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Live Like a Goddess Tour of Cyprus – October 2017

Cyprus: The Island of Aphrodite Tour

10 Days, 9 Night tour of Cyprus, the Island of Aphrodite, to Walk Amongst the Gods


Unleash your Inner Aphrodite & Adonis

October 6 – 15, 2017

Accommodations: Merit Crystal Cove Hotel is a 5-star, all-inclusive beachfront hotel. Includes:

  • Unlimited drinks, beach and poolside service at the multiple indoor/outdoor and poolside bars
  • The resort’s fabulous pools features poolside bar, attentive staff bringing food and dinner; poolside servers on rollerblades to get to you faster J No one has yet figured out to rollerblade on sand, so beachside servers simply walk
  • In addition to three full meals per day, unlimited access to beach & poolside restaurants
  • 24-hour cappuccino, espresso and coffee bars
  • 24-hour On-site Casino
  • Daily ice cream socials
  • Unlimited use of the spa center, including sauna, steam room and fitness center
  • Beach and watersports such as snorkeling, scuba, jetpacks, jet ski, and more (at an additional cost)

http://www.merithotels.com/en_index_merit_park.php

Merit Crystal Cove Hotel – 5 Star Experience

Itinerary

Day 1:             Welcome to Cyprus, transfers to and from hotel, settling in. Unpack, relax, swim, eat and play at the pool and beach

Day 2:            Introduction to Live Like a Goddess and the 5 Pillars of Goddess Living

  • After breakfast, join us for a private belly dancing class on the beach. Whittle away your waist with an introduction to the seductive, traditional dance
  • Eat, drink and be merry during the day: time off to acclimate and enjoy the hotel, accommodations and Mediterranean!
  • Depart hotel after lunch (1 PM) for a guided tour of the Kyrenia Castle – the walled castle built in the early 9th century and protected the city of Kyrenia from Arabs, Moors and Ottomans for over 1000 years.
  • Then, stroll over to catch an evening sunset cruise across the Mediterranean with a cocktail from 5 – 7 PM. Bring a light sweater! It can get chilly on the water in the evenings.
  • Transfer back to the hotel about 8:00 PM

Kyrenia Castle

Day 3:            Day trip to ancient city of Famagusta – pack your bathing suits!

  • After breakfast, pick up at 9:00 AM
  • Visit Saint Barnabus Monastery and final resting spot http://stbarnabasny.org/who-was-st-barnabas.html
  • Visit ancient Roman city of Salamis (http://www.bibleplaces.com/salamis-cyprus/)
  • Lunch at the famous beachside restaurant St Barnabus’ with calamari, fresh fish, salad and Cypriot French fries. Wine with lunch included.
  • If weather permits, a dip through the tranquil waters on the eastern side of the island
  • Walled City of Famagusta (Saint Nicholas’s Cathedral, The Othello tower, Djanboulat’s Bastion & Museum, Porta del Mare, Martinengo Bastion, the old Royal Palace, Namik Kemal Dungeon & Museum)
  • Return to hotel in time for dinner (approximately 8:00 PM)

Ancient Roman city of Salamis

Day 4:            Kyrenia Day: Farmer’s Market & Shopping

  • After breakfast, pick up at 9:00 AM for a tour of the weekly farmers’ market. Buy fresh fruit, vegetables, artisan bread, assortment of nuts and desserts to take home
  • Shopping tour of downtown Kyrenia for souvenirs
  • Lunch at the Kyrenia Harbor of fresh fish and local Cypriot mezzes. Wine with lunch included.
  • Return to hotel after lunch for swim, relaxation, dinner, and needed downtime
  • Feel free to try your luck at the hotel casino
  • Optional: scuba diving excursion may be organized by the Hotel Concierge for an afternoon pick-up. Additional fees will be paid directly to scuba company for pickup and service. Snorkeling is free and plentiful by the shore! Pack your own snorkels, or the hotel can provide for a fee.

Day 5:            Aphrodite’s Temple, Village of Kakopatreia and Limassol Vineyards

  • Early morning departure of 8:00 AM to
  • If weather and beach conditions permit, swim at the shores of Aphrodite’s birthplace: (Petro tou Romiou), or Aphrodite’s Rock, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty http://www.visitpafos.org.cy/petra_romiou.aspx
  • Aphrodite’s Temple, the museum and shrine where the Goddess was adored and revered http://www.sacred-destinations.com/cyprus/paphos-sanctuary-of-aphrodite
  • Lunch in the charming, mountainside village of Kakopatreia – home of delicious, traditional halloumi cheese, yogurt and wine
  • Visit vineyards for wine tasting at Lambouri Vineyards – the largest vineyards on the island in the traditional Omodos Village. http://lambouri.com

Ruins at Aphrodite’s Temple

Day 6:            Beach day! Snorkel, Scuba, Jet Ski and Kite Surf

  • After a long day trekking through the fields where both Aphrodite and Cleopatra stepped, a relaxing beach day is in order.
  • Enjoy poolside/beachside service as you lounge on your private beach cove or explore undersea caves for octopi lurking beneath rocks. Scuba diving professionals can teach you the basics of scuba for a daily “trial” dive

Day 7:            The Kozan Experience

  • Today tour-goers will have the opportunity of living like a local. We will visit the organic farm of Kozan – perched on the mountainside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea from the north. Kozan is a charming village located in the forests of the Five Finger Mountain Range (Pentadyklos). We will get our hands dirty and learn how to make homemade yogurt, traditional Cypriot halloumi cheese, and authentic olive & cheese bread.
  • Lunch will be served with traditional Cypriot mezzes and kleftiko (Cypriot lamb in the oven with roasted potatoes. To die for).
  • Hotel transfer back to hotel to relax, unwind by 5:00 PM
  • http://kozanexperience.weebly.com/

Learning how to make traditional Cypriot cookies at Kozan Organic Farm

Day 8:            Olive Picking & Elia’z Olive Factory

  • Cyprus is home to some of the oldest olive trees in the world. Today we will explore the olive groves of a private estate, learn the process of how and when to collect the ripened fruit. Perhaps we will get our hands dirty and help harvest one of the world’s healthiest fruits.
  • We will then follow these olives to the factory of Elia’z Olives, where we will enjoy a private tour of the factory as well as tastings of the cured and fermented olives, as well as learn the process of sorting, fermenting and curing. Feel free to pick up a jar of organic olives to take home
  • If olives are ready, we will then tour the olive oil factory to understand the age old process of pressing olives into what Homer calls “Liquid Gold.”
  • Transfer back to the hotel by approximately 5:00 PM

 

Day 9:            Hotel, Yoga, Scrub-down in a Turkish Hammam, Relaxing day

  • Get beach-skin gorgeous and pampered on your final day
  • Get pampered with a Spa day. Enjoy a private Turkish hammam was once the public bathhouse where people would gather to scrub off excess dirt and exfoliate dead skin. With a private room and personal assistant, the Turkish hammam is a relaxing, unforgettable experience.
  • Get your “fal” on! Enjoy a cup of Greek coffee (size of an espresso cup)
  • Evening off to relax, eat, drink and be merry. Check out the in-house casino or take a cab to downtown for nightclubs/bars

Relax and unwind in a luxurious Turkish “hammam” spa experience

Day 10:          Final Day of Live Like a Goddess Tour

  • Breakfast, pack and shuttle to the airport

 

Total Price for hotel, full board, transportation on the island, and all of the activities listed above (excluding airfare and insurance based on double occupancy): $2100 per person. Please have Euros on hand for incidentals. Credit cards are widely accepted all over the island. Cyprus is the easternmost part of the European Union. It is also a former British Colony. As such, English is widely spoken all over the island.
PLEASE COME BACK AND VISIT CYPRUS AGAIN SOON!!

 

About your tour guide:

Claudia Hanna Veysel is a James Madison University Instructor of Eat Like a God or Goddess, learning how to replicate healthy, Mediterranean meals. Having grown up in Harrisonburg, Claudia was a management consultant for years before trading power suits for flip-flops and beach sarongs for a simpler, healthier life in Cyprus. Claudia lived in Cyprus for 8 years and has put together this tour as “a few of her favorite things” while on the Island of Aphrodite. She now writes her own blog, Live Like a Goddess, which is focused on introducing the Mediterranean Lifestyle to the West. Claudia teaches Mediterranean Cooking Classes to the Valley through JMU and the Friendly City Co-Op. Claudia is also a huge proponent of encouraging better, healthier eating choices to children by teaching at the Discover More Museum. She is a regular contributor for Cville Weekly, Mind Body Soul, Women Who Live on Rocks, Expat.com, and Sivana Community. Claudia is married to her own Adonis and they have two pretty awesome kids together. They live in the Shenandoah Valley with their dog.

 

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