Tunisia: Beni Khiar, Kelibia, El-Haouaria in Cap Bon.

Our second day in Cap Bon includes Beni Khiar, Kelibia El-Haouaria and sleep in Tunis.

We enjoyed visiting Beni Khiar, a village 4 km east of Nabeul.  At the Cooperative des Tisserands el-Faouz, we learned how people weave beautiful products manually -with no electricity!- to this day.  The shop had many wooden weaving stations with mostly old weavers working using their hands and feet, while small cattle of mint tea quietly brewing behind them all day long.  It was simply impressive!  

Check out the huge roll of threads on the left side of Léo, and the smaller rolls on his right prepared from the huge roll.

Simon and Laïyane admiring some incredible manual works being made in front of our eyes.

Beautiful hand-made modern version of the traditional kasabias -rectangular cloaks- bought at the shop.

 

After Beni Khiar, we passed through Kelibia, and arrived at El-Haouaria for lunch.  The restaurant, La Daurade, has a breath taking seaside setting and known for their seafood.  From the open terrace, we had a view to the beautiful ocean, an old wooden ship transformed into a play boat, and endless cliffs along the coast line. 

Laïyane and Léo having a go at the old boat. 

A plate full of catch of the day to chose from. 

Fish on my plate.  Notice the evil laughing look on its face! I don't remember the evil fish from the presentation!

Léo checking out some shells on the water's edge. Later, we found a local lady picking some shells from there.

What a treat to run around freely by the ocean after the long ride in the car.  Kids ran around like happy goats before and after the meal.

Finding our hotel in the central part of Medina in Tunisia was quite a task.  It was simply impossible for tourists like us from Canada to find our hotel with or without a map.  Forget the even numbered houses on one side and odd numbers on the other.  Don't even think about straight streets to begin with.  We realized that many roads on the map were simply not wide enough for a car, and some roads may seem wide enough but they narrow at we pass through.  That's what exactly happened when we ended up in a tiny square in the Medina.  We felt like the road was closing on us, and found ourselves calling for help to get out! There was simply no way we could have continued through these narrow passages with our car.  How suffocating that driving experience was!

Finally arriving at our B&B in the central Medina of Tunis.  I look exhausted in this picture from the suffocating driving experience in the Medina.  We were happy to find ourselves in this historic house with lots of charms. 

Our room used to be a barn!  The owner has renovated it to make it into a beautiful guest room. Check out the magnificent ceiling!

Our bathroom in the room was an opened space, with a hand carved stone sink. The entire room had a stone heated floor.

Tunisia: Nabeul, Cap Bon

Our first stop in the discovery of Cap Bon, Tunis, and the Central West and the Tell starts in Nebeul. 

Cap Bon was controlled by Carthaginian in the early 5th century BC, and Romans called this rich agricultural region Pulchri Promontorium - the 'beautiful peninsula'- and settled in.  Nebeul is known to be the Tunisia's biggest ceramic town, and also known for the white sand beach.  Although it is quiet during winter time, we enjoyed the beach and the market with some artisans selling brass, leather, ceramics and some jewellery.

Another narrow maze-like streets at a market place in Nebeul.

Léo playing with his Ripstick, passing through a garden filled with cactus and palm trees at the hotel by the beach.  Those purple fruits on cactus are sold at the market, but we haven't tasted them yet. 

Open toes enjoying some sun at the white sand beach.

Nap time at work.  A beautiful cat looking so elegant and comfy in a ceramic bowl at the market. 

At our hotel gate.

Laïyane standing next to the door for children at our hotel.  This typical Tunisian door has a small door for kids only.

Tunisia: Our first Day in Tunisia_Medina in Sousse

Laïyane tasting her very first Brik at a rooftop restaurant in the Medina of Sousse.  This deep fried crispy dough filled with egg and tuna has instantly become the most favorite meal of children!  Briks can be found in almost all Tunisian restaurants in Tunisia.

Our first day in Tunisia starts at the Medina of Sousse.  Sousse is the third largest city of Tunisia, and is located on the east coast of Tunisia.  The city was found in the 9th century BC.  The Medina is a maze-like streets where we can find numerous historical and religious sights, plus many shops for both daily groceries and touristic souvenirs. 

Our walks in the maze-like streets of Medina in Sousse.  Inside the wall of Medina which stretches 2.25 km at a height of 8 m, we find many dead ends, and winding narrow pathways.  Although it can be sometimes difficult to find ways around the place, many discoveries of interesting things and places can be made by being lost in the Medina. There are many shops of all kinds, markets, 24 mosques, and museums.  

Léo at the fish market in Medina in Sousse.  A fish vendor offered to have a picture taken with himself and his proud catch of the day, a huge fresh octopus!

Léo standing under a hanging bouquet of natural sponges for sale in front of a spicy shop at the market.  These sponges are from the ocean, and are probably used for washing our bodies.

Fresh pressed orange juice stand.  We are lucky to be in Tunisia for the orange season.  The juice was pressed in front of our eyes, and tasted perfectly sweet and sour!

Laïyane standing by the Mediterranean ocean with a pirate boat behind at the Boujaffar Beach in Sousse.  The pirate boat is for tourist entertainment, but it adds a fun touch to the ocean view. 

Two cats playing flight in a wooden box at the fruit market.

Tunisia: Leaving Québec for Tunisia

Video on this topic is also available at the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_PNRPQvBX4

Our new adventure takes place in Tunisia.  The land of Carthaginian history, beautiful carpets, mosaics, exotic spices, and Sahara dessert yet unknown to us!

Tunisia is our 14th country to visit as a family adventure.  Since 2004, we have visited or lived in, Canada, USA, Dominican Republic, Madagascar, France, Australia, South Africa, Reunion, Mauritius, Seychelles, Swaziland, Germany, Austria, and now Tunisia.

We are very excited to share our new adventure with friends and family, so keep checking our blogs as we upload more news for you. 

Here are some pictures of our flight from Montréal to Tunis via Paris. 

Laïyane on the plane prior to the departure for Paris.  We will be arriving in Paris near midnight our time, which is 6 am in Paris time. 

Léo looking at the view of snow covered Montréal from the plane.

Laïyane playing at the Charles De Gaulle airport at 6 am.  After watching movies for 6 hours on the plane from Montréal, it's a matter of time before I find those two sets of "TV eyes" crashed somewhere at the airport.

Car ride from the Carthage airport in Tunis to Sousse.  Our first bottle of water with Arabic writing on it! Nice!

Arriving in Sousse.  We saw fields of olive trees and grape vines along the highway.  The driver put on a local radio station playing some intense Arabic songs to add another touch to already exotic ambiance. Wonderful!