THE CAMELS AND I

I know that cats and dogs like me or even love me, when we met. I am not afraid of dogs neither of cats and they must smell that I won't do them any harm. If I meet a dog or a cat it doesn't last long that the cats settle down on my lap, and the dogs come towards me and wave friendly with their tail.

What I didn't know was, that camels love me too ! But they are a little big to sit on my lap so I haf to do the other way around.



It was not difficult to climb on its "lap"



Finally I was comfortably installed in the saddle



It swung me softly through the sand



and checked from time to time if I was still there




Sometimes his owner left me alone and it followed the others, or tried to give the neighbor girl a kiss, which made me slip in my saddle !



Far too soon, only half an hour, the ride ended and I had to say good bye



What did my camel do ? It fell on the sand and rolled around like a happy cat or a dog !



It was quiet impressive and I had to watch that he didn't roll against my legs !



at the end it gave me a big smile and said good bye !

I wished I had a camel here and could do my shopping with it, riding from our house to the shopping center and watch people from high above ! It's certainly quiet easy to find a "parking" place for it.

Pictures taken in Tunisia

FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE - Holidays in Sousse (Tunisia)

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

1.



To recover from our roundtrip through Tunisia, we stayed at the Riadh Palms hotel in Sousse for 4 days, not too far from the airport. We had chosen this Hotel because it looked nice for a good rest. What we didn't know was, that it was a real tourist factory. The swimming pool was wonderful, refreshing and each time we felt too hot we swam in there, because the sea wasn't too clean, at least it seemed so to me.

2. The paintings and ceiling decorations were beautiful and I wandered around in the evening to take some pictures before we went for supper.



We usually stayed in an almost quiet corner although the music was still very loud and enjoyed the sunshine, chatted and read our books.

3.



All over the huge beach were these statues which in fact were the showers ! First I didn't realize that they were not only decorations.

4.



It was impossible to stay in the sunshine so we were always in the shade. From my beachbed I had this view. The net was there to protect us from the Volley ball players.

5. Besides reading, swimming we didn't do anything else. Each morning I went to reception hall to write my little diary about our trip, because internet was only there.



The restaurant was very huge and looked like a station. We also had to go to "food station" 1, 2 or 3 for the different buffets. The name was really perfect.



One evening we had our supper in a beautiful restaurant, but ate outside with a beautiful view over the sea. All guests could eat there once during their stay if they had taken "All Inclusive" which was our case.
Dominique and Nicole enjoyed the good meal and wine !




and then the holidays ended and we were taken to the newly built Enfidha – Hammamet International Airport. Nicole managed to put on her lipstick dispite the bumps on the road ! I had kept 20 Dinars which are 10 € to buy a drink or something to eat and had to learn that Dinars were not accepted in the airport only Euros and they didn't take any Dinars back !  So be careful if ever you go there, in this airport is nothing to buy but parfums, cigarettes and alcohol there is no restaurant either !

Now I am at home and have to get used to the daily routine again !

FOUR STAR HOTEL FOR FAKIRS

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

Imagine you arrive in a beautiful 4* hotel Hotel Royale Jinene à Sousse and a royal suite is proposed to you because there was no single room anymore for our friend Nicole. This happened when we arrived in the first Hotel in Tunisia, where we stayed two nights to start our round trip through. The hotel says about itself : Our hotel is a luxurious 4-star property in Sousse. Which is true, but they should have added that it is a 4 stars for Fakirs ! No nail bed, but broken lath. What a luxury !




The suite was very beautiful, looked very elegant and spacious, there were twin beds in a huge living room and a separated bedroom, perfect for the three of us. Of course we accepted immediately when the suite was shown to us.



After supper I wanted to go to bed and what happened, as soon as I had removed the covers and sat on the bed it cracked and I found myself half sitting on the floor ! As it was very late, we tried to repair my Fakir bed ourselves and put two thick woolen blankets underneath the broken laths. At least the mattress was straight. Unfortunately each time I moved a little bit, it cracked like an old tree in a storm. Poor Dominique who shared the room with me ! First thing in the morning was to ask for repair or a new bed. Of course they said they would do the necessary immediately. At noon it still hadn't been repaired and I was told they would do it right away ! I don't know what "right away" means but still in the evening I had this view !



Indeed the roommaid had found the solution. Her order was to make beds and she bravely made my bed, she even decorated it with a big butterfly folded out of the bath towel ! I found this very kind. Only the bed was still in the same state and it was again late and I just wanted to lay down and sleep. There was only one way :  we put my mattress on the floor besides the bed, and I slept very well and without the cracking of my bed. It was a new experience,  I never camped in a 4* hotel.

I sincerely consider to take Fakir courses to be able to sleep on nails, stones, or broken laths that would be very helpful next time I travel ! You never know.

We left early morning and I told the reception that the bed was still broken and that I wish a very good night to the next guests !

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

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Bardo Museum in Tunis. Desperate guide "what's that ?"

PS. When you read this I am in the plane from Tunesia to Brussels.

OUR WORLD - Tunisia

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My part of our world is in Tunisia for the moment and as I am on holidays, I just do a little resume picture resume of what I have seen. Details are in the posts below. I did a diary everyday, for family, friends and myself of course.

these are collages of Sousse, Matmata, Salt Lake Chott El Cherit, Kairouan and Tunis.



and here are real holidays for 4 days before flying home. Nicole laying under a palm tree and Dominique and I in the shade that's why we have this checkered look ! It's very hot 30° in the shade !

WHAT DID YOU DO THIS WEEKEND ?

This meme helps you to remember what you did on the weekend of 23 June

My weekend started with the arrival in Riadh Palms hotel where we finished our roundtrip (see below) and will stay until Wednesday.

I had a little bit of a sore throat, and was anxious that I would start a cold with this constant changing from hot to airconditionned cold areas. So I didn't do very much besides laying a little bit at the beach, but it was already late so we didn't stay very long. I also was very tired. In our room so far nothing is missing, but poor Nicole had less luck. She had booked a room with sea sight and had got a little thing where you had to have eyes like a chameleon to see the sea, or maybe a giraffe would have been able to see it too. The bathtube wasn't white anymore but grey and the worst was bloodstains on the floor. With my Inspector Barnaby's experiences, I immediately thought that somebody was murdered in her bathroom and I told Nicole to watch if there is not a ghost coming during the night. Luckily she slept so deeply that she missed the ghost and I was very disappointed. Today she got another room.

The hotel is very big and is rather a tourist factory than a hotel to stay to rest ! The decoration is beautiful, but don't look into details.

The dining room is huge all in turquoise but very noisy too when you hear hundreds of people slurping down their food. And of course there are again the people of the Eastern countries, which still eat like pigs (I don't want to insult a pig, but it's the expression) Cutlery is missing, especially little spoons for icecream or fruit salad, apparently they still need to refurbish their homes and need knives, forks and spoons, which is easy to put in a suitcase. The cold war has left traces, they had to wait so long for everything which is so normal to us Western people.There are no bath towels on the beach as usually in all 4* hotels, they had all been stolen.

I ate my ice cream for the first time in my life with a fork and stirred my coffee with a knife ! I learn everyday how to behave in a 4* the bush !

The beach beds are mostly broken and the matrasses dates from the Romans !But the food is good at least this is my opinion. Watermelons disappear like a Ferrari in a Formular 1 race, and you have to hurry to get some pieces because the "Eastlanders" are very quick !

The beautiful swimming pool is rather empty which we appreciate very much, hundreds of people are roasting around it in the sun and you can see all skin color shades of mostly red like lobsters to nearly black. There are also quiet some Germans, besides their beer bellies, I haven't noticed anything special.

We appreciate the warm weather, the sunshine and the resting after this exhausting trip, we should have booked earlier, it's to hot here in June..

ROUNDTRIP THROUGH TUNISIA DAY 7

This morning we left the Hotel Diplomat in Tunis (photo above). It was our last day of the round trip. Unfortunately the atmosphere between our group was a little disturbed because of the constant fighting between the driver and the catastrophe on legs who was supposed to be our guide.

As I had sat behind the driver and Dominque or Nicole besides me all the way along,  we saw of course everything which the others didn't see. The driver had to remind him all the time what he had to explain as he slept peacefully with the microphone as pacifier in his mouth ! So the group was split into 2 parts one part for the driver (the French speaking people in the group) and the others were mostly Flemish. Apparently they weren't disturbed at all about the stupidities the guide said. One even told me that if I want to have explanations during the trip I should book an "intellectual" one ! Please consider me as intellectual from now on.



There was not much to see besides very original street sculptures between our drive from Tunis to Sousse, one part of our group left us in Hammamet which was due to its beaches the first tourist destination in Tunisia and we got off in Sousse at the Hotel Riadh Palms. The guide didn't come with us to Sousse as he should have done, but abandoned us with the driver. Fortunately ! because he was very kind and explained a little about the modern life in Tunisia, the corrupted president and showed us also his residences and one which he had had built for his 5 year old son ! No wonder that people are not happy. But they don't want the Islamists neither at least the people who have some culture and don't want to loose their freedom which they still have now. Like in all countries the poors and less instructed people are always believing what the politicians promise especially when it's wrapped in a religious gift parcel !

After lunch we checked into our room, simple but comfortable unfortunately without internet connection, I have to go for that to the reception area. There is Wifi in the huge entrance hall. The afternoon we spent at the beach which was full of people roasting in the sun. We found a little place in the shade for the 3 of us and will see how it works tomorrow.



Hotel Riadh Palms where we will stay until wednesday