TODAY'S GUEST BLOGGER IS.......

Hello everyone

My name is Eva and you know from my previous guest posts on Jill's blog that I am passionate about travel.

How about trying Cyprus for this year's holiday?  Sunshine, crystal clear water, plenty of choices to stay at affordable prices.  Get to know the other Cyprus - the little known, old and romantic Cyprus.

Nissi sunset

Old Monastery

Floating on the waters of the European Mediterranean, but pointing longingly towards the shores of Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, Cyprus is an odd mixture.  Parlimni is the nearest town where you would go for the Easter mass, have your coffee, do your food shopping and have a meal with the locals.

Cyprus, especially Nissi beach is well known for its Irish pubs, English fish & chips and night life.  If this is your thing, then that is fine, in that case it will be great.  However, if this is not your thing, do not let these images put you off.  You will just need to make a little effort to avoid the crowds, but it will be well worth!  Let me show you how.

South Cyprus, especially Nissi beach at Agia Napa has the reputation that it is only for the young and people who want to party.  Yes, the bars are there and the main beaches will be crowded in August.  However, you can easily avoid them by taking a short car drive or a bike ride to visit the small covers and beaches dotted along this clear, cobalt blue seashore.  There is no public transport other than catching a taxi in Agia Napa, so the options are hiring a car, scooter or bike.

If you are looking for a little bit of solitude, hire a scooter and move onto Cape Greco (7km) or Konnos (about an hour) from Agia Napa.  The swimming is good as the water is idyllic in these areas, with Konnos being the best of them all, with a Caribbean-like sea, white sand and fantastic swimming.  There are other numerous beaches dotted along the seashore and if you are organised with transport it is the best way to discover this island.  Then it will feel like any luxurious getaway to the Caribbean.

However, the big advantage is that you do not need to fly 10 hours to Mauritius or the Seychelles to soak up the sun and experience white sandy beaches.  With only half the flying time, you can have the same thing.  White sandy beaches with all the water sports, water-skiing, swimming with dolphins, sailing and surfing, wonderful Mediterranean diet, walking in the mountains, looking at old monasteries and soaking up an old civilisation are all there to explore and enjoy.

Click here for details of Eva's Nissi beach apartment - Nissi Elena Court

Eva;s Nissi beach apartment is located just a short 5-minute stroll from one of the most beautiful crystal clear beaches in Europe, the famous Nissi and Adam beaches.  the complex is situated at the end of Nissi Avenue and just opposite Nissi Beach.  This makes it a very convenient location as everything is within walking distance - from supermarkets to the best hotel bars and restaurants.  It is tucked away on the top floor of the complex, yet only minutes away form the action.  It has easy access to all amenities, including the local fishing port with many excellent bars and restaurants.  All the usual economic airlines go there.

The furnishing of these apartments to to high standards, fitted out with marble-effect floors throughout, air conditioning in every room and all the mod cons you would expect. In ours, we set off the light floors with dark leather sofas and furniture to give a luxurious Eastern-Balinese feeling.  You can take your drink on the top floor terrace and watch the surrounding area of garden and the far-reaching sea views beyond, giving you privacy and comfort.  After you have checked our the bedrooms and their huge white linen-draped bed you can have your first drink - especially if you were well organised and bought them on your way.

Welcome to the real Cyprus

Adam Beach - walking distance from Nissi Elena Court

Wherever you  go for your summer holiday, I wish you an unforgettable time.

Don't forget, I am always at the end of the phone and delighted to help with any travel tips and knowledge regarding visits to my three holiday home sand their local areas.

Èva

Detailed information on my website: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/147428

Email: info@pannoniaproperty.eu

Phone: 07816 605362

Twitter: @EvaGodden

TODAY'S GUEST BLOG POST IS........

Eva Godden writing about

ROMANTIC BUDAPEST

This old, faded beauty, Budapest will always surprise you with its fantastic cultural events, fabulous architecture, basilicas, churches, magnificent museums, spas, and vibrant nightlife.  The Budapest Music Festival is one of Europe's largest events, with over 200 annual events.  Performances are held throughout the year and a wide range of mediums are represented: classical music, operas, operettas, jazz and rock concerts.  In summer time when the weather is predictable, you can dine al fresco, book for an open-air opera, or the dance, and jazz at Margaret Island.

Margaret Island

Scenic Boat Trips on the majestic Danube are always a pleasure and make a memorable evening.  You can choose to visit Esztergom or Visegrád. Both have famous basilicas, medieval castles, plenty of atmosphere and fabulous panoramic views.  All boat excursions depart from Vigadó Square and you can take trips for one-hour, half a day or a whole day.

Visegrád is about a two hours up the river and it is as scenic, as you would expect. Once there, you can climb up to the top of the Castle and admire the views below as you see the river bends winding into the distance.

Our terrace view

Esztergom is a further hour on and has one of the largest basilicas in Europe: a place that has witnessed many kings' coronations.  It is an important testimony to Hungarian history witnessing many bloody wars and miraculously it is still standing today.  Take a rest after admiring the enormous dome and beautiful frescos by visiting one of the many local restaurants to sample the fish soup, followed by sweet cheese pancakes.  You will like the bill, as you will eat for less as Hungary is still the cheapest place to eat in Europe, a mid-range restaurant will set you back around £8-10 per head.

After you have exhausted yourself site seeing, you will probably want to relax next day at one of the famous Gellért or the Széchenyi spa baths.  Their water has healing properties and combined with a good massage will surely revive you. The Gellért spa has artificial waves and a vaulted glass roof, which opens in the summer, was built in the Neo-Classical style in 1918.  Széchenyi is a neo-baroque building, built in 1913; its thermals springs have been bubbling up since 1879, and is the deepest and warmest of the many spas.

The City's transport system is good.  You can purchase a one-week passport on your arrival at the airport or buy them individually. The 'Hop On and Off' buses, which represent excellent value - around £15 per person for a 24 hour unlimited, travel ticket with guided tours included.

As prices are reasonable, you can buy a five 'puttonyos' Tokaj (Hungary's most famous wine) and enjoy it with Russian caviar!  Yes, you can afford it!  Nothing quite beats sipping on the terrace overlooking the river with the sun going down.

Al fresco lunch on our terrace

There are hundreds of self-catering apartments with varied quality and huge price differences, so you need to consider carefully, where to stay.  The first thing you should ask yourself: ‘What factors are important to having a wonderful holiday?’ If your tick box is looking, something like the one below, your choice has narrowed considerably.  If you would like to have a Rolls-Royce version of a luxury stay, a  terrace for sun bathing and al fresco dining in privacy, combined with panoramic views over the Buda Hills and the Royal Palaces, ultra modern furnishings, spa and gym, secure car parking, European TV channels including English ones, WiFi, 24 hours concierge.  Well, you see what I mean. This is our Penthouse Paradise apartment’s description and we are very proud to present it to our guests.  

However, if you only wish to focus on the ‘touristy bits’, you will have plenty of choices. In any case, make sure that you have enough information about the apartment before you rent it: its exact location, services, number of beds, bathrooms etc.  Does any of your party expect to sleep in the lounge on an open sofa bed?  Does it have a lift?  Yes, many old buildings have no lifts, if it only has two flights of stairs!  This is why I suggest having a ‘shopping list’ in mind as it will be easier to choose just the right apartment.

  

Royal Castle – Chain Bridge – Parliament at Night

However, you will have fun in this city.  To me, it is never boring, and takes me by surprise every time I visit this unique city.  I am, of course, biased my dear Reader, because Budapest is my birthplace.

I urge you to choose to visit Budapest, as it will change your concept of ‘Eastern Europe’.  I wish you an unforgettable stay in Budapest!  If you need any help regarding anything connected with travel to Budapest, just email or call me, I am happy to help.  There is so much more to tell you about this incredibly beautiful place.  I am always at the end of the phone and delighted to help with any travel tips.

Eva

Details information: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/136672

Email: info@pannoniaproperty.eu

Mobile: 07816 605362

Twitter: @EvaGodden

TODAY'S GUEST BLOGGER IS..........

Eva Godden, who organises travel in three countries, Italy, Cyprus and Hungary, for discerning guests.  Eva is writing about Luguria, the best kept secret and a hidden gem in the Italian Riveria.

Hello everyone

I am passionate about travel; it broadens the mind and travel experiences teach us to be more tolerant towards other nations.  Understanding their customs brings better communications, which is vital in our troubled world.

Today, I would like to introduce you to one of my favourite places, Liguria.  This undiscovered, hidden corner of North West Italy is where I have been going for the past ten years and hope that one day my husband and I will spend more time there.  Not a chance yet.

I call myself a ‘holiday letting specialist’ and an expert travel guide in my chosen three countries.  Expertise gathered by working in the industry for the past five years, local knowledge by frequent visits and languages.  I speak passable Italian and am fluent in Hungarian, as it is my first language.  Eva’s Unforgettable European Holidays provides a tailor-made holiday at the fraction of a cost of other holidays.  Staying in a real home, in a beautiful location, with all the information you need.  The tiny town of Fiascherino, where our home is, is situated to the south of Lerici and is reached on a narr0w serpentine road, which snakes up above the coastline.  Driving further up, you reach the charming village of Tellaro.  Eva Casa has a sunny terrace over-looking the olive groves.  There are plenty of local restaurants and shops to delight.  Tellaro, with its panoramic terrace over-looking Portovenere and the islands of Palmeria, Tino and Tinetto, is a popular destination.  You can sip your Prosecco or coffee while enjoying a local atmosphere.  All this is a stone's throw from your holiday home.

Tellaro's tiny harbour

It is easy to be inspired by this corner of the Liguria as beauty is all around you.  This area is also known as the Golfo dei Poeti.  In the early part of the 19^th century it was a hide-away for the English literati, the likes of Percy Shelley, Byron and later D H Lawrence.  We still have the pink house, which is called the Byron house by the locals, now a small hotel at our local beach in Fiascherino, where Shelley died in a boating accident.  There is a debate as to whether it was an accident, but if you look at the high rocky cliffs falling into the sea from a great height, you have no difficulty to imagine the enormous storms and the tragedy as the tiny boat was trying to moor.  It was smashed to pieces on the rocks.

The pink Byron House and our Franco's beach

The whole area requires some effort to find and its seclusion has the attractiveness.  It does not want to be ‘touristy’ and fights this vehemently.  However, over the years Lerici has evolved into a glamorous retreat for wealthy Italians.  Its other attractiveness is its mild weather in the winter, as the Apuan Alps protect it from frost and cold.  Very few speak English and it is far away from the suffocating crowds of Versilia or Cinque Terre over-run by Americans and North Europeans.  Once Lerici’s car park is full, that is it!  However, we have our charming bus service down to Lerici, so n need for cars.  Eva Casa has a secure parking space – gold dust and a must have!

Lerici

There is so much more to tell you about this incredibly beautiful place and I hope to do that in a future post.  I am always at the end of the phone and delighted to help with any travel tips.

Eva

Details information: http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/65610

Email: info@pannoniaproperty.eu

Mobile: 07816 605362

Twitter: @EvaGodden