Back to the Island of Love: Andy and Sandra’s Cyprus Story!
Andy and Sandra in Cyprus, then and now - from the early days of their love story to their return three decades later
Somewhere in Andy and Sandra’s home, there is a biscuit tin full of letters. Open it, and you can still catch the scent of the perfume Sandra wore when they first fell in love.
Cyprus has long been known as the Island of Love, the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite. For Andy and Sandra, it proved true to it's name - and alongside romance came flavours they would carry home: salty halloumi and generous Cypriot sandwiches.
Their story began in 1995 at Cheers, a bar in Limassol. Andy was a young soldier stationed at Episkopi; Sandra had come to Cyprus from England on a girls' holiday with friends. They hit it off, and neither wanted their story to end with the holiday.
For around a year, they saw each other only once every eight weeks. Between those brief reunions came photographs and “blueys” - letters carrying news, affection and a little of Sandra’s perfume. Andy kept them all!
They married in 1999 and setteled in Kent, where they raised their children, Sally and Ben. Three decades after meeting, the family returned to Cyprus to celebrate and rediscover the island where it all began. They even went looking for Cheers. It’s now a jeweller’s - a fitting enough transformation for somewhere that helped start a marriage!
Paphos was new territory for them both. Joining our Old Town food tour, the family discovered another side of Cyprus through its flavours and the people behind it.
Andy and Sandra with Sally and Ben, enjoying Cyprus together
Those early food memories were only the beginning. Sandra loved discovering dishes beyond the familiar Cypriot favourites, especially the koubes, their crisp bulgur shells giving way to a savoury filling. Andy and Ben shared a taste for the boldly spiced Pastourma and juicy, grill-browned Sheftalia sausages. For Sally, the fresh Anari cheese with figs and carob honey was divine: mild, creamy cheese, sweet fruit and a rich drizzle of carob honey - a plate she had to defend from an advancing flurry of family forks. She also loved meeting and chatting with the locals along the way.
They’re already keen to return, with new memories and new flavours to add to those captured in their photographs from the early days.
And back home, the letters are still in their biscuit tin, carrying the scent of where it all began!
