Over to Karnos, near Phaneromi Church, where the shuttle bus leaves to connect us to the larger shuttle bus from Nicosia to Paphos airport. Walk past a large field of yellow flowers where a woman with a small dog appears to be collecting snails, the dog leading the search like a truffle hunter. At the airport, located in fields by the sea, we get sent to have our non-EU boarding passes stamped by the checking service, a relatively new addition to the list of inconveniences. The machine beeps as I go through the electronic security. I am bidden to take off my shoes, and comply. It still beeps and a young lady runs a hand held scanner over me, pretty thoroughly. I am dismissed and, foolishly, venture to ask what caused the beep. Your shoes. But it beeped again after I took them off. That was something else. In other words, my shoes are unlikely to have been the cause and the security staff know no more than I. And if I have no more sense than to pursue the issue I may find myself subjected to more unpleasant examination.
Cheapest coffee in the airport €3.60, tea €2.95, water €1.10. Remarkable profit on a tea bag and some hot water. On the plane coffee €2.50 but same 500 ml bottle of water €3.00. Overheads full of carry on luggage larger than ours, in accordance with sign in airport saying that anything that fits in the sizing template box may be taken aboard, and agreeing proudly that dimensions are greater than those they officially require. We appear to be the only people unaware of this loosening of restrictions, probably down to having checked Ryanair's website rather than relying on word of moth or wishful thinking. Luck with us on the plane, though. I should be squeezed between J and another gentleman, but this man has spotted a seemingly unoccupied seat with more legroom and eventually effects the change with the stewardess's blessing, leaving us with the triple seat. I give him a discreet thumbs up and get a wink and grin.
Ciampino airport is a zoo, but we buy one way tickets to Termini rail station from one of the competing bus lines for €4 each. The walk from Termini is straight along the railway line, past little cafés and then a somewhat deteriorating neighbourhood, which starts improving as we reach the hotels, begging women and bits of rubbish left behind us. We're just past the Temple of Minerva. Apparently it's been misnamed and was actually a nymphaeum, a building dedicated to nymphs. It is a ruin but in pretty good nick considering that it dates from the fourth century. In fact its roof only collapsed in the 19th century. And there's scaffolding up now, suggesting restoration in progress.
[photo not ours but can't find photographer to give credit]
Our room is very clean, but there, more or less, its charms end. Twin beds with starchly pressed sheets and monastic cell dimensions. We're already not best pleased by the city hotel tax, although we were aware of it in advance. Four euros each per day. And the charge for wifi is €5 per day, or €10 for unlimited. Turn it down - don't expect to sit around all day anyway. Final indignity is that the tv doesn't work. We mention this to the young Bangladeshi man on reception, who doesn't seem astonished. In any case, the channels are all Italian. Do we want a different room? Well, there seems little point. I laugh and tell him this is a terrible hotel - even cheap hotels have free wifi. And he laughs and agrees, and finally succeeds in persuading us to look at a different room. It's more or less the same - a clean box - but the telly works, with 500 or so Italian channels and one French one, and the bed is double. Actually more than double. They've done the European trick of pushing two single beds together, but, unusually, have used king sized sheets to make it up as one bed. It is an improvement, and we and the Bangladeshi reception man are now friends, probably because we told him that we didn't blame him for the deficiencies of the hotel and he privately agreed with our assessment. But total cheerfulness.
Explore the immediate neighbourhood. Pass a woman anderson checking the rubbish bins without visible hope. A couple of possible small cafés more or less near us. A small grocery store where we pick up some wine. Haven't yet eaten the picnic we brought, so sandwiches and raisins and nuts and wine. Columbo on telly in Italian. And we've been up since half past five so soon asleep.
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