Larnaca and the first impression of Cyprus

Cyprus
All we need is somebody to lean on. 

On Saturday 11th of July we started our trip early in the morning, walked through the airport of Frankfurt to get to our connecting flight and arrived in the afternoon to one of the cities of the country visited by 2 million tourists each year. Cyprus. 

The view from the plane was promising, the airport was nice and air-conditioned. The company was great and we were all excited. We found our way out and the first thing we noticed was the heat. It. Was. Hot. The hot air was like a wall you faced when you walked out of the cool building. We climbed to our bus all sweating and wondering how it can be even true. It felt really warm even for me even though I had been in Germany which also had the weathers with temperature of 30-40 degrees... 
By bus we went to the city center, ate pizza and had some time to walk around. The first thing I had in my mind was that Cyprus isn't a beautiful country. Everyone else was pretty exited of the views and the nature and told all the time how amazing it was. Yeah, it was different, but not beautiful for me. I still don't think beautiful is the correct word to describe Cyprus. 

However during the week I started to like the landscape more and more. And the atmosphere, the people. All kind and nice and polite, speaking good English and being friendly. The Cypriots are similar to their country. The very first impression might be that they want to be on their own, not so easy to get along and a bit cocky even. But it all vanishes in a second. They actually are awesome! 
And if talking more about the first impression. Not a beautiful country, but a bare and stark country. It's so dry, so unfinished, so raw that it starts to amaze you. The more you see, the more you like it. It might be beautiful, but not in usual form of beauty. 

And what becomes to Larnaca. We had only those couple of hours there, spent mainly eating in Pizza Hut (not a bad place, but I prefer eating something else than pizza in such a warm weather). I also visited one nice, small, local shop and bought an adapter (really cheap one. 2,75€!). The old lady was speaking English well and was really helpful - the good first impression well made. I also tipped my feet into Mediterranean for the first time in my life and thought that those people there have to be crazy because they were seriously doing sports in such heat. 
Larnaca felt like a city for a real tourist. It was okay, it was probably the perfect place for someone who loves to sunbathe and do shopping in a lively city. But it didn't feel the correct place for me, too much tourism. But Cyprus. It's amazing in it all roughness! 
Which place has made you to change your mind during your stay? 

Travelling with a best friend

travelling tips
Written 27.5.2015
I've been travelling a bit. And I've been travelling with different companions. I've traveled with my family, with part of my family, with different groups and with my best friend. Today I am about to talk about the last option; travelling with a best friend.
Russia 2012 ↑
Our first trip together was a trip to Russia but it wasn't just two of us but a bigger group. The trip was awesome and weird and everything. And at some point after that trip we started talking about how nice it would be to travel somewhere together. And so we headed to England on summer 2013. We spent there about ten days and had great time. Last summer we decided to do something again, but just England didn't sound nice enough. So our first stop was Norway and the second stop was England. We spent abroad over three weeks. And if nothing else, these shared experiences have made us to grow even more closer.
Russia 2012 ↑
With Katti we definitely are close friends. We can talk about pretty much anything, but we don't have to. Sometimes she just comes to visit us and sleeps in my bed while I'm surfing around the internet. Sometimes we just eat each others food or borrow clothes. I've been putting her wardrobe in order while she's been taking a shower. Pretty much like sisters. And that's why it was so easy to go abroad with her. And our interests and thoughts about how to travel match nicely.
England 2013 ↑
England 2013 ↑
My advise, for anyone wondering whether to go somewhere with a friend or not, would be that make sure you know each other. You don't have to be best of the best friends, but you should know basic things about how the other one is behaving in situations that you're likely to face. You should know how your sleeping and eating routines match together. And you really should be able to say it out loud if something is not good. Especially if your trip is going to be longer than just over a weekend.
England 2013 ↑
I can tell that when you've been sharing every single moment with someone for almost two weeks (excluding bathroom-visits. Even though we shared also some of those and avoided paying more on those public toilets...) you may feel that you'd like to get some own time. And that's what we did. We got annoyed by each other and had some small arguing, Katti went outside and I stayed inside. In a half an hour we were totally fine again and in the evening we made sure that everything's okay between us.
England 2014 ↑
And I think a few times we asked each other to stop doing something as it was annoying. Sometimes we just stayed quiet and did our own things or watched telly. So that we didn't really have to pay any attention to each other. And it's the key element of having good time together. How much I like her and how much I love her doesn't exclude the fact that she does get annoying time by time. And I can say for sure that she feels the same way about me. 
England 2013 ↑
So, if you remember these main rules...
  1. Know each other. Know how much s/he needs sleep, when s/he likes to eat? How long showers  does s/he take?
  2. Talk about money. How expensive flights you will buy? Will you stay at hotel or hostel or is couchsurfing your choice? How do you share the foods and the costs?
  3. Talk about your feelings. Is s/he annoying you? Do you feel like you're not doing the things you'd like to do? Are your shoes rubbing? 
  4. Take some time just for yourself. You both can surely survive without another one for some time. Do you need a break of an hour or fifteen minutes? 
  5. Remember that you're creating life-lasting memories with someone awesome, in some new, beautiful place. Live in the moment.
 ...you will have the most spectacular journey ever. It will be worth it, just saying!

Norway 2014 ↑
England 2013 ↑
We have had so many good laughs, we have faced so many hilarious situations that I can't even tell. We have sat in a balcony watching the sunset, we've been staying awake just because the thunderstorm was so powerful and amazing. We have had deep conversations. We've been walking extra 8 kilometers per day because we didn't want to pay for the bus, we've taken the wrong bus. We've slept in the airport, in a bus, in a shared bed, in a train. We've been sharing even a toilet, and decided that doing your things in a forest is the best option as the toilets are totally awful. We've been remembering those days together, going through thousands of photos taken and thinking that these are the moments we will remember once we're old and grey. And that's something, that really is valuable and worth of doing.


"Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer"
"If you don't know where to go, then it doesn't matter which path you take"
"Not all those who wander are lost"

Have you traveled with a friend? How was it? I'm interested in to hear your experiences!

Ps. This post is partly a reminder for myself of how amazing person I have in my life. But most important this is written for my best friend Katti. I know that we're not together this summer and I really am sorry that I missed your birthday. But I love you and I promise you with all of my heart that soon we'll be flying again ♥

A quick hello

chitchat
 Hiya!

I just decided to say a quick hi, as I've been nothing but busy, traveling, with no internet access (or with a poor one) or just too tired to write anything. I travelled back to Finland on Tuesday 7th and now I'm in the Helsinki-Vantaa airport again. These couple of days I spent recovering in my godmother's place, ate a lot good food and spent time with their cute dog.


Now I'm going to catch some hours of sleep before I have to meet others at three o'clock in the morning... I'm staying in GLO hotel airport - a bit more expensive one, but at least the room is nice and it takes about one minute to be in the main hall of Terminal 2. I can recommend this if you're having a really early flight and you're also ready to pay a bit. Usually I'm not, but this time my mom is with me and decided that she really needs to sleep well before driving all the way back to north.

I'm sorry again for not posting anything, but once I'm back home I'll be able to talk about travelling for a long long time. 1500 pictures only in my camera from the trip in England and Germany. I totally have material! So see you then!

London - sightseeing by foot.

England
It's time to take at least one more look back to England. Back to London. The city that I absolutely love. The city, that makes me smile everytime. The city that's stunning in the night, seen from the sky. The city that never sleeps, the city that holds millions of people every single day. And the city where it's so easy to get lost in the moment.
I've visited London several times but it doesn't stop amazing me again and again. It is huge, but it has always felt somehow familiar and comfy. It has the feeling of a smaller town, if you just happen to find the correct places. It has worldwide-known buildings, there's certainly everything for a tourist. And if you wish, you can spend a whole day sitting in a park (by which London is filled), watching people passing by and feeling like a real londoner with your soda and crisps.
But anyway - here comes a travelogue from one Friday from the beginning of June. We we're actually planning to find a certain destination to visit, something totally new and unseen. But we eneded up with no real plan, with just return tickets and so with no access to the public transportation. And it was actually quite nice!
We started from the Waterloo, walked by the London Eye and Big Ben. Headed to Buckingham Palace through St. James's Park (and even though I've seen Buckingham Palace a few times, this was a totally new direction for me to arrive there).
From the Palace we headed to Green Park - a park that I can recomment to you. In the real center of everything, but still quite nice place! We sat there, ate and drank a bit and continued our journey through Piccadilly Circus (from where Leicester Square isn't too far away if you wish to see it too) all the way to Covent Garden.
After wandering a while around Covent Garden (and searching toilet with no success), we walked to St. Paul's Cathedral and kept our second snackbreak. And searched  toilets again. For some reason it seems that there are no public toilets in London even though the maps are telling a different story... So we ended up buying something proper to eat from Pret A Manger (again something that I can recomment!) and using their toilets.
From there we headed through City of London to Millenium Bridge and the other side of Thames. For a while we wondered wheter to walk to Tower Bridge, but the clock and our feet decided that it's enough walking for this time and we wandered back to the main railway station by the river Thames. Total of about 10 km travelled by foot.
And it was worth of walking! If you wish to catch a small piece of the spirit of London, walking is a best way to do it. The atmosphere is something that you have to feel. And to tell the truth - quite often it's quicker to walk a way between two busstops or undergrounds.
So if you have good shoes, a whole day, something to eat and nothing to do - just walk around. It's free, it's simple and you won't regret the day you spent in London!

When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.

ps. This post might look like it's a bit overhyped - someone desperately fallen in love talking about the good sides only. But I am. London is the place to be for me, England is where (at least part of) my heart belongs ♥

pps. I really am sorry that the posts are running really late. I've just have had so much to do (and I have so much to talk about once I have a bit more time!) and the slow internetconnection isn't helping too much. When it takes two or three hours to upload the pics for a one single post, you don't really feel like posting anything...

Which destination has made an indelible impression on you? Is there that one place you want to see again and again, that takes your breath away?