Archives 2021

We decided on Thanksgiving weekend to head out to Tabarka with Mom-Dad and stay at La Cigale for three nights. We left on Thursday morning and arrived at the hotel around Noon. The check-in was amazing since we booked a villa. The receptionist took us straight into the VIP lounge and we had drinks and finger foods while waiting for the room to be ready. Quite relaxing and we waited half hour or so before they took us in a club car to our room. The room was nice with three bedrooms and a sea view on the outdoor terrace. We hung out there for about an hour and then had a late lunch at 3 PM with Oliver and his family. Lunch was burgers, chicken cutlet, and pizza. Then Pop, Aiden, and I went with Oliver to the driving range while Sona and Mom got massages. Afterward, we went back to the VIP lounge for happy hour and just stayed there until 8:15 before heading back to the room. I ordered room service for Aiden which was a club sandwich and dessert and we took it easy until going to bed at 10 PM.

The next day, after breakfast, we went sightseeing in Tabarka and saw the Tabarka Fort, the projections sticking out of the water, and walked around downtown Tabarka checking out the boats and having lunch at a local place. The weather was fantastic and Aiden rode an electric bike and did a lot of walking with us around the city. We got back around 3 and then went to the indoor heated pool to swim for an hour. Finished around 5, got ready, and then went to the VIP room for drinks. We left around 7:20 to make our dinner reservation at La Corail which was pasta and other appetizers. Went back to the room and slept around 10 again.

Since we saw everything, we decided to check out on November 27 and after a nice breakfast, went straight to Cape Angela. The drive out there was adventurous and we took several wrong turns but finally made it around 3 PM. Very windy but we captured the moment and the sign saying this is the northernmost point in Africa. After half hour, we headed back to Tunis and arrived around 4:30. A great trip with many awesome memories and Mom-Dad also had fun!

The first leg of our Fall Break 2021 trip in Tunisia was Kairouan. We decided this would be just a pass-through on the way to our first overnight destination in Mahdia. On the way, we went through all types of towns barbequing sheep, selling tires, and other unique items. We arrived in Kairouan and found a decent parking spot next to the main attraction — the Grand Mosque! We toured the mosque for an hour and took some pictures before going onwards to Mahdia. We also went through the old Medina of Kairouan but mainly everything was closed. It’s kind of a maze inside so we had to ask a local how to exit and fortunately she guided us out back to our car. Overall, it was a worthwhile stop but probably won’t be going back.

The first leg of our fall break trip of October 2021 was a day trip to Utica and Raf Raf. We started early for Utica from Tunis and reached there in 1 hour. We toured the Utica ruins and met up with Aiden’s school friend, Elena. She was there with her family and we talked for 10-15 minutes. Aiden had fun walking around and even taking nice pictures with our DSLR camera. After 90 minutes of touring Utica, we went to Raf Raf which was another hour away. We parked right next to the beach and walked to a cafe to relax while Aiden was playing games with the waves which were quite strong. Very clean beach with not too many tourists at all since it’s no longer peak season. We spent 1 hour at Raf Raf and then headed back to Tunis. A nice day trip seeing the ruins and a cool beach.

This trip was quite an adventure for one day. We left around 9 and 45 minutes into the trip, we got a flat tire. It was on the highway and I was preparing to install the spare when Sona flagged down a mechanic who took over and changed the tire. He and his daughter then asked us to follow them to a tire store in the following town to replace the tire. We spend around an hour at the tire place while they changed and rotated our tires. We then proceeded to go to Bulla Regia and spend almost 2 hours there touring the ruins. Unfortunately, Aiden got stung with bees so we cut the tour short and went straight to lunch. We ran into some Embassy colleagues and chatted for a bit. The fish lunch was great and then we headed back home. A decent place to visit with underground rooms and impressive mosaics. Luckily everything worked out at the end!

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Tabarka was the highlight of the trip! We had an awesome drive from Ain Draham to Tabarka and got there around 1 PM. Our hotel was La Cigale which had all the amenities for us and Aiden including two indoor swimming pools and bars to hang out in. We also did some sightseeing to see a fort and the three fingers sticking out of the water. The hydrotherapy experience was fun and Aiden enjoyed the swimming pool playing Marco Polo. He also ate well and did a lot of walking along the paths and around the hotel. Nice relaxing stay and we might be back soon!

The second leg of our spring break 2021 trip was Ain Draham which was breathtaking trip from Dougga to a cabin Ann found in the woods. We went up and down several mountains before finally finding the place. The cabin was rustic with two levels, fireplace, and nice view from the balcony. During our two day stay, we rode donkeys, hiked almost 2 hours, played card games, and drank. We arranged dinner and breakfast and the food was quite good and well prepared. It was definitely memorable and something different even though the shower pressure was low, one of our windows broke, and it was quite cold at times!

During Spring Break 2021, we decided to take a week long vacation through the Western and Northern part of Tunisia. So Aiden could have company, we invited Lorenzo and Julian along with their Moms to go with us. We left on Monday and went direct to Dougga to look at the ruins. Fortunately, the weather was sunny and were able to get some great pictures along with the kids running around and playing hide and seek and rock climbing. Our guide was informative and we spent close to 3 hours there hiking. Magnificent site and well preserved!

On December 30, 2020, we decided to go on a trip to Sousse which is around a 2 hour drive from Tunis. We used our Marriot points to book at Pearl Marriot Resort and Spa which is right next to the beach. The hotel was fantastic and the service was outstanding with an indoor pool, spa, and a couple of restaurants. We received a complimentary upgrade to a suite and also free snacks because of our Gold Elite status I believe. For lunch, we went to Gourmandaise and had burgers and pasta before playing with Aiden on the beach.

After snacking, we went swimming in the indoor pool and then did a sauna for 20 minutes. Came back to the hotel room and read to Aiden before he slept around 8:15.

Day 2 we decided to go to El Jem which has an amphitheater. It took around two hours to get there from Sousse and it was quite impressive. Gladiator was filmed there and Sona/Aiden took a camel ride. We toured the place for 2 hours and took a lot of pictures. On the way back, we decided to go to Hard Rock Cafe where he had fajitas and drinks to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Returned around 4 and hung out at hotel until dinner at 8 where we went to the hotel restaurant for a buffet. Went to be bed around 11 but hard to sleep since AC wasn’t working right.

Day 3 was touring Ribat and the Medina. Ribat was amazing and we were the only ones at the fort. Climbed up the 100 or so steps to the top and got a fantastic view of central Sousse. We ate at an authentic Tunisian place and had couscous while Aiden had spaghetti. Sona booked a massage for us at 4 so we retuned early to get ready for that. The massage was divine and we hired a babysitter to watch Aiden.

Dinner was the Asian Fusion place at the hotel and the food was so-so. Sushi was okay but the pad thai noodles wasn’t authentic along with the Tom Yum soup.

The next morning we checked out around 10 to head to Friguia Park which is a zoo on the way back to Tunis. Saw some unique animals like the White Tiger and White Lion and Aiden fed some lemurs which was cool. Perfect weather to walk but the animals were kind of lazy and not in the mood to engage with people. We got back home around 4:30 and the Sousse adventure is complete. We will definitely go back in the summer and probably stay at the same hotel since the customer service was outstanding!