My family and I had a weekend away in Paphos last week, and as I always do, I found myself comparing the region with Larnaca. Not in a negative or competitive way, but more in a curious 'how is life in other towns' way.
It is always interesting to visit the other towns of the island as both a tourist and a local of the island, as you get unique take on the area, and I like to holiday on-island: 1) to make the most of areas I don't see much of, and 2) to support local tourism. But that said, it is in no way cheap or particularly cost-effective, and probably costs the same as holidaying abroad in the long run.
My first comment is that we felt very harassed along the harbour, with every restaurant vying for our business. The restaurant's staff do not specifically target tourists with this horrible behaviour; they knew we were locals and spoke to us in both English and Greek. I have to say, this relentless pressure put me in a bad mood and tainted my experience, but it was dinnertime and we were hungry so we chose a fish restaurant despite wanting to scream at the staff to stop talking to us! We were very disappointed in the size of the meals for the price of them, to the point that we would call the food portions 'positively stingy'! I suppose that is neither here nor there as we probably have our fair share of such places in Larnaca, but being that I know where to eat and stick to my favourites here, I wouldn't know which of our restaurants are also guilty of this practice. Answers on a postcard please!
That aside, Paphos - like the areas Limassol and free Famagusta - does have something that we are sorely lacking in Larnaca, and which would be a most welcome boon to parents... child-friendly restaurants with some form of entertainment. Whilst our chosen restaurant disappointed us meal-wise, it was one of the few dining-out experiences hubby and I have managed to enjoy at a relaxed pace thanks to the kids being occupied and very happy at the restaurant's play area. The other few times have been outside of Larnaca where the majority of restaurants have fabulous big play structures. Even a popular island-wide chain that we also have in Larnaca had a play area and children's character plates and plastic cups in the Limassol mall branch, whereas our Larnaca branch does not.
And, as all parents know, happy children equal happy mealtimes! Larnaca really needs to take a leaf out of the other town's books when it comes to child-friendly dining… I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that we are not a touristy resort, and therefore our restaurants are not fighting for the tourist trade? Or are we just behind on this concept? Of course, if you are not a parent, or your children have flown the nest, you probably quite like this lack of chaos when you dine, but with my two still young, it is certainly something that I would see as an improvement to our region.
Talking of malls, we visited the malls in both Limassol and Paphos, and whilst I enjoyed both, I still remain grateful that we do not have one in Larnaca. I think a mall would spell the certain death of the high street and I would hate to see our town centre suffer. And as we have Nicosia's mall just a twenty minute drive away, it is nice to have that 'going-out-for-the-day-to-the-mall' feeling and having to leave Larnaca to do it.
So, whilst I do not envy the malls of other towns, I do envy their child-friendly dining… just as long as I am not harassed to eat at them!
First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 01/05/15
