Zanettos!
So this past week has been pretty intense...on thursday there was a free large feast made possible by our school (the University of Nicosia) due to lent starting on friday. Because meat is forbidden during lent this was the last chance for 93% of the country to get their fill. Therefore the feast was mainly composed of meat (chicken, beef, pork), although there was rice, salad, bread, Zivania (a strong liquor distilled from wine; quite harsh), and Keo beer. By the time I made it to class I had a slight buzz going on. During my photography class we watched a slideshow on proper lighting technique, so I found it to be the perfect time to kick back, crack my brewsky, and enjoy the show. When I opened my beer a Cypriot girl turned around and said, "I'm jealous,"; probably the nicest thing any Cypriot chick has said to me so far! Anyways, about halfway through the presentation I took a sip from my beer, and the professor (who is absolutely gorgeous mind you) turned to me and said, "Seth, are you drinking a beer?", to which I quickly replied, "I'm in Cyprus!", she then gave a little laugh, and I said, "I'm not even allowed to drink in the States yet," to which she replied, "Better get your fill then..." ahh...the experiences I've had in Cyprus will never be forgotten.
That night was a friend's 21st birthday, and their house (11 girls) was throwing a togo party. So after a lengthy nap (see above paragraph) I got my togo ready, made a wreath crown out of a coat hanger and leaves of a nearby tree, and made my stealthy way down the Cypriot streets to their house. Some people were drinking wine, some people were drinking hard alcohol, some people were drinking liquor, some people were drinking beer, and some people were drinking absinthe...just to let you know the type of toga party it was. All in all it was a really great night; it gave me the chance to get to know the girls in that house, as I hadn't met about 7 of them yet.
On Friday my friend David and I had made plans to walk downtown to Zanettos, which is supposedly the best restaurant in town for meze (a traditional Greek/Cypriot meal composed of many, many dishes). Well we took a cab, got there with no problems right as they're opening, and get turned away because we hadn't made a reservation. We were pretty upset, so we ended up just grabbing a quick meal at a nearby McDonald's before walking home. However, this McDonald's was unlike any I'd been to before. First of all...it wasn't "fast" food by any means. It took about 10 mins to get our food, and with the stares we were getting I felt every second of that wait. It was also very upclass/cleanly/cheap, and the people were dressed very nicely. On the walk home we got lost (took one wrong turn) and ended up walking to Strovolos, which is a town to the southeast of Engomi, where we live. After walking about 3 miles out of the way (and only gaining 3 blocks), we found the main street and got home no problem. When we got to Papafilipou's Ice cream shop I got hazelnut and carmel...which was delicious.
On Saturday we decided to walk back to Lidra street and go to a restaurant that David was really wanting to try, called "Il Forno". This restaurant was an obvious "hot spot" with the locals, so I was really excited that we were able to get in without a reservation. I ordered a spicy calzone with a salad, and David ordered penne pasta with broccoli, prawn, and onion white sauce. When we got our plates I couldn't believe the size of our food. My calzone was obviously a pizza folded in half, with an enormous side of salad covering the other half of the plate. I could only eat about 60% of the calzone, which I ate this morning, and David's pasta was amazing as well. Anyways, we left that place stuffed. On the walk home we went a different way, and got slightly lost once again. This time we found the main road much faster, and probably only walked 1 mile out of the way. When we got to Papfilipou's I got banana and peach...I can't wait to try chocolate and banana, becauas that banana was incredible. After that I went to African night at the school where I ate (some more, I know!), African cuisine, and watched the African students dance and perform a slideshow. It was really neat, and I got to see a few of my African friends in their traditional outfits, so that was pretty neat. After that I went over to the girl's Maro House and watched "Good Luck Chuck", which was one of the best movies I can remember watching in a long time. I tuckered in that night with a few glasses of wine.
Today I woke up after getting a well deserved 13 hours of sleep. I wasted away the day on the internet, waiting to dine at Zannetos. I had made a reservation the day before to make sure that we would get to go tonight. And go we did! I just got back (after walking there and back once again; we finally went the right way!), and I am still stuffed! We got a total of 16 dishes, plus a dessert plate. There were pitas, a garlic mashed potato salad, beets, olives, mushrooms, chicken slavaki, beef liver, glazed pork, taxini, grilled halloumi, two types of salad, beef ribs (?), hummus, couscous, scrambled eggs, and snails. Tonight was the first time I had ever had snails or liver, and I have got to say honestly that I enjoyed both of them. The whole time I was eating the snail I keep saying mentally, "I'm eating a snail, I'm eating a snail...", but it was rather enjoyable. Dessert was comprised of fruit (kiwi/apple/orange slices), a strange cinnamon custard, and a bizarre cinnamon rice-like square that had absolutely no flavor. Now that I've experienced a meze meal (and supposedely the best in the city) I don't know if I'll ever do it again. I'm still extremely full, and the price was a little more than I wanted to pay.
Anyways, that was my weekend. It's back to school in a few hours, and I don't wanna go...whaaa...I'm such a baby...I only have two classes. Oh well, until next time! Miss you all:)
~S
That night was a friend's 21st birthday, and their house (11 girls) was throwing a togo party. So after a lengthy nap (see above paragraph) I got my togo ready, made a wreath crown out of a coat hanger and leaves of a nearby tree, and made my stealthy way down the Cypriot streets to their house. Some people were drinking wine, some people were drinking hard alcohol, some people were drinking liquor, some people were drinking beer, and some people were drinking absinthe...just to let you know the type of toga party it was. All in all it was a really great night; it gave me the chance to get to know the girls in that house, as I hadn't met about 7 of them yet.
On Friday my friend David and I had made plans to walk downtown to Zanettos, which is supposedly the best restaurant in town for meze (a traditional Greek/Cypriot meal composed of many, many dishes). Well we took a cab, got there with no problems right as they're opening, and get turned away because we hadn't made a reservation. We were pretty upset, so we ended up just grabbing a quick meal at a nearby McDonald's before walking home. However, this McDonald's was unlike any I'd been to before. First of all...it wasn't "fast" food by any means. It took about 10 mins to get our food, and with the stares we were getting I felt every second of that wait. It was also very upclass/cleanly/cheap, and the people were dressed very nicely. On the walk home we got lost (took one wrong turn) and ended up walking to Strovolos, which is a town to the southeast of Engomi, where we live. After walking about 3 miles out of the way (and only gaining 3 blocks), we found the main street and got home no problem. When we got to Papafilipou's Ice cream shop I got hazelnut and carmel...which was delicious.
On Saturday we decided to walk back to Lidra street and go to a restaurant that David was really wanting to try, called "Il Forno". This restaurant was an obvious "hot spot" with the locals, so I was really excited that we were able to get in without a reservation. I ordered a spicy calzone with a salad, and David ordered penne pasta with broccoli, prawn, and onion white sauce. When we got our plates I couldn't believe the size of our food. My calzone was obviously a pizza folded in half, with an enormous side of salad covering the other half of the plate. I could only eat about 60% of the calzone, which I ate this morning, and David's pasta was amazing as well. Anyways, we left that place stuffed. On the walk home we went a different way, and got slightly lost once again. This time we found the main road much faster, and probably only walked 1 mile out of the way. When we got to Papfilipou's I got banana and peach...I can't wait to try chocolate and banana, becauas that banana was incredible. After that I went to African night at the school where I ate (some more, I know!), African cuisine, and watched the African students dance and perform a slideshow. It was really neat, and I got to see a few of my African friends in their traditional outfits, so that was pretty neat. After that I went over to the girl's Maro House and watched "Good Luck Chuck", which was one of the best movies I can remember watching in a long time. I tuckered in that night with a few glasses of wine.
Today I woke up after getting a well deserved 13 hours of sleep. I wasted away the day on the internet, waiting to dine at Zannetos. I had made a reservation the day before to make sure that we would get to go tonight. And go we did! I just got back (after walking there and back once again; we finally went the right way!), and I am still stuffed! We got a total of 16 dishes, plus a dessert plate. There were pitas, a garlic mashed potato salad, beets, olives, mushrooms, chicken slavaki, beef liver, glazed pork, taxini, grilled halloumi, two types of salad, beef ribs (?), hummus, couscous, scrambled eggs, and snails. Tonight was the first time I had ever had snails or liver, and I have got to say honestly that I enjoyed both of them. The whole time I was eating the snail I keep saying mentally, "I'm eating a snail, I'm eating a snail...", but it was rather enjoyable. Dessert was comprised of fruit (kiwi/apple/orange slices), a strange cinnamon custard, and a bizarre cinnamon rice-like square that had absolutely no flavor. Now that I've experienced a meze meal (and supposedely the best in the city) I don't know if I'll ever do it again. I'm still extremely full, and the price was a little more than I wanted to pay.
Anyways, that was my weekend. It's back to school in a few hours, and I don't wanna go...whaaa...I'm such a baby...I only have two classes. Oh well, until next time! Miss you all:)
~S