Cyprus. A tiny country in the Mediterranean. A place where my Mother was born and partially raised…that is, until war and unrest invaded the quiet. At that point, she and her family left for the United States for a better life. Years passed, a life was made in the US, and although the small island was split, peace was once again part of life. I was born here in the US, but always wondered what that little island was like. As a child, I used to do reports on it in school and any chance I got, I would share the culture with friends and schoolmates.As an adult, I dreamed that someday I would go there. More years passed, now with another generation in the fold…and here I was, still dreaming. Then, I had a bright idea…wouldn’t it be neat if I could go there with my Mother? I mentioned this to her and she thought it was a great idea! This is where the ‘Family Trip’ was born. Then we asked my son if he would be interested in going…and if he could afford it. He said he would…as long as he had enough time to save up for it.
My Yiayia & Papou with a very tiny Alex. They are the natives of Cyprus.
So…after Keith and I got back from Europe in 2011, we started thinking about a family trip to Cyprus. There were a lot of Skype meetings about it, tons of research and more conversations. We all agreed that we definitely wanted to go, and so around April 2012, we started making plans. I planned it out like I planned Europe and by Thanksgiving 2012, we booked our flights and all of a sudden, it was reality! Fast forward to now…add my Thea (aunt) in the mix and BAM! A family trip! We are all flying in from different parts of the country …PDX, LAX and JFK…which was coordination genius on my part thank you very much!! 🙂 Meeting up in Amsterdam…then getting on the same plane to Cyprus.
Woot!!
It’s almost time…