Soulla's Saturday Morning Library offers the chance for both children AND adults to get their reading-fix. Come along, even if you don't have children, between 10 and 11.30 and see how well-stocked our library shelves are.
Stick to the right side of the street - Paula Manoli-Gray
So, our lovely new Piale Pashia street is almost complete (pending some greenery planting and benches in October). What do you think?
I have heard mixed views with some loving the fresh new look and others saying that the modern, grey vibe isn't in line with the traditional character of the rest of the area. But on the whole, people seem to be pleased with it and enjoying walking, cycling and skating along its length.
Personally, I think it looks nice and is certainly an eye-catching attraction for our town, but I do have my concerns! I wonder how long it will be until the budget runs out for the cleaning of the glass panels, designed to ensure uninterrupted sea views. Sure, it looks great now, but sooner or later, the glass will get to a point that it is not kept clean, or some scum will graffiti it. I hope this day doesn't come, but sadly maintenance requires a lot of commitment and money - be it your own home or public places - and if our parks are any indication of what happens after a while, then we are in trouble.
As for the parking situation, I thought that the municipality would clamp down hard on illegal parking but so far, I can see no deterrent and plenty of cars squeezed in, making it extremely difficult to drive along the road, especially for larger vehicles. Yes, we all want to park outside Militizis to enjoy our souvla, but it is clearly a no-parking zone – the width of the road and the bollards say it all!
Some drivers think that just because they can park and leave the minimum space for oncoming traffic to closely make it through, it must be okay. I have seen many a coach trapped because some ignorant diner has to be able to see their vehicle right outside the restaurant whilst they are eating, and despite the inconvenience they have caused, they don't seem to care or be in a hurry to move their obstacle of a vehicle. I am not mean-spirited but in cases like this, I do want to see people being booked and will not feel sorry for them in the slightest if they are.
Something else that really bothers me is the disparity between one side of the street and the other. One side gleams like a jewel, but on the other side we find shacks, tin-can structures, sheds and buildings ready to fall down. Aside from being an eyesore and a big stain on our shiny, new promenade, there is no way that they meet building safety regulations. Please correct me if I am wrong, but if those tin-roofed shacks are up to code, then truly, anything goes. Once again, I see nothing happening to remove them or bring them up to standard. I am not saying that every establishment on Piale Pashia should have to upgrade its appearance, but on the other hand, we can't leave the other side of the tracks looking like a salvage yard either.
So, whilst most of the restaurants and ice-cream parlours that line the road look great, and we now have our sea-view walk, cycling paths and a big car park to boot, all that is left is one last push to really get the area looking top-notch…
… and some flashing, all-singing-all-dancing neon signs that make it super clear that parking is not permitted!
First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly 05/09/14
A Larnaca girl in Limassol - Paula Manoli-Gray
Last week my family and I went on a mini-holiday to Limassol for two nights and two-and-a-half days, which many found strange. After all, locals tend to holiday in Pafos and Protaras/Agia Napa for a beach break, or the mountains for some cool respite, but Limassol is generally considered to be a non-holiday destination for those who live here.
Having done both Pafos and the Famagusta areas in previous years and finding them to be lacking in good family activities, we actually had an amazing time and crammed in the zoo, marina, castle, mall, Science Museum and waterpark in our short time there, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.
It was also very interesting to see the differences in Limassol and Larnaca and the two are indeed so different that at times I thought we were in a different country!
For one – and I don't like to generalise but there seemed to be a pattern – drivers in Limassol routinely run red lights. Hubby thought it must be because the seafront road is so long and has so many sets of traffic lights that residents of the big town have lost their patience driving down the coastal road. Personally, the coastal road is way too long for my liking and I much prefer our compact Finikoudes. The beaches along that vast strip also feel too close to the road; more exposed with too little pavement separating sand from tarmac. But I could see more facilities for children than we have in Larnaca with most beaches including a playground of some sort, definitely something we could do with having more of in Larnaca.
I do have to say that the new marina is marvellous and residents certainly think so too judging by the way they flocked there at night. It is truly a lovely place to have a meal or drink, and I hope that we too will get our marina soon and that it will be just as charming. My only criticism of it would be that one company that owns many fast food franchises dominates for dining and drinking, and this seems to be contradicting the luxury element that the marina boasts of itself. It could definitely benefit from a greater variety of options and a higher quality of them. When the time comes for our marina to come to life, I do hope that the powers-that-be will watch and learn from their Limassol counterpart.
Limassol also has an unusually high number of frozen yogurt and ice-cream places, but they are also considerably more expensive than Larnaca's. I was shocked to find a small (and it was small) yogurt ice-cream was €3. Now, this may seem to be trivial, but I love my frozen yogurt and normally go for a large… a pleasure taken away from me by the price tag of €4.50 for a large that was the size of Larnaca's medium! I might have just got unlucky but methinks that for them to be charging that on a road lined with competition, it must be the standard.
I think we saw and did the best that Limassol has to offer and enjoyed every minute, but coming from a smaller town, Limassol can be intimidating in its size and chaos, which made me appreciate our compact nature and bring to mind the old adage of 'there's no place like home'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)