Sightseeing in Sfax, Monastir airport and Paris
Trip Start
Feb 07, 2008
1
13
17
Trip End
Feb 23, 2008
Monastir,
Tunisia
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
I had seen just one tourist shop at the entrance of the medina. I decided this was the most likely place to get the lamp, and made my way over there. I ended up with something so special, very different from the other lamps I had seen, which I loved but which I was afraid would be too big to take on the airplane. This smaller lamp had pretty glass plates in different colours and now looks wonderful as it reflects these colours on my white wall!
After this, I was delighted to find the medina open, and full of bustling life this day! I bought wonderful dates, bananas and oranges and thoroughly enjoyed myself, watching the life of the medina, exploring the covered souqs and hearing the shouts of the fruit and vegetable sellers. The sun was shining, and I must have walked a long way that day. The only sad thing was that Paul Eric was not able to be with me, and that I was concerned for him. Arriving back at the hotel, I packed our bags, and we transferred to the lobby where we still had some time to wait before it was necessary to travel to the airport. We were allowed to leave our bags there, but I was quite shocked when the manager asked me if I had put the hotel towels in my bag! She saw the shock in my face,and thankfully left the matter, so I didn't have to unpack right there in the lobby! Also, she had a problem with my credit card, and I was forced to go to the minibank yet again to pay the bill. Paul Eric was feeling a little better by this time, and I took him to the place where I had eaten the previous day for lunch. He enjoyed a good pizza here, and I took a kebab before walking back to the hotel and stopping a taxi to the louage station. The taxi-driver was one of the most friendly, pleasant people we had met. When I told him that I didn't want to leave Tunisia, he said, excitedly, "OH, is that true?" He seemed very happy to hear that, and phoned a female friend who was an English lecturer at the university. I chatted to her on the phone, and she said we were welcome to visit her the next time. Our taxi-driver also wanted us to stay with him and his wife next time were were there. Wow! What open people! Not like Norwegians! He also gave me his card, and asked me to ring him from the airport, so he would know that we made our flight, and he then carried our luggage all the way to the louage, and ordered our tickets for us! Such wonderful help, when Paul Eric wasn't feeling too well. In addition, he was able to tell us that we could get a louage directly to the airport from Sousse. Great!
Changing at Sousse, we took the short journey to the airport, which dropped us off on the road nearby, just a few metres to walk to the entrance. We had plenty of time at the airport and Paul Eric was feeling much better by this time. We arrived in Paris quite late, and were lucky enough to find the coach into the city immediately. A nice woman asked where we were staying, and if we wanted to share a taxi with her to the hotel. We were glad of the offer, and it turned out we were staying very close. Mary's hotel was the name of the place, and though it was a tiny room, it was comfortable and friendly. We slept so well - very tired!
