The Valley of the Roses, Agros, Cyprus

On Sunday, we went to the Rose Festival in the small village of Agros in Cyprus on the foothills of the Troodos mountains. The drive up was gorgeous, all the flowers were out and the mountains were verdant and fresh – a pleasant reprieve from the heat of Nicosia. Driving in the troodos is always a bit scary thanks to all the people driving too fast or too slow along the windy mountain roads. We finally made it to Agros and had a delicious lunch at the main taverna in the village. You can sit outdoors under the shade of a huge tree whose branches spanned the entire seating area of the taverna. As it was Sunday, there was a set menu of souvlaki (rotisserie pork, lamb or chicken). We ordered souvlaki with green beans, greek salad, dolmades (stuffed vine leaves), fresh yoghurt and olives washed down with some local wine. The food was really good although a little pricey.













Afterwards, suffering from the accompanying sugar low of a large meal, we headed off to find the rose festival. Like most things in Cyprus, it wasn’t very easy to find. Eventually we got there – take the first left before the high school (the modern building with a green roof) - and follow the road down. First stop was the rose house of Agros which is home to the Venus Rose range of bio-certified organic rose products. All the roses are grown locally and harvested in May at dawn. The petals are distilled using by hand. It takes a lot of rose petals and a lot of work to produce even a tiny drop of pure rose essence.

We were given a guided tour of the venus rose range by Christakis Tsolakis who owns the company. It is a family business which has been running since 1948. Chris demonstrated the rose water cleanser which really did seem to work miracles. My skin was left cool, soft and very clean. We also got to try some of their local rose liquer, rose aperitif and rose wine. Chris was a charming if slightly eccentric guide. His demonstration of the flammability of the rose perfume certainly put me off buying it! The Venus Rose range is distributed worldwide which is incredible for a little company based in a mountain village. However, it is easy to see why people would want to buy it. There is no animal testing, no parabens and the ingredients are all organic and natural. The Venus Rose range is very ahead of its time!

The best thing about the tour is that you are under no pressure to buy anything. The shop is in a separate part of the building and you are left to browse alone at leisure or to leave empty handed. Unfortunately, we missed the main events of the rose festival but we were shown a video of the proceedings and it definitely looks worth visiting. The festival takes place in May each year.

Click here if you are interested in buying from their range.

Made my first treasury on etsy

Today I managed to finally be on Etsy at exactly the right time to make a treasury. My treasury theme is Mediterranean Dreams and it contains lots of gorgeous items to get you into a summery mood. Please take a look at it and leave a comment if you can.

First donation to Argos Animal Shelter

At the weekend, I made my first donation to Argos Animal Shelter Cyprus. It wasn't a lot of money, just 20% of my profits so far on my jewellery sales. I think it will still make a difference as it was enough to buy a couple of bulk bags of animal food.

Argos Animal Shelter looks after more than 200 abandoned cats and dogs. They really need all the money that they can get! Hopefully people will keep on buying jewellery and I can keep on giving donations.

Sale at New World Monkey Jewellery

I've just launched a sale section in my etsy shop where you can buy some pieces from my collection at greatly reduced prices. Don't forget that 20% of all profits go to helping animals in Cyprus. Happy shopping!

A visit from the Mormons

Last night we were visited by representatives of the church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints AKA the Mormons. Having recently read an article from the Sunday Times about their programme of sending young people around the world to spread the word, their visit was a bit like bumping into a celebrity for me.

We were making our dinner at about 6.30pm when we heard a knock. Given we only know about 10 people in this country, we tend to assume someone knocking on the door is asking us to move our car in the car park. My boyfriend answered the door and there were two young men dressed in shirts and ties with little backpacks on. They both looked very neat and nervous. They each had a little name tag written in Greek.

My instinctive thought was – don’t let them in, they will try to brainwash us! Luckily my boyfriend is slightly friendlier than me. They stood in our entrance way for a while explaining that they were representatives from the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints. I asked the obvious. Apparently Mormons is their nickname. Even our usually feral kitten was silently watching them next to us. Usually he runs and hides from visitors but obviously even he found them to be quite gentle.

We invited them in and ended up having a very enjoyable chat with them about their work in Cyprus. These young men had saved $10,000 each in order to have the opportunity to spread the word during a two year stint abroad. The one man was from Utah and the other from Germany. They both spoke fluent English as well as Greek. Quite incredible considering that Greek is a hard language. They were quite disappointed that people in Cyprus seldom actually talk with them in Greek but instead respond in English.

Intriguingly, they have actually managed to convert some Greek Orthodox Cypriots to the Mormon faith. Certainly, their visit helped me to learn about a religion that I know little about and it probably does result in the occasional conversion. They were not pushy in their methods but instead were happy to just answer any questions and provide information. I definitely have more respect for a religion where believers actually do something for their faith.

How to set up domain name forwarding

Having recently started selling on Etsy and Dawanda, I made myself some business cards to send out with my orders. However, www.newworldmonkey.etsy.com is not exactly catchy, neither is www.dawanda.com/shop/newworldmonkey. What I really needed was a succinct domain name. It’s also very useful for advertising as it looks more professional to have a proper domain name. I’m not very experienced at these things and I assumed that if I bought a domain name, I’d have to buy hosting and build a website. Luckily, it turns out that you can create a domain name and then forward it to a url of your choice. Here’s how to do it:

1) Find out what domain names are available. I am from the UK so I opted to use www.daily.co.uk which has a special offer on at the moment where domains are half-price. A lot of Americans recommended www.godaddy.com
2) Most of the good domain names are gone. I’m no expert but, based on my research, it seems that the best thing is to get a .com or failing that a .co.uk. You should write down all the possibilities available to you and compare them. A brief, catchy domain name is best but catchy is more important than brief. You also want to include your keyword in your domain name to optimize it.
3) I managed to get www.bohemian-jewellery.com for 10 GBP for 2 years. It doesn’t include my brand name but it is easy to remember and includes my two main keywords.
4) Daily offered me quite a few things to pay extra for. I think it’s best to opt out of everything and buy it later if you find that you need it.
5) Make sure that your domain name is registered in your name.
6) Once my domain name was set up, I went into my control panel on daily and clicked on domain forwarding. I then entered my etsy site and filled in the meta tags and meta description. Daily has a very good guide on this which they provide a link to when you set up domain forwarding.

Now if you go on www.bohemian-jewellery.com it automatically will take you to www.newworldmonkey.etsy.com. I hope this helps, please comment if you have any questions.

Vienna in spring

Vienna is the perfect city to visit in springtime, the sun is bright but not strong and the air is crisp and fresh; perfect for walking around and admiring the magnificence of the city.

We got to Vienna from Cyprus using Blueair. We had a lot of problems booking online with Blueair but eventually we managed to do it. It cost us about 190 euros return each but it would have probably been cheaper if we had left it to closer to the time or if we hadn't gone at easter. Unfortunately, if you have a cat and a full time job, flexibility isn't always easy!

The flight was about 3 hours long. Blueair's flight staff are very pleasant for a budget airline. We arrived in the airport and asked tourist information for help on getting into the city centre. The transfer was incredibly easy, there are regular buses into the city centre and the journey takes about 35 minutes. It costs 11.50 euros return for the transfer. There is also a high speed train connection which takes 15 minutes but is slightly more expensive.

We stayed at the Arcotel Wimberger which is right next to West Banhoff station which is where the bus drops you and seems to be the main train station in Vienna. We got a great deal on the Arcotel Wimberger through Lastminute; it averaged at about 53 GBP per night which is a good price for a luxury hotel. The Arcotel Wimberger is not the most beautiful hotel but it is well located and very peaceful once you are inside. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The hotel has a full fitness and leisure suite with a gym, indoor pool and sauna. Unfortunately, we forgot our swimwear!

When you live in a country like Cyprus, Vienna seems wonderfully elegant and peaceful. The people are very quiet and polite - always quick to offer help if you seem lost. None of the endless chattering of the Mediterraneans! The city centre is a UNESCO world heritage site and is incredibly beautiful and well-maintained.

Getting around Vienna is easy. There are trams and an easy to use underground train system. A ticket on the underground is 1.80 euros - although no one ever seems to check your ticket and there are no barriers. If found without a ticket you will get fined 70 euros so be careful. However, most of the time you can just walk everywhere. I would recommend getting the underground to Graben street on your first day and then walking from there. Graben is the main shopping street and is right in the very centre of the city. All around you there are beautiful buildings and most of the shops themselves are housed in gorgeous buildings. It's worth taking a look at the H&M on Graben street as it's housed in a beautiful old wood-panelled building.

It's also worth looking at the butterfly house as it's located in an exquisite glass building - it's next to the Mozart memorial. There is a tram that circles through most of the main sites, I think it's the number 1 tram.

In Vienna each district is called a bezirk and most of the main sites are in the 1st bezirk (the centre), if you have time, it's also worth looking at Joseph Stadt as it has a few vintage stores and some less touristy bars and cafes.

Definitely the best thing about Vienna is the Naschmarkt. Get the U4 line to Kettenbrueckengasse. When you come out of the station you will be in the section of the market for antiques and basically tat. Head to your right, towards the Secession building, and you will hit the food section of the market. It is incredible. There are stalls selling all manner of delicacies, fruits, chocolates and wines. There are lots of stalls where you can take a seat and order a plate of nibbles with prosecco. At the edge of the market, there are a number of mini-restaurants serving Austrian, Asian and Mediterranean food. The prices are reasonable and the atmosphere is really good.

When you are in Vienna, you must visit one of the traditional coffee houses. I would recommend going to Cafe Sperl on Gummpendorf strabe. All the cafes are wonderful and make you feel like you have stepped onto the set of an Agatha Christie novel. Waiters wear black tie and most of the cafes have chandeliers and lovely high ceilings. The coffees are wonderful - I recommend trying the Marie Therese which has orange liquer in it. Most cafes have a selection of cakes available - try the sachertorte or strudel with vanilla sauce.

We were in Vienna for two days and we found that that was just enough time as, unless you love museums, there is not that much to do there. However, it's a perfect destination for a relaxing weekend of beautiful scenery and tasty food!

Max Mara Discount Store, Nicosia

I recently discovered the Max Mara discount store in Nicosia. It is amazing! Like most people with an average job, I never thought Max Mara would be in my price-range, then I discovered this mecca of discount fashion.

The shop is hidden away above Marella on Mnasiadou street, just off Makarios Avenue. You have to go down the alleyway on the righthand side of Marella and you will see a small door to your left. Go up the stairs and there it is.

The shop stocks discount clothes from the whole Max Mara group:

Max Mara is the most expensive line with grown up tailored clothes and evening dresses.

Sportsmax is the slightly cheaper line with weekend casual clothes.

Marella is also slightly cheaper and is less high fashion than Max Mara.

Max & Co is aimed at young women and is a bit more hip than the rest of the clothes.

Marina Rinaldi is plus-sized clothes.

The Max Mara discount store in Nicosia contains some amazing bargains - such as a range of shoes reduced from hundreds to 40 euros. I got a gorgeous coat for only 50 euros reduced from hundreds. There are suits, knitwear, bags, jewellery and perfume.

Peanut Butter and Nutella Cookies

I recently made cookies for the first time; I usually make biscuits and a rather leaden shortbread. Anyway, I amalgamated a number of recipes in order to bake some peanut butter and nutella cookies. They worked out so well that when I offered them to my colleagues at work, they were all begging for the recipe. The best thing about this recipe for peanut butter and nutella cookies is that you don’t need a weighing scale. Also, don’t be put off by the name; the resulting cookies have a subtle flavour which tastes more of orange, nuts and caramel. Here it is in all its glory. It’s a rough recipe so don’t feel that you have to stick with it exactly and if you discover any ways to improve it then please leave a comment!

You will need:
Approximately 100g of butter – I didn’t have weighing scales so I used just under half of a 225g pack of butter
One cup of caster sugar – a small coffee cup should do (not a mug)
3 tablespoons of nutella
One orange with the skin on
2 tablespoons of peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, you’re call)
One egg
At least half a pack of plain flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder

• Mix together in a large bowl the caster sugar, butter, nutella and peanut butter. You can use a wooden spoon and your muscles or a whisk. I just used a spoon and it was fine (and I’m a small woman).
• Once you have a smooth mixture, grate in the skin of the orange. Mix some more.
• Whisk the whole egg.
• Add half the egg to the main mixture. Add about one cup of plain flour (sieved) with one teaspoon of baking powder.
• Mix until smooth.
• Add the rest of the egg and more sieved flour as necessary. The flour doesn’t have to be measured exactly. Just keep adding small amounts of flour until you have a firm, smooth dough which isn’t too sticky.
• Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Take out the mixture and shape into 1 inch dough balls. Place them on a plate. Put topping on them. I put half an almond on some and a lump of chocolate on some (just normal Cadburys chocolate).
• Refrigerate the uncooked cookies for another 15 minutes. You don’t have to put the dough in the fridge but if you want soft, chewy cookies; I’d advise doing it. If you don’t refrigerate them then you will get a more crisp biscuit.
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Place the cookies on baking paper – do not grease it.
• Put them in the over for about 15 minutes but check them regularly. You are aiming for them to be gently baked on the outside and slightly soft inside.
• Let them cool and store them in an airtight container.

This is a great recipe because you can play with it. I am adding nutmeg to my next batch!

Cypriot Jewellery

One of the things that one notices in Cyprus, is how much the women love jewelry. Obviously, women everywhere love jewellery but Cypriot women really love it. With their warm colouring, they are also able to wear pretty much any kind of metal.

It therefore comes as no surprise to learn that there have been many unearthings of ancient jewellery in Cyprus.

Around 750-500 B.C. the most popular form Cypriot jewellery was spiral earings of solid metal, which were worn by both men and women. These spirals are found in varying sizes and metals, and some have elaborate ornaments.

The spirals rings tended to be made of bronze, silver or gold-plated bronze. The combination of bronze and gold in jewellery was a Cypriot speciality.

It is interesting that both men and women wore jewellery in Cyprus at this time.

Another popular style of jewelry at this time in Cyprus was these sort of strange elongated hoops.

During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Cypriot jewellery lost its distinctiveness and is often mistaken for Greek and Roman jewellery. The increased levels of trading meant that more gemstones and pearls were incorporated into pieces. The levels of craftsmanship increased hugely and the number of different styles grew.