Over the Holidays

The holidays were lovely...parties, sight-seeing, and lots of eating. I attended a black-tie 12-course Christmas dinner on the 23rd at Ledra Palace in the UN buffer zone. Cocktails started at 7:30 and we didn't get up from the table until midnight! Dinner was followed by a casino night with lots of blackjack. On the 24th I attended an Embassy party and Midnight Mass. My family and I finally got our webcams hooked up, so I saw my first live shot of baby Meredith! She's GORGEOUS...and very red. On Christmas I went with friends to Kyrenia harbor and ate meze and shopped. The next day, I spent with Demetris' family and friends eating souvla. My friend Federica flew in from Venice that night. While I worked, she explored the town. We met up for tea in the afternoons and would hang out at night. During my first day off, we hired a car to transport us from the Green Line up north to Kyrenia, St. Hilarion's Castle and Bellepais, a Byzantine monastery. It was a perfect day-- we sat and ate meze by the harbor with the sunshine on our face. The next day, we relaxed at the hamam and ate kebab and drank Cypriot coffee in preparation for the Embassy New Year's Eve Party later that night. The next day I accompanied Federica to the airport and visited the Tekke Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam. I was so sad to see Federica go. We had such a great time. That night, I went out with some Cypriot friends for coffee and cards and felt absolutely stuffed.