Tunisia 2009 - Day Four

10.27 am  I woke up just about every hour on the hour last night to have a pee, mainly because I'm chugging as many fluids as I can cope with (non-alcoholic, of course), but I still feel well rested.

The weather is cloudy and dull with a few spots of rain, so we're considering a walk into Hammamet to see the sights.  David still wants to go haggle.  It must be the Yorkshireman in him.  But for now we're just relaxing in the hotel bar drinking coffee and orange juice and doing some web surfing.  Free wi-fi is fabulous, although it doesn't always work in this hotel.  I did manage to post some more pictures on Facebook and send Braden a picture of his rubber duck, which I have told him I'm holding hostage pending satisfactory dish washing while we're away!

There is a Scottish family here who seem to turn up everywhere we go.  This is the same family from the restaurant last night who have the baby and two young boys, and they've come into the bar now and seem to have picked up two additional children!  It wasn't very quiet before they came in here with the coffee machine going, people arriving and departing in the lobby and Germans laughing everywhere.  I'm thoroughly enjoying it.


12.06 pm  The walk into Hammamet has been postponed because the sun has come out.  We decided to take advantage while we can.  It seems to rain in the afternoons, though not much, so maybe I can convince David to head that way later.  I doubt it, as this would cut into his siesta time, and he's a bit cranky again today.

We had a manic 20 minutes in the room trying to figure out where he put his wallet.  Normally it goes straight into the safe, but this time, under the influence of cold medication no doubt, he hid it in a little pocket inside his suitcase.  I think this is why he makes me responsible for money and tickets while we're on holiday!

Exchanging money here is interesting.  There's a little man at a desk just off the hotel lobby with a computer and stacks and stacks of 10 Dinar notes.  It's very convenient but very odd! 

When I got back from exchanging money for our day trip tomorrow, David did the "While you're up fetch me a beer, woman" routine.  The German couple behind us thought we were having a proper domestic because they couldn't see David winking at me.  They're faces were priceless!


5.26 pm  After lunch, David decided he wanted a walk on the beach.  The last time he said that we walked as far as the boundaries of the next hotel and back again.  This time we walked until we ran out of beach and ended up in the ancient medina.

In a way, the medina was a bit disappointing, with cheap knock-offs of things like Man U shirts and Nikes. There was enough fake Burberry there to make any chav happy!  We did walk around the narrow streets past a lot of the shops, and I can see that it would be quite intimidating if you don't know what to expect because they do get right in your face to try to get you into their shops.  You just have to say no unless it's actually a shop you know you're interested in.  One guy never had a chance after congratulating me for being pregnant!

We did go into one little jewellery shop, more for the experience than for the fact that it had anything we wanted, but I saw a little wooden trinket box with mother-of-pearl inlay, which I thought would make a nice souvenir.  The guy in the shop said it was made in the Sahara.  When I told him it was my first time in Tunisia, he actually explained to me how to haggle.  Then David got started, and it was so funny I couldn't stop laughing!  The first price was 75 Dinar, David offered 5, and in the end we got both the box and a silver thumb ring David liked for 30 Dinar (£15).  Like I said later, £10 for the goods and £5 for the entertainment!

We sat outside what we later found out was one of only two microbreweries in Tunisia, which is just outside the walls of the medina, and drank a lager, but only after a young boy shoved a flower into my cleavage for "gratis", then told David he wanted 5 Dinar.

We did also call into a chemist to see if I could get something for cystitis.  They weren't the friendliest lot, but they understood what I was aking, gave me dosage instructions and charged me only slightly more than I would have paid for a prescription on the NHS.  No complaints from me there!

There was a bit of a parade with a band going on, which we managed to find out was in support of the current President who is up for re-election next month.  I can't see anything about someone opposing him anywhere. 

9.11 pm  The main restaurant was so packed tonight we ended up sitting in the smoking section.  The fact that there is a smoking section was strange even though it's only been a couple of years ago that the smoking ban went into force in the UK.  Now I remember what it was like before it came in, and I'm glad that it did!  It ruined some of the flavours of the food, and normally I love moussaka.  The smoke was the same in reception.  I think I was one of the few non-smokers in there.

Tomorrow morning we're up early for our day trip to Carthage, Sidi Bou Said and Tunis.  Like David said a little while ago, it's almost time for some history.  He has been before, and I think it's lovely that he is willing to endure it all again for my sake.

Tunisia 2009 - Day Three

9.46 am  David is a bit of a grump this morning, but I think it has more to do with his cold than anything I've done.  He's had a cigarette and a cup of coffee now and is in the sun, so I'm sure he'll cheer up quickly.

One thing I will never find attractive poolside (or anywhere) is men in speedos.  Even the fittest rugby player would not look good in one, but you never see blokes like that in speedos.  It's always middle aged men with a paunch - or worse!  The Flavio Briatore syndrome, I suppose, although in his case I think it's his bank balance that attracts women, not his figure, and he nver looks good in one no matter how sexy he finds himself.  Then again, I don't look fabulous in a bikini, but I still wear one.  I guess that makes me a hypocrite.


12.21 pm  Compared to past holidays, this one has been quite dull in the people watching department.  There are none of the usual single and desperate mums batting their eyelashes at every man in sight.  There haven't been any couples having domestics.  It's almost Stepford calm!  The staff are the most interesting, such as the belly dancing Tunisian transvestite, who has informed me (out of his drag) that there will be more belly dancing tomorrow.


3.53 pm  The afternoons seem to bring clouds and rain, but after the heat of the morning sun, and considering David's love of afternoon siestas while on holiday, this is not a bad thing.  I've enjoyed sitting out on our balcony reading for the past hour.  A few boats, a couple of swimmers, but that's all that's out there.  A camel went past on the beach a little while ago.  It's all very relaxing.

I can see the walls of Hammamet's ancient medina from here.  I need to convince David to take a walk along the beach in that direction tomorrow afternoon.  He can indulge his passion for arguing, I mean haggling, to his heart's content.  We'll probably end up with a piece of tat just for the sake of it, but that's beside the point.

I'm glad this holiday came when it did.  It's hard to believe that it was only ten days ago that I found a lump in my breast and only three days ago that the doctor was able to reassure me that it was nothing sinister.  Not only does it help to relax after a stressful and scary week, but I also feel like I'm not just existing - I'm experiencing life.  Not that we've done anything exciting the past couple of days, and this hotel is about as European as you can get outside of Europe, but the sounds of the calls to prayer from the mosque, the taste of fresh fruit grown locally, the smell of the air blowing off the sea ...  It all is wonderful and feels new and different!


5.02 pm  I just had a wonderful half hour, while David churned out a few snores and tries to sleep off a bit more of the man flu, sitting by the beach reading, walking along the water, watching a camel go past and making the waiter try to understand that all I wanted was orange juice - not necessarily in that order.  I now have short drenched in salt water and sand stuck between my toes, but I don't care.

If last night's Tunisian meal is anything to go by, I think tonight's Italian will be another belly buster, but I musn't comment to David how it will take extra time in the gym to work this holiday off.  Fortunately I have been eating a lot of fresh fruit, but the chips here are delicious, so I've been having those just about every meal as well.


6.10 pm  I'm going to have to wake David up soon, but he's sleeping so peacefully, and he has been poorly the last few days.  I've been sitting on the balcony listening to the waves.  It's really all you can hear here, except for a chirping cricket and a barking dog.  I've also been enjoying the feel of the light rain on my feet.  It's too dark now, but up until a few minutes ago I could see a heavy downpour out at sea.

On the negative side, I feel a case of cystitis coming on, and this is the first holiday I haven't brought sachets of cystitis treatment with me!  I'm relying on flushing it out with water and dealing with the discomfort with ibuprofen, but I hope it goes away!  I haven't seen a chemist nearby, and I'm not sure I oculd expain adequately what I need.


9.19 pm  What a lovely evening meal!  We ate in the hotel's Italian a la carte restaurant, which is at the edge of the private beach.  I even got sand between my toes again!  The table was laid out with candles and flowers - very romantic!  The waiter was so sweet.  Every time we said thank you, he would say "Thank you too".  Fortunately the meal wasn't as overwhelming as last night's Tunisian.  I ate everything from the shrimp soup, to the plate of tomato and cheese, to my stuffed quail!  Okay, I didn't quite finish of the dessert, but it was close.

We had the restaurant to ourselves for most of the meal, until a large family with children came in as we were finishing our main course.  If there is anything guaranteed to put a killer on the romance, it's a baby screaming and toddlers throwing food!  But they had as much right to be there as we did, so we can't really complain, but the restaurant doesn't do kids meals, and the kids don't seem to be very impressed with their "chicken" (the stuffed quail).

Poor David.  We've come back to the room quite early because David has a bad headache.  Since this evening's entertainment out by the pool seems to involve bingo (last night it was a snake charmer), I'm sure he's devastated!

Tunisia 2009 - Day Two

11.58 am  Now this is more like it!  Out by the pool on a sun lounger drinking.  Okay, it's coffee, but that's beside the point.  David is already ready for another beer (but of course the first was consumed only after the sun had gone over the yard arm at 11.00 am, he has standards after all), and it's my turn to fetch the next round.

We met with the Thomas Cook rep this morning, and we've actually signed up for a day trip to Carthage and Tunis to see Roman ruins, etc.  We've never done a day trip on holiday before, but David knows my passion for history and has been saying that I should take the chance to see the Roman ruins and all that while we're here.

There are three fabulous British couples beside us at the pool.  They are quite a bit older than us, but they're very funny and friendly, and they sound very posh.  The gin and tonic crowd, so to speak.  In fact, that's what a couple of them are drinking.  The man next to me has been turning their sun loungers around to face the sun, but the pool guy isn't very impressed!  He told them that if they want to face that direction, they need to go sit on the other side of the pool.  The fact that there are only a few loungers over there, and none of them are available, is a mere detail.


6.03 pm  Oh my goodness, one gin and tonic and I ended up on a stage belly dancing with a man in a speedo, sparkly skirt and bra!  David grabbed the camera and now has a video that he's threatening to post on You Tube!  I reminded him that I have taken pictures of him poolside in the past that I have not made public, so we'll see if he shows the same courtesy.

We had a bit of a rain shower this evening and could see a beautiful rainbow out at sea from our balcony.  Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a picture, just like I missed photographing a group of foals on the beach.


10.10 pm  We went to the hotel's Tunisian restaurant tonight for our evening meal, and I ate so much I feel sick!  I had to try things though, and with a salad, soup, brik (a sort of deep fried egg), main course of chicken and cous cous and fruit, my stomach feels like exploding.

David pointed out a woman in the restaurant who has eyes he thought resembled a character out of Doctor Who, only he couldn't think of which character.  I thought she looked like Cassandra, the "Last Human".  Only in the eyes though.  The rest of her definitely wasn't paper thin.

We really haven't done anything particularly noteworthy today.  We haven't left the hotel except for a brief excursion down the road for David to buy cigarettes last night.

Tunisia 2009 - Day One

3.00 pm  I'm sunning myself on the private beach of a lovely hotel in Hammamet!  There is a lot to be excited about after the long months of the British summer, we finally made it to a sunnier climate, not to mention the fact that this is my first time on African soil.  Or sand, as the case may be!

Unfortunately David has come down with a bad cold (aka man flu), so he is having a siesta back in the room, trying to keep from blowing all the contents of his head out through his nose.

This is quite a surreal experience because Tunisia is a Muslim country, and I can hear the call to prayers from the local mosque, and yet there is a German woman (and, I might add, quite a scary looking one) sunbathing topless a few meters away from me.  Somehow I don't think she's allowed to do that, to be honest, but I'm not going to be the one to go over and tell her to put her top back on!

5.40 pm  Okay, I can see now!  The sun was so bright out on the beach that I eventually had to give up writing because I could barely see, even with Ray Bans on.  I didn't last long out there, not because of the sun or the heat, but because bugs a lot like midges were biting me.  Pool side tomorrow!

Coming into Tunisia this morning was a lot like when we flew to Hungary last year as far as the chaos and the indifference of the immigration officials goes, only this time instead of getting to queue up with all the other EU nationals, David and I were able to stay together. It has become a running joke that he has to wait ages for me when we go on holiday because, although there are usually only a few non-EU nationals on our flights (in fact most of the time I'm the only one), 90% of the time the immigration officials make me wait until all the EU passport holders have gone through. Now he knows what it feels like! David wasn't impressed at having to fill in an immigration card, mostly because he's bunged up and miserable, but I always have to do that going back to the UK so it's nothing new to me.


Saying that, the Thomas Cook check in lady had obviously never seen an American passport before, so she was very concerned and wouldn't check me in until she had made a phone call to make sure it was okay for me to fly to Tunisia. As if I'm stupid enough to pay money without being sure of the immigration requirements for where I'm going (although I'm sure there are people who really are that stupid).

One of the striking things I noticed after leaving Monastir airport is that there are large posters of the President absolutely everywhere! I know I saw a framed photo of the Queen when we were in Birmingham airport this morning, but this is way beyond that. These are larger than life on the walls, on posters, on billboards ...

Tunisia is very interesting. It is obviously an Islamic country as I said before, but at the same time doesn't seem too different to the Canary Islands or a Greek Island in tourist terms. Apart from people standing in the middle of the guardrail in the middle of the dual carriageway for a chat, that is, and there were lots of goats and sheep with their herders at the side of the road.

We booked private transfers to and from the airport this time rather than do the two hour coach trip where you get to see twenty other hotels before arriving at your own. The taxi driver was very friendly and pointed out things of interest along the way. Okay, they weren't exciting, but they have a large impressive hospital and a brand new airport that is due to open next month.

The Les Orangers Beach Hotel is lovely! Our room wasn't quite ready when we arrived, but we were brought a drink and had to fill in yet another immigration card, as it's the law in Tunisia that visitors have to be registered with the local police station within seven days of arrival. Again David wasn't very impressed, but it passed a few minutes while the finishing touches were put on our room.

Apart from some of the decor in the lobby, it does feel very European. There are waiters running around with silver trays and Germans everywhere!

Our room is fabulous, and I'm really glad David decided to upgrade to a superior room. I've read some travel reviews for this hotel, and although some people have said the upgrade is a waste of time, the sea view is fabulous, and the room is comfortable and spacious.

I'm very tired today after getting up and off to the airport for a 6.00 am flight, and even a bit of a siesta didn't help!

9.52 pm  It has mostly been read, eat and sleep today.  David didn't sleep at all last night in Birmingham, and I just want to relax after a very tense few weeks, so we had two naps!

Most of the other guests do seem to be German, which is good because Germans tend to demand a higher quality of service than the British.  They're a lot like Americans that way.  Every hotel I've been to or seen that has a majority of German visitors is usually the best in the area.