Cyprus-10,000 Years of History

Roman Amphitheatre at Kourion, Cyprus - 1100 BC

This Mediterranean island is at the crossroads of three continents, where there’s always a new world to discover. Where East meets West and a new experience awaits for you under the sun everyday.Where Championship Golf courses, inviting beaches, and breathtaking mountain trails lie around luxurious hotels. Once you’ve been to Cyprus, it’s easy to see why you’ll come back again.

While it's a bit of a journey getting there, the rewards are many as the Missus and I found out on her second and my first visit.

Fortunately we have family living there including our first grand daughter so the incentive to travel was pretty strong. We took Air Canada to Toronto then after a couple of hours layover we boarded British Airways (highly recommended for service with quality) for the hop over the pond to London. It was an overnight run so most of the plane drifted off to sleep. I on the other hand was too excited and watched movies, or read through the entire flight. The next thing I know its 7 a.m. and we were approaching Heathrow. London is quite a site from the air and I don't think you can even take it all in.


The next step was to navigate the halls of Heathrow. They are huge and in fact are not just one but many terminals that serve 180 destinations in more than 90 countries. Their online website http://www.heathrowairport.com/ is chock full of information and you can even follow them on Twitter, iphone and android as well as a flight text service. None of these were available when we went but now link you to flights and connections so you're never in doubt.

Each terminal is connected by bus and they are quite efficient and get you where you need to go in a hurry. Tip: Make sure you're only packing carry on and that you've checked your large bags through to your final destination. You will have to walk a bit to get to departure points so good fitting and comfortable shoes are the order of the day. Comfortable clothing is a must because air time is about 18 hours from Edmonton to Cyprus. Thank goodness for layovers. In any case we had a couple of hours to transfer so had time for a spot of tea and a bit of shopping in the duty free. Then off to another terminal to catch our flight to Cyprus aboard British Airways - once again, excellent service and comfort.

After a comfortable 4 1/2 hours we were on our final approach to Cyprus and the blue of the Mediterranean is unbelievable. It is various shades of blue, blue-green and deep azure. It is amazing.

Here's just a little sample. 

I'll leave you here now because duty calls but return soon and I'll share some of the sights, sounds and people of this intriguing island.
Enjoy. Dave

Cell phone plans, choose the best deal

The cell phone has evolved to be one of the most important parts of many lives. Most businesses require their officers to have a cell phone. Even individuals need cell phones in going about their daily lives. This is why acquiring this important gadget requires intelligence to avoid inappropriate expense. Finding the most reasonable cell phone plan is one requirement in choosing cell phones intelligently. Because of the very large number of network services in this country, it may help you to research and assess their offers before deciding on a cell phone plan.

Before you decide to buy a cell phone, you may want to decide first whether you want a prepaid cell phone service or a traditional cell phone plan. If you decide on a prepaid cell phone service, then no problem, no credit check, you just need to pay outright and immediately you have your phone. Some cell phone companies even offer free cellular phone units when you acquire a prepaid cell phone service from them. However, when you want a cell phone plan, you may need to choose from a by minute charging or by the second charging plan. Both charging processes have positive and negative points. You need to assess your usage frequency and requirements before you decide on a cell phone plan. You may do research on their performance to see if they have enough towers to reach you wherever you are. There are different cell phone plans for family and national use. There are also cell phone plans for regional use. All of these have their own benefits although there are also their disadvantages. For prepaid cell phone plans, there are cell phone units that may not have the capability for this connection.

Other cell phone plans like family plans, are advantageous for family use and small businesses. There is free access for emergencies. In addition, for family plans, it is cheaper to call the other cell phones included in one billing and some even offer favourite five numbers so there's no charge. There are also discounts for the airtime usage of family members using this cell phone plan. For national plans, this cell phone plan includes free long-distance charges. There are no roaming charges for this cell phone plan and it is another advantage because roaming can be expensive. For regional use, this cell phone plan may require you to pay long-distance charges but the airtime rates may be cheaper. Some companies even include a certain amount of long distance time as part of the package.

Cell phone plans may be beneficial if you can acquire those that have the benefits you need. The manner of usage is an essential requirement, if you do not need it as much and just for emergencies, a prepaid cell phone plan could suit you better than traditional plans where you need to sign a contract with the service provider.

Prepaid cell phone plans are often preferred; however, for travelers the traditional plan with no roaming charges and no long-distance charges might be best.

All of this notwithstanding, in order to make full and effective use of your cell phone, you may want to set some guidelines in your usage. If you want your cell phone for your business, you may need to make sure you turn it off when you need privacy. Being available every time may not do well for you. Reserve sometime for yourself and never allow people to disturb you during this time. If your business partners know they could reach you even late at night and on weekends, they will be annoyed if you suddenly change this behavior. Having a cell phone and being available all the time may not be healthy, thus, you have to be wary not to allow people disturb you when you need to be alone with or without your cell phone.

With all this, make sure you shop around. There's lots of competition in the cell phone business and therefore some really great deals. Enjoy.
Until next time. Dave