Limassol Coffee Festival

The very first coffee festival to be held in Cyprus let alone Limassol.

A very very long day. Up at Seven for breakfast. Local bus to Ayia Napa. Intercity Bus to Larnaca. Intercity Bus to Limassol

Saturday or Sunday not good days to travel by bus. Not that any day good by Intercity bus, weekend is worse.

Scenery different, mountainous.

I am surprised how large Limassol and the degree of development taking place.

Limassol Coffee Festival held in Limassol Marina. At least half an hour to find. Ticket useless, qr code, nothing more.

Finally find. Hungry. Web site said street food. No street food.

Quick look round, then serious business of trying coffee.

Two coffee stalls with exceptional coffee, one from Ukraine the other from Moscow.

I later try The Underdog. I can try any time in Athens. I am surprised that the coffee from Ukraine and Moscow exceeds that from The Underdog. Exceptional indeed.

Chat with guys from Kudu, another Athens coffee shop and roastery. One of the girls knows me from Athens.

Later I find Stefanos. He is amazed to see me. Unfortunately I did not lasts time in Athens during lockdown. We have many mutual friends. His Create videos excellent on how to brew coffee. A special plea, in English please, currently only in Greek. I am introduced to Christos from Brew Lab. If in Nicosia I will have to find him.

One of the stalls Square Mile. No, not Square Mile, a coffee shop serving Square Mile.

A chat with Rocket. Very rare to find in UK, but find in Cyprus and Greece. The Third Room and Nick’s Coffee Bike in Larnaca use Rocket. Hand made in Milan.

One very big stall, I assumed catering supply coffee, but surprised to find no, .Cup from Crete. Interesting conversation when introduced to the owner. We discuss not only coffee, but also chocolate. I highlight Luisa and Bullion, bean-to-bar craft chocolate. Cup their cold brew excellent. But no more than two. My God, refreshing on a hot day.

A conversation with several people, coffee roasteries springing up like fungi after warm autumn rain. Too many are cowboys or at best amateurs, with no knowledge of coffe3, gives the industry a bad name

Another problem in Cyprus, I have not encountered elsewhere, a bad coffee shop obtaining beans from a reputable roastery via the back door. It gives the roastery a bad name.

Amusing how everyone gave Coffee Island a wide berth. Almost as though diversions signs around their stall.

Talks? If there was, I did not encounter

All good things come to an end. Time for bus to Larnaca, I’d already missed one. Now feeling very sick. Caffeine poisoning. Not eaten all day since breakfast.

Thoughts.

Ditch the moronic music. Not necessary.

Forget trade day. Make all days open. Public transport dreadful weekend, and not good weekdays.

Street food would have been a good idea. And I emphasise street food not disgusting junk food.

Ditch the ticketing agency. Try Event Brite. Not sure of spelling.

Mixed feeling on Limassol Marina. On Intercity Bus route, essential, but need to know where located within Limassol Marina.

Size about right and the right mix. Never follow the example of London Coffee Festival which has degenerated into a monster.

Anything that raises the standard of coffee in Cyprus is to be welcome.

I cannot comment on the coffee scene in Limassol, first time visit, and all I saw was Limassol Marina.

Larnaca with four excellent coffee shops

• The Third Room
• Lodge a
• Paul’s Coffee Roasters
• Nick’s Coffee Bike

has become a coffee destination.

Find one, and ask.

Thanks to everyone for their efforts, organisers, exhibitors, and not forgetting volunteers, for making an inaugural coffee festival in Cyprus a huge success.

— to be continued—

Ayia Napa International Sculpture Park

Once again bus does not stop at top entrance to Sculpture Park and I alight at bottom entrance.

— to be continued—

Avra

Very disappointed poor quality of the for. At twice, Tuesday and Thursday night’s following Ayia Napa Medieval Festival. Both times food not good

Tuesday night chicken soup followed by pork chop. The soup good, the same could not be said of the pork chop, tough served with French fries not chips, and what was jokingly called a salad, the salad little more than a garnish.

Thursday night chicken soup followed by kleftico. The kleftico dry and chewy. How can kleftico be dry? It should melt off the bone. Served in a clay pot with potatoes. The potatoes had a horrible taste. As with the pork chop served with what was jokingly called a salad.

Both nights a carafe of red wine.

Tuesday brought red grapes, Thursday not, though I noticed other tables brought red grapes.

Very poor compared with Nicholas Tavern, which sadly no longer exists.

Try Andama or No 1 in Protaras. For fresh Spartiatas Konnos Bay or Liopetri River

— to be continued–

Ayia Napa Medieval Festival

Parade followed by concert, in the square Medieval stalls.

Running order for the performers was different to Tuesday with shorter time slots. This was to make way for a longer convert after a brief interval.

lighting problems and sound quality improved since Tuesday, though one performance still lit by a screen which blinded spectators.

But and a very big but, why were performers in front of the stage where could not be seen?

Disappointed short performance by fire dancers and Venetians as they stole the show on Tuesday.

Performance by Spiritual Seasons from Ukraine incredible especially female vocalist. The performance was filmed. Please release on YouTube and Vimeo, hopefully was tapped into sound desk. CDs were on sale at the coffee stall. A pity no members were present to sign and to explain which CDs were most typical of the night’s performance.

Coffee served Greek coffee brewed in the traditional way. I tried. Weak and insipid and watery. Not as I expected, strong, bitter with half a cup sludge.

Stalls included olive oil, honey, olive wood carved, knives, blacksmith.

— to be continued—

Larnaca

Intercity Bus to Larnaca from Ayia Napa coronavirus death trap. Passengers boarding not wearing masks, many passengers not wearing masks, many more mask dangling uselessly round face, including driver.

En route to Water Park driver jammed on brakes catapulting passengers out of their seats. No explanation or apology. Possible vack injury. If nothing else, passengers promptly put on seat belts.

Walking along Larnaca sea front from marina to castle, very hot. Headed for shade of old town.

Lunch at Lazarus, halloumi cheese and cucumber in sour dough pitta bread followed by yoghurt. The pitta bread heated up. Tomatoes would have been even better. Nevertheless excellent

The Third Room hoping for espresso martini. Cocktail maestro not there.

Pass by Koffea and Paul’s Coffee Roasters, say hi.

Excellent espresso and cappuccino at Nick’s Coffee Bike. Espresso for me, cappuccino for my Russian friend, who I had met earlier outside St Lazarus Church and who caught up with me at The Third Room.

.

— to be continued—

Ayia Napa International Sculpture Park

For reasons unknown local bus dropped me off at bottom entrance not the top.

Time for a quick circuit, then catch Intercity Bus for Larnaca.

— to be continued —

Ayia Napa Medieval Festival

The 16th Ayia Napa Medieval Festival. Performers from across Europe.

procession

I arrived from Larnaca in time for the procession

concert

Concert in the started in the main square following the procession.

A ticketed event. First time coronavirus status requested. A roped of area at the front. I did not sit within for fear of being evicted.

Very professional performance from the performers. Badly let down by lighting and sound engineers.

Performers were lit from behind. Then compounded by projection on a back screen which was bright.

Bass whacked up high.

— to be continued. —

espresso martini

Foolish me forgot to hit record.

Cocktail maestro at The Third Room made an espresso martini.

Something I have never tried but have intended to make. It was excellent.

An excuse to return and this time hit record.

— to be continued –

Larnaca

En route to Larnaca, local bus to Ayia Napa, walk through Ayia Napa International Sculpture Park, then pick up Intercity Bus to Larnaca.

intercity Bus driver mask dangling round face, several passengers not wearing masks, passengers boarding bus not wearing masks. Lack of social distancing, front half of bus ppacked rear half empty.

Walk back along seafront to Larnaca Marina then along sea front to Larnaca Castle..

Very hot walking along seafront. Pleased to head off to the shade in old town.

Lunch at Lazaris. I made the mistake of ordering toasted sour dough bread with halloumi cheese followed Greek yoghurt. I forgot how big the Greek yoghurt, it would have sufficed.

Spend the rest of the afternoon at The Third Room where cocktail prepares me an espresso martini. Not tried before. Excellent. I neglected to record as video. An excuse to return.

Bus to Ayia Napa in time to catch Medieval Festival procession, followed by concert.

Dinner at Avra. Not impressed.

— to be continued —

Ayia Napa International Sculpture Park

En route to Larnaca, local bus to Ayia Napa, walk through Sculpture Park then pick up Intercity Bus to Larnaca

— to be continued –