was...“What’s the legal drinking age in Cyprus if he’s happily serving a 15 year old wine?” Following the suggestion of the friendly front desk staff about where to go after dinner, we drove past the tourist strip and made a beeline for the ‘old town’ where the locals hung out. Walking into the town felt like we stepped back in time. The buildings were old and full of charm and the streets were a narrow maze. We walked about enjoying the atmosphere and after checking out a few places we settled on a very lively bar and lounge.  I love to dance and even though they were playing a very different musical selection...

My thirtieth birthday was approaching quickly and I knew I wanted to celebrate in a big way. We were already in Europe so I had many exciting destinations to choose from for my weeklong celebration. Greece and Santorini were high on the list until we saw their projected temperatures for our week of travel.  With the days being 16°C/ 60°F, my vision of lying at the beach, baking in the sun while enjoying my birthday cake vanished. Verse, thinking quickly, did a Google search for “The hottest place in Europe” and many sites about Cyprus came up. As we began to do more research, my sun kissed vision returned as this destination's temperature was much warmer than our previous choices. The island, which is divided into the two-thirds Greek territory in the south and the one-third Turkish territory in the north sounded like the best option. We booked our flights, packed our bags and got ready for an unforgettable birthday adventure in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus!...