And now, a word from M-Dizzle (Mommy)...

Hello everyone! Well I'm just chilling in Cyprus with Mom. We just got back from a little holiday at the beach, and here she is to tell you all about it. Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for Mom...




Oh well, hi, it's me....thought you might all like to know how the trip is going so far! Lauren looks wonderful, and we have been having a great time...laughing most of the time at my expense, but oh well, that's how it goes!



So....our hotel was lovely, surrounded by beautiful flowers everywhere, and the beach was utterly amazing. The sand was sugary,and the water the most gorgeous shades of turquoise I have ever seen. The people are really great--friendly and humble. Apparently, visitors from the States are few and far between, so we get treated pretty well. The first night out to eat, our waiter brought us complimentary shots of what we believe was kahlua. We just smiled and enjoyed!



After a great night's sleep we started an adventure hike! A four mile walk down the beach led to the most fascinating destination -- the white caves of Aiya Napa. I was literally stunned by their loveliness. It kind of reminded me of the caves in Capre, Italy -- the water was just as blue. Having Lauren as my guide proved to be a challenge to my "mother knows best" mentality. She gave me nearly no choice as she announced that we were going to descend the cliffs and then we were going to swim in the caves! I was absolutely scared to death. I defintely felt like I could genuinely hurt myself at any point. But I didn't (or couldn't) allow myself to think too long at any given point in the experience--I just kind of did what she told me to do. (see pictures!)



In any case, once I - quite literally - took the plunge, I was amazed by the sensations...mostly numbness from the cold water and fear that I would never be able to climb out. Everything seemed so dangerous -- not like me! But I'm so glad I did--I felt like a mermaid (probably looked a lot more like Ursula, but oh well). Climbing back up the cliff was the biggest challenge, and quite the humiliating experience since Lauren was laughing hysterically the whole time, snapping pics for all to see. Oh well, that's the good thing about being 50...you don't really care what people think.

(Ok hey it's Lolo again- just wanted to show you this great progression of pics of Mom fumbling up a cliff because obviously everyone will enjoy that. She looks absolutely out of her mind. Crazy hat lady. She got so mad when I laughed at the top of the cliff at her struggling, snapping pics the whole way. It was even funnier in person.)








You're welcome. Love, Lolo. Ok back to Mom...

On our way back, we stopped for lunch and had a traditional Greek sandwich at a little restaurant on the beach (the first food I had all day...it's kind of tough hanging out with someone who's not used to eating on a regular basis!)

One of the other funny things that has happened was Monday night. We had dinner at another Greek restaurant. As has been our custom over the last several evenings, we stopped in the bar for a nightcap and were delighted to find there was a Greek dancing show planned for the evening. Lauren tried desparately not to get noticed, even going so far as pulling the cocktail table in front of her so she wouldn't be tapped. This left me totally vulnerable of course, but alas, the joke was on her as the very handsome Greek gentleman moved the table from her to me in order to pull her into participation! I laughed and laughed as I snapped my own set of humiliating pictures.



Now I'm here at Lauren's apartment. Her roommates are adorable girls, and I guess we're going out for gyros tonight! Fun!

Paris!!

Sooo the next morning we got up super early, got to the airport, flew to France, took the bus to the metro, and took the metro to my bff Erin's little dorm! After we got all settled in, we went out into Paris! It was all gorgeous and picturesque, the prettiest city I've ever seen.



Stopped real quick for some gyros (ironic, but they were the cheapest) and headed to a Notre Dame that I actually didn't despise for once... (I don't know why Notre Dame is not the fighting Parisians... probably because then they would seem like the wussies they are. They should all just wear berets instead of helmets). There I spotted a gypsy that I hoped to be Esmerelda... upon zooming in I saw that Esmerelda had a beard...hmm.



So then we went inside and searched for Quazimodo, but he is tricksy and evaded us. So instead we just took pretty pictures for our moms.


Then we went to the Louvre- I absolutely adored it! Erin the Art History major was our little tour guide and told us all about what we were looking at. We were there for 4 hours until it closed and it was not nearly enough time, it's so big... I will have to go back someday.



Here is the Nike of Samothrace, which I learned about in my Greek Art class and got to see it in real life... very famous piece of Hellenistic art, and one of my personal faves...



Here I am failing to produce a Mona Lisa-ish smile...



And here is a really funny dude with a jet-pack installed in his body...



I laughed at that dude louder than you are supposed to laugh in Paris, I think.




After that we walked around a bit more and then went to a restaurant Erin said was fantastic for pizza, and cheap as well. On the way we could see the Eiffel Tower glittering in the distance... apparently it sparkles on the hour! You know how attracted am to glittery, sparkly objects... but the pizza kept me on course. It was as good as she said it was... in fact, every bit of food in Paris was the best ever. After that it was pretty late and we were beat, so we went back to Erin's place... Kelly, Kelley, and Dezi huddled up on the floor and I curled up with Erin in her little bed... we just couldn't beat the price of the accomodations.

The next day we got up ventured out again, looking for more Parisian noms. We found a little cafe with cheap crepes and they were just so delicious and we all felt pretty cool sitting there. After that we went to the Orangerie, which is the pretty little museum with all the giant Monet paintings... they were all so lovely. Who doesn't love Monet?



After that Erin took us to this famous cafe called Angelina's, it looked like the fancy-est place I've ever seen. I didn't belong there at all but the pastries sure looked good so in we went. They were supposed to be famous for their hot chocolate so I couldn't pass that up. And on our way in we saw a celebrity! Just sitting there in the cafe all alone pondering her Parisian life was Dita Vonteese! So again we felt pretty cool dining with the rich and famous. And the hot chocolate was basicly just melted chocolate poured into my cup so that was yummy.




After that we walked around a bit,and then met up with Erin's friends at Shakespeare and Company, this really old and cool little bookstore for a bookreading. The author was a guy who wrote about French wine, and when I bought his book for my mommy and got him to sign it, he told me that he also went to Michigan. So then we obviously became best friends cuz we were both just so cool. They had free wine and cheese at this reading so I was all over that for dinner. Free is me.




Then it was getting dark so we walked over to the Eiffel Tower to take pictures... it was 12 euros to take the elevator up and 3 to walk up the stairs...so of course we walked. While we were doing this it started to sparkle and we obviously got overly excited about that. We got to the top of the stairs and were all tired and then looked around and creepily watched and laughed at all the people making out. We were hoping someone would be cliche and propose but we were let down. After that we went to this dodgy little sangria bar which was very fun and tasty.




The next day we got up and Kelley, Erin and I went to the Musee d'orsay while Kelly and Dezi decided to just go for a walk cuz they were about done being cultured. But I really liked looking at the art so I was all excited to see more. This museum was so fantastic, it had all those Picasso and Vangough pictures that you recognize and then are like wow this is the real one!!!


Then Erin had to go to class so the four of us Cyprus girls walked around, and then lounged around the Eiffel Tower because it was a beautiful sunny day. My contact got really messed up and my friends had to lead me around like the blind. Then we did some shopping for our peeps back home, and headed back to Notre Dame to meet up with Erin.



Then we walked up to Montmartre, this pretty church on the hill. We walked all the way up and stepped inside just in time to see the Our Father in French... I stuck around for the sign of peace cuz I like getting peaced... they kiss twice instead of shaking hands...after the peace I peaced with my friends.

Then... trouble. Erin had told us about these String People. Big giant dudes that grab your wrist and tie a string around it, and then make you pay 20 euros for it... then 50 when you refuse, then 100... and so on. And they are big and in packs and wont let you go. Sooo... the string people gathered at the bottom of the stairs waiting for our descent. My friends started to run... but alas I was blind! I stumbled down the steps with the depth perception of the disabled, with the string people armed and and comin at me with their strings! But, don't worry! I evaded them with my super speed! It's hard to catch a blur, even with a string!

Where the String People live...




After that we were exhausted, and decided some fondue was in order. So we ate lots of cheese... I stringed Kelley with strings of cheese like the string people! I'd go so far as to say I don't really fit in at Parisian restaurants. But it was wonderful and delicious. Paris is really all about the food.


After that, we decided to go see Moulin Rouge which was in a rather interesting part of town filled with some rather interesting people. We had to get up very early the next morning to catch our flights back to Cyprus, so that was it for the day.



Getting back to the airport was an absolute disaster... took the wrong train, missed the bus, took an expensive cab ride, issues with carry-on size, misplaced boarding passes... it was truly a disaster of a morning, but somehow we made it back to our home away from home because we are just that awesome! However we had got so used to saying Bonjour and merci and pardon (since I'm clumsy and run into lots of French people) that it was hard to switch back to our little Greek phrases. Oh well... overall, Paris was fantastic and I loved it and would totally go back (even though I feel a bit like child in a store of fancy breakable things that I wanna touch but people sneer at me and yell at me when I try) Anyway that's all- Au Revoir!

Ireland!

Went on a trip to Ireland and Paris with my friends Dezi, Kelly, and Kelley! So here is a post about Ireland!

We left on a Wednesday and flew from Cyprus to London. We all stayed together in a cheap hotel room for a night in London, then headed out for our flight to Ireland in the morning. It was very exciting flying into Dublin, it was nice and sunny and you could see all the little sheep running around in the grass!

So we landed and took a cab into Dublin to find the Shining Hostel... we were a little nervous about it as the names in its title are two of the scariest movies ever. One involving the brutal murders of girls staying in hostels...


But don't worry, it was fantastic! We stayed in a bright pink room of ten girls, and there was this cute little common area where all the kids would cook and hang out. There were lots of kids from all over Europe so it was fun to chat with them.


So after we settled in, we went walking around Dublin... which is an absolutely wonderful city! It's exactly how you would picture it, with quaint little brick buildings and Irish pubs on every corner... and in between every corner as well. That night we went to the Temple Bar, which is apparently the most famous of these pubs. Everyone was super nice and friendly and wanted to talk to us in their little leprechaun accents. They were all so loud and funny... this one kept telling his friend to stop being a f****** negative leprachaun and I just thought it was so funny. Kelley is an Irish dancer so she danced in the pub and everyone just went super crazy. We met some Irish friends that loved us so much that they told us to meet them the next day...




And so we did! First we went to a different hostel, Isacc's Hostel, which was nicer but not as cozy. Then they took us all around the city and showed us all the sights. We saw Trinity College and the Book of Kells, and some other stuff, and then went to the Guinness Factory. It was lots of fun... though they give you all sorts of beer and then lead you out to the gift shop and trick you into buying a bunch of stuff. Including shirts that I impulsively thought were super cool and only later realized are much too small for its recipient to ever fit into... sorry Matt.

Before the Guinness factory:


After the Guinness factory:




OMG CRAB WITH BEER AHHHHHH!!!! I ran.



After that we walked to St. Patricks Cathedral and St. Stephen's Green. They were both very pretty and I was feeling pretty lucky. So then I went searching for pots of gold, but to no avail. Therefore when it was time to shop,I had to use my own money. Therefore, I did not buy anything (except for birthday gifts commissioned and paid for by Mom).


That night we went to another Irish pub, where there was a live singer/guitar player who tried to do impressions of people but failed miserably due to his thick Irish accent. We met some Scottish fellows there for a bachelor party that tried to talk to us, but none of us could figure out a word they were saying, so we just smiled and nodded. It was like they were trying to speak to us,I know it!

The next day, we got up early to go on a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. Driving across the country was fantastic, Ireland looks just how it ought to, with tons of little sheep just prancing around in the green grass that stretches out forever. And there is lots of little stone walls and broken down stone houses that they explained were built during the potatoe famine... the houses to live in and the walls to give people a job to do in order to get paid, even though it was pointless.

So we stopped in Limerick and saw the Shannon river, where I thought of my wee little cousin. Then we went to the Burren, which is this rock formation thing by the sea. It was pretty cool cuz it used to be under water and now the land plants that are there used to be sea plants and apparently science dudes think it's cool they adapted to air.







Then we stopped for lunch, where we watched our bus driver throw back a few pints at the bar. Which was good news, as he already was quite the crazy driving hooligan bus man. But of course we got on the bus anyway and drove out to the Cliffs. They were just beautiful!






Then we decided to go past the sign that said something like DANGER UNSTABLE CLIFFS YOU WILL SURELY DIE IF YOU GO PAST THIS SIGN. Or something like that.






Sooo we obviously went past the sign and stood by the edge of the cliffs. It was very windy. And then I fell off.








Juuuussssst kidding. I only almost fell off. But then all of us really did fall off...





But we miraculously survived the 702 foot drop and climbed back up to the top unscathed. It was pretty unbelievable there was no barrier there and it was a little scary. So after a couple hours there we got back onto the bus and went on a wild ride where again we thought we would surely die. But we survived cuz we are awesome. When we got back to Dublin we were tired but there was a big futbol match against Cyprus so we went to a pub to watch a little. Then it was back to the hostel to sleep for a couple hours before we headed off to Paris the next day!