Tunisia

A short stay in Tunisia on the occasion of the start-of-year meeting. A total stay of 5 days, with the second and the last two given over to free time and to "travelling".

For the description of the beauties of the region I refer to the printed guides and the countless websites about Tunisia, and I'll focus more on personal experiences:

ACCOMMODATION

We stayed at the Hotel The Residence in La Marsa (a fifteen-minute drive from Tunis). A 5-star that you wouldn't even come close to for private trips but that is a standard for business trips. A 5-star, all the same, richly deserved for the architecture of the building, the quality of the service and the kindness of the staff. Inside the hotel you can relax in the splendid spa with hammam, sauna, thalassotherapy and massage centre. A bar with live music livens up the evenings, while three restaurants (one typical Tunisian, one international and one buffet) of exceptional quality are worth the visit on their own.

AT THE TABLE

In the three restaurants of the hotel or in the other restaurants where we had dinner I always found rich and thoroughly enjoyable cuisine. In particular the Tunisian restaurant of the hotel and the La Falaise restaurant (fish specialities) near Sidi Bou Said really delighted me.

LOG BOOK

WED 05.30 wake-up 07.00 meet at Malpensa 2000 car park 11.30 Alitalia flight from MPX1 (scheduled 09.35) 13.00 arrival in Tunis (scheduled 11.30) 15.00 meeting 19.00 hammam 21.00 dinner at the THE RESIDENCE hotel in La Marsa, 20 km from Tunis 22.00 bowling

THU

09.00 departure by jeep 10.00 view of the garden of Tunisia and the saw road 11.00 temple of the waters ZAGHOUAN 12.00 Berber village TARKUMA 13.00 lunch at Hammamet port 15.00 medina of Hammamet 17.00 SIDI BOU SAID 18.00 hammam at the hotel 21.00 dinner in the Tunis medina at the DIWAN restaurant

FRI

08.30 meeting 15.30 visit to the Tunis souk (Porte de France) GDC kilim 70 19.00 hammam 21.00 dinner at the LA FALAISE restaurant at the foot of Sidi Bou Said 24.00 visit to a traditional venue with taxi driver Lassad 01.00 Cotton Club disco opposite the hotel

SAT

10.00 Bardo museum of Roman mosaics, Tunis 11.30 Tunis souk (gold, carpets) 13.00 lunch 15.00 visit to Sidi Bou Said (bought a mirror with WB 15+25) 17.00 visit to a glassworks (bought a glass candle holder 4x10) 18.00 bar 19.00 hammam 21.00 Tunisian restaurant in the hotel 23.00 bowling

PERSONAL THOUGHTS

I was pleasantly struck by the kindness, the hospitality and the friendliness of the Tunisian people. In no circumstance did I ever notice the hostility that, for the well-known reasons of international tensions between our cultures, I feared I would meet. Tunisia is a beautiful country rich in history and natural beauty that offers an unforgettable experience of encounter with a culture so distant from ours yet at the same time so close to us.