Planning the Next Adventure

The big plan is to go across the UK along the trans pennine trail after attending a conference in early June.

Sidi Bou Said

Our lunch stop at Sidi Bou Said

Tunis

Our first day was spent exploring the medina which included a view of the Great Mosque from the roof of a nearby carpet shop. The roof itself was interesting in that it was beautifully tiled. We then headed to Carthage via tram, stopping first at the seaside suburb of Sidi Bou Said. It is very beautiful with it s white washed houses with blue window trims and variously coloured doors. We had mint tea with pine nuts on a balcony overlooking the Med. We then headed to the Carthage Archeological museum and site of and unearthed Carthaginian town and the site of an enormous Roman city. It is up on a headland where the rest of Tunis is quite flat and its huge temple must have looked incredibly imposing as the Romans and others sailed in. We had a very enthusiastic guide. It was incredibly hot so after a look at the magnificent Roman mosaics we limped back to the hotel for a shower and some tea.

Kate gets to Tunis

I had to wait on the roof for Kates phone call because my phone had no reception in the room. At about 12 am I decided to make one last phone call to Kate before going to the gendarmes. I already had Kate written off for the white slave trade, abducted en route from the airport. My relief was great when I heard Kates voice on the other end, She had, in fact, just arrived at the hotel and was in the foyer. Rejoicing I went to descend the stairs to the foyer and found the door locked. I had to call Kate again to rescue me.

Tunis..We got There

The good news is that Chris arrived in Lyon as planned then we caught the plane and got here mid afternoon, by the time we taxi'd from the airport. The other good news is that the hotel is gorgeous, old , beautifully restored has roof top terrases from which you can see over the old city. Also Chris got a hair cut and shave from a barber in the medina who had worked in the same shop for 40 years. It was a work of art!

The bad news is that Kate 's flight from Melbourne was delayed for 4 hours, she got rerouted and the last time I spoke to her , she was still in Paris ready to board at 6.30 pm. Its 10.40 and I am still waiting to get a phone call so I can nip up to the Place de Kasbah and guide her into the hotel which is just inside the Medina.

While waiting we had a good look round the medina or old city. It is a hive of small alleys with lots of souvenirs and clothes and those pointy slippers for sale. Residences are interspersed and have yellow painted studded doors leading into tiled courtyards. I know whats behind the doors because from the roof top I can see into next door. They have blue patterned tile and blur doors.

I asked the hotel manager if he could recommend a restaurant. I'm glad I did because I would never have found this one. It was down an unlit alley behind a closed door but as we were struggling to find it a man in traditional dress with a candle lamp who heard us trying to figure out where to go guided us to the door and rapped very hard. Inside it was a "thousand and one knights". Ornate columns around a courtyard with a dome...I think it was perspex...gorgeous tiling and cornices and a man who played a fretless guitar like instrument mandolin looking thing. He puffed on his cigarette between stanzas and sang songs with lots of long notes . Couscous was great according to Chris. I had lamb stew with chesnuts, prunes, raisons and liberal quantities of almonds. No alcohol was served making it a very economical meal. Got to go now to search for Kate.

Last Day in Lyon

I'm starting to like Lyon. I think it has in common with Melbourne being very liveable whilst not having sensational tourist attractions. Yesterday ,being warm , after returning from Perouge I went to the botanical gardens where you can sit on the grass, ride bikes, rollerblade and check out the deer, giraffes, elephants and several other incarerated African species. There was a nice pond with many pedalos , a minimum of drunks and it was altogether pleasant . The banks of the Rhone are in the process of being rehabilitated with bike paths and strips of gardens and a very large developement next to Interpol headquarters (I didn't take any photos of it ...for obvious reasons) called the Cite Internationale. It is all the one colour ..orange brick and has hotels, residential towers, restaurants and a huge auditorium. It is also enclosed by a big fence so I think they are aiming at the big international conferences like OPEC, G8 etc. This morning i headed south along the east bank of the Rhone where a long bike path heads to Parc Gerland and the big football stadum. There is a huge skate park and lots of grass. On the way back thru the streets of Monplaisir i came across a clothes market and have acquired yet another pair of Indian pants with a huge gusset. forecast is for 40degrees tomorrow in Tunis.

Hanging About in Lyon

Wifi is not working on my computer in the hotel so no pictures. Yesterday in Lyon it rained so I sought out the "Biggest Shopping Mall in Europe" Layfayette Galleries, to get a pack for the ongoing travel. I dont think its as big as Doncaster Shopping town. After doing the mall thing the rain eased off and I set forth again to the city to master the Metro, visit the Musee Des Beaux Artes and find some novels in English. I am now reading Maria Lewica's first novel " A Short History of Tractors in th Ukraine" after reading "Two Caravans". Both are highly recommended for a laugh and some wise observations on family and migration. The Musee doesn't open on Tuesdays, I found out when I got there. After Bryan's phone call to advise me of the enormous phone bill I couldn't justify a meal out so I bought some dry biscuits and cream cheese.. and a 250 ml bottle of red wine. Only 5 euro's. Consumed the lot while watching highlights from the J.O. Not much about Australia. Don't know what was in the wine but it was 10.30 in the morning when I awoke!

I think I'm just happy riding the bike. I headed of for a little ride to the medieval tourist town of Perougues 35 km east of Lyon. It was cute and had beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. I the distance you could just glimpse the towers of the local nuclear power station. To the east were the alps and I found myself longing to get my gear and head in that direction and just keep going. Theres Switzerland ,Germany and beyond. Caught the train back because of a lack of interesting things on the way then just for fun rode up the steep hill to the plateau on the east side of the Croix Rouge for the view over Lyon.

Tommorrow is the last day before Tunisia. I have bought 2 pairs of long , white cotton pants to conceal the attractiveness of my legs from Tunisian men but not sure what to wear on the top. It will be a great relief to meet up with Kate and Chris and be able to have a chat.