TravelStream™ news feed for member wareameye on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/wareameye en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:06:05 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254738091/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254738091/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254738091/tpod.html Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:06:05 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

One of the benefits of leaving in the dead of night is that there are no crowds at the airport. After cute security guards try unsuccessfully to fleece me of my remaining Tunisian Dinars (claiming I'm not allowed to take them out of the country), Alex and I hang out at the business lounge, and I interview him for next month’s newsletter.Another benefit of leaving so early is that I make it home to Chicago by 10:30am the same day! Jonathan picks me up at the airport, and we do some grocery shopping on the way home. I’m delighted to be back, and to see that the only major improvement projects Jonathan has undertaken in my absence are in the front yard! Until next time … Travel safely!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254651681/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254651681/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254651681/tpod.html Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:43:17 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Tunis, Tunisia

The majority of the group enjoys a full-day excursion to the ancient Roman city of Dougga today. This is a first for me, as we didn't include Dougga last year. We head southwest out of Tunis, through fertile lands with grape vineyards and olive groves, glimpsing the occasional jagged peak in the distance northwards.Our first stop is at the fascinating Andalusian Muslim town called Testour. We break for coffee and a pit stop, enjoying the central square, Great Mosque and main shopping street where there is not one other tourist to be seen. This feels like an authentic look at Tunisian life that has not been dressed up with a medina full of tourist souvenirs.The site of Dougga is most impressive. Your introduction to the site is a huge theatre, from which you can see the 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 tributes carved in stone by their grieving families.We enjoy one more buffet dinner tonight at our hotel before visiting the sidewalk cafes one last time to enjoy watching the nighttime crowds on the main avenue in front of the hotel. One other client and I check out of the hotel at midnight tonight, and head to the airport to catch our Lufthansa flight back to Frankfurt, departing at 2:30am!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254565270/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254565270/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254565270/tpod.html Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:45:51 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Tunis, Tunisia

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, and then we leave for our Farewell Dinner at the Dar Bel Haj – another famous restaurant in the medina. It is fantastic to walk the twisting lanes of a medina that is bustling in the daytime and almost totally deserted at night.The tour is now officially concluded. Two members leave tomorrow while the rest of us make an optional excursion to the Roman site called Dougga. Stay tuned!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254478857/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254478857/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254478857/tpod.html Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:25:34 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Tunis, Tunisia

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 the site we will not make it to Kairouan before the noon closing of the Grand Mosque because today is Friday, the Islamic day of congregational prayer. Knowing that takes the pressure off us and our driver, and we can relax and enjoy the Roman site at a leisurely pace.Arriving in Kairouan we eat lunch, then visit the famous sites in the city including the Aghlabid Basins, built in 860, the tomb of Sidi Sahab (a companion of the Prophet Mohammad), and the Great Mosque which is one of the oldest (and largest) places of prayer in the Islamic world, and the fourth most important pilgrimage destination after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. So we missed the noon deadline to enter the courtyard and peer into the Mosque itself, but now the Imam is giving the Friday sermon and the doors are wide open, and even though we cannot take photos we are able to peer in and get a sense of the size of the structure and how the people attend the event.Our guide has mercifully spared us the daily shopping stops that others typically insert (unasked) into the schedule. Today we indulge him in one visit to a carpet shop. The merchants reveal their wares with gusto, but only a few are seriously interested in purchasing something. While they shop, most of us wander through the Medina of Kairouan.We hit the road again, and make it to Tunis exactly at 7pm. We bid farewell to one of our traveling companions tonight who must leave tomorrow, then go to the Café de Paris to sit on the sidewalk and watch the people. It isn’t long before we are surrounded by gorgeous young men who are giving us the beautiful Tunisian eyes. It has been a long day, but one which I consider a complete success!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254392443/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254392443/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254392443/tpod.html Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:08:44 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Tozeur, Tunisia

Our day of adventures in Tozeur begins with a short walk to the nearby museum of folk arts and traditions, where we see depictions of Tunisian life throughout history. Afterwards six of the group members take an exciting jeep trip into the desert to see the Star Wars set of Mos Isley on the planet Tatooine. Since I experienced this adventure last year, I use the time to go shopping in the medina of Tozeur. One of the highlights was the shop of a Berber who had a pet desert fox, which he let me hold!As soon as the group returns from the jeep trip we go to lunch, followed by a carriage ride through the lovely and peaceful palm gardens of Tozeur. At the midpoint of the ride, we stop for a walk among the palms while our guide explains the pollination process and a man climbs up one of the trees in his bare feet to demonstrate how it is done.Our final activity of the day is a trip into the foothills, where we hike up to the tomb of an Islamic holy man. It rests on the side of one of the canyons used as a location for the movie "The English Patient." The hike is exhilarating, and the sun is setting, providing the perfect long rays of light for excellent photography. Early dinner tonight, and very early start tomorrow, as we head back to Tunis.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254306017/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254306017/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254306017/tpod.html Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:37:46 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Tozeur, Tunisia

We get an early start from the hotel in order to be at the famous La Ghriba Synagogue at the 9am opening. Of course, the man with the keys is 10 minutes late, but we walk through the village and talk with some school children on their way to classes.Continuing to Douz, we experience one of the highlights of the tour – riding camels into the Sahara Desert, accompanied by Berber youths. At one point I'm beckoned off my camel by a handsome man on a stallion and offered a ride on his horse. How could I resist?We cross a huge salt lake on a causeway as the sun is setting, reaching our hotel in Tozeur. We’re very close to Algeria now, and looking forward to another day of desert and oasis adventures tomorrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254219601/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254219601/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254219601/tpod.html Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:40:13 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Djerba, Tunisia

Our guide escorts about half of the group into the Capital of the island today, a place called Houmt Souk. They explore the fortress and the medina and the harbor together. A big wind has come up during the night, and we are grateful that an optional outing on the sea has not gone forward, as the waves are wild today.Having seen the capital previously, I remain with those who choose to relax at the hotel. I walk the beach, hang out with the guys, try to ride the waves in the ocean, swim in the pool, get too much sun, and finally get a scrub-down in the hotel's hammam. It is quite fancy, and not at all like the traditional hammam we visited last year in Tunis. We’ll keep looking for the more traditional experience later in the tour.After dinner tonight many of us watch the music and dance entertainment near the hotel bar. A man is spinning with twice his height of pots on his head, and the oboe and drums are ear-splitting. When the nearly-naked belly dancer gets started, I retire for the evening.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254133188/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254133188/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254133188/tpod.html Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:50:49 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Djerba, Tunisia

We continue driving south this morning to the seaside oasis of Gabes. The lovely view of palm trees is somewhat marred by the drive along a row of shops where sheep have recently been slaughtered, and are being drained of blood and having their hides removed. The terrain begins to change dramatically now into the barren, otherworldly landscape that first attracted George Lucas to this area for his Star Wars locations. Our first stop in Matmata is at a cave dwelling to see an example of how such people live. Our hostess demonstrates how to mill grains using a stone wheel, shows us around her well decorated holes, and then serves us mint tea with fresh bread we could dip in a mixture of olive oil and honey. Delicious!Next stop is the Sidi Dris Hotel, which is one of the old sets from the Star Wars franchise. It was the exterior shot for the cantina on Mos Isley. We eat an interesting lunch in one of the caves, then continue on to the island of Djerba, which we reach via a ferry crossing.Today is the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur, and we think it would be an appropriate day to visit the famous El Ghriba Synagogue. Unfortunately, because this place was the site of a terrorist attack in 2002, it is closed to visitors today. We will make time to return another day.We arrive at our wonderful beachfront hotel and enjoy a couple of hours to swim and explore the area before dinner. We're all delighted to be parking ourselves here for a couple of days!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254046768/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254046768/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1254046768/tpod.html Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:22:09 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Sfax, Tunisia

We're out the door at 7:45 this morning, driving about 75 km to the bay fortress of Hammamet. The day is fantastic, and so are the views from the fortress walls. After walking through the medina and a coffee stop, we continue another 80 km to Sousse to walk through this very busy medina and climb the watchtower (called a Ribat).Lunch is at the elegant Le Mediterranee restaurant in Port El Kantaoui, with a several-course meal which delights, but puts us behind schedule. We opt to omit our visit to Monastir, another coastal city, so as not to arrive past closing at the Roman coliseum of El Djem. We clamber around the various levels of this impressive edifice in the light of the setting sun – the golden hours for photography.We pull into our hotel in Sfax at about 7pm, exhausted from the long drive and many sights today. Fortunately, dinner is buffet style in the hotel, so we are able to finish by about 9pm and get to bed early for another early start tomorrow. A very diverse and interesting day of touring!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1253960352/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1253960352/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/wareameye/22/1253960352/tpod.html Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:56:03 -0400 Tunisia Revisited: A Second Helping of Couscous

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Tunis, Tunisia

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 have lunch overlooking the bay of Tunis.Our final stop is the Bardo Museum, which houses some of the most amazing mosaic works discovered throughout Tunisia as well as statuary and other art objects. After visiting the museum our guide walks through the medina of Tunis with us, showing us its many markets on our way back to the hotel. We dine at the hotel tonight, and prepare for an early start in the morning.
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