Corinthia Khamsa Gammarth

... Capitol and Forum and the sprawling layout of this huge city. It is considered the best preserved Roman city in all of North Africa. We spend several hours wandering through the site, then have lunch and begin the drive back to Tunis.

Along the way back we stop briefly at the War Cemetery for English lads who died in the Second World War. Heartbreaking to see their ages, and the ...

We say goodbye to one tour member this morning. At 10am several of us go with the guide into the medina again. Two of us break away to visit a local hammam. This is an experience more like the one in Morocco, with hard skin scraping and back cracking.

I shop for birthday gifts for one of our tour members, then return to the hotel to get awards and tips organized. The party begins at six ...

Our attempt to leave at 6:30am is thwarted by the fact that someone's phone got knocked off the hook last night, and the wake-up call didn’t come through. Everything happens for a reason, however, and the delay changes our plans so that the day works out better anyway.

When we arrive in Sbeitla to tour the ruins of the 3rd century Roman town of Sufetula, it is clear that no matter how quickly we run through ...

Our first visit today is to the dramatic ruins of Carthage. We visit the remains of the Punic city, the hilltop museum and cathedral, and the elaborate Roman baths by the sea (in the shadow of the Presidential Palace).

Next stop the Mediterranean-style village of Sidi Bou Said, with its bright white buildings with blue doors and shutters. We visit a house of a famous lawyer which is now a museum, then ...

... the bodies of these Roman statues. We swiftly moved on to our final Carthage site (there were loads more, but the three we visited are supposedly the most impressive) so as to leave enough time for Sidi Bou ...

... through the chaotic medina souks and sat down in a sundrenched square next to the medina's main gate to have an espresso. I was going through that nice phase of coldness where you've not quite warmed up but the cold in your fingers and toes has ceased to be uncomfortable. You just have the satisfying and comfortable knowledge that soon you'll be toasty again. Then it hit me: this is it, the end of the road. I'm finished with Africa ...

... if you speak Freanch or Italian here. If not, then I recommend hiring a tour guide. It won't be terribly expensive. Summer was torrentially hot, but dry, making it quite bearable in my opinion. Sites visited: Gammarth, La Marsa, Sidi Bou Said, Tunis, the ancient ruins of Carthage, Hammamet, Nabeul, and the Bardo Museum.

... about 50 cents ($1 USD = 1.3 Dinars). When you buy the ticket, you have to specify where you are going and what class you want to sit in. 2nd Class is fine as the trip won't take more than 30 minutes. The difference between the two classes is hard seats and soft seats. An awesome website for information on train travel is seat61.com. Absolutely awesome. This website seems to have most everything on train and train schedules.... Check it out.

... Tomb (the first President of Tunisia) in the nighttime, and got a special tour of some coastal cave-quarries that were used to get stone for the ancient structures at Carthage. The caves were closed "for safety reasons", but a little conversation from Jaafar, and the watchmen at both places were willing to give us a personal tour for a little (wink) donation. From witnessing the production of traditional woven rugs to trying Lablabi to the amazing views of the ...

... the last two months have gone. So I will start at my most cognitive memory of Sicily. We were in Palermo, capital of Sicily and a city once said to rival the spectacle of Rome. Renown travel writer Arthur Symonds said "Perhaps there are few spots upon the surface of the globe more beautiful than Palermo,". This statement says to me one of two things. Either Mr. Symonds had never been to Palermo or he found a great stash of narcotics and did not get of the ferry ...