Carthage, Sidi Bou Said and Sri Lankan curry !!!

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Woke up at 830am and had a piece of German bread with Nutella. Celine had to go do some work and I was going to Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. We both set off together and Celine got me to check out this food. Essentially it is fried bread bun which they cut in half apply harissa, fill it with some mash potato, boiled egg and tuna and its out of this world. I’m so in love with all this food I wouldn't know how it would be to leave this place. I wanted to have 2 but decided to control myself with 1.

I found my way to the clock tower and then found the TGM and took the TGM to Carthage. Boutheina didn't have work so she said she will join me in Carthage. We visited most of the ruins. The ticket costs 8 dinars and to use a camera they charge another dinar and that covers you for all the sites in Carthage. Even though Carthage was an important city in ancient times most of the ruins are destroyed and very little remains. A lot is left to your imagination. In my opinion half a day is more than enough for Carthage. Visited the national museum area but I didn’t go inside because I am not a museum person but went inside to take pictures of some good views from the Byrsa hill.

Boutheina called and said she was at the Carthage Hannibal metro station, so I met here there. We visited the Roman Amphitheatre, La Marsa cisterns, Roman theatre, Roman villas and finally the Antonine baths which were pretty impressive.

Celince called and said that she is at Sidi Bou Said with a friend and asked if we wanted to join. We left Carthage around 330pm and got to Sidi Bou Said.

WOW!!!!!

I regret not spending enough time at Sidi Bou Said. I totally recommend if you have only 1 day first go to Sidi Bou Said and then go to Carthage. Sidi Bou Said is quite similar to Chefchaouen in Morocco it is a really pretty place with many shops and cafes. I met Celine’s Tunisian friend Omar and went to this cafe and I had the best fruit cocktail there; it was made out of banana, strawberry, figs, dates and crushed nuts and it was so thick you need to eat it as opposed to drink it although I managed to drink it.

I was planning on cooking today so we had to hurry back to Tunis buy chicken, onions, tomatoes, lemons, spices etc. We got to the Sidi Bou Said TGM station and getting back was a nightmare. It was rush hour and the train makes the funniest noise before it closes you really feel as if someone’s throttling the train.

We got to the supermarket got all the ingredients I needed apart from the most needed curry powder. Used some harissa to get the same spiciness however it wasn’t as good.

We got home and I started to cook and within 1 hr I had made the rice with cinnamon and nuts, chicken curry, dhal (lentils) and coconut sambol (pol sambol). Hazem a couch surfing member along with his cousin came and it was a mini gathering of 9 of us. Quite proud I managed to get the quantities right for 9 people. Hazem and Boutheina found the meal too hot while the rest of the people really enjoyed. I was surprised to see that the Europeans ate more chilli than the Tunisians.

It was strange to see Fabio finishing his meal and taking Hazem meal and finishing that and later taking Boutheina’s meal and finishing half of that too while giving me half. It’s a strange thing even I have done, I don’t normally eat off someone else’s unless its family. I think I just went with the flow.

One of Karim’s friends had come back from the US but he was fast asleep due to jet lag.

Karims friend woke up around 12am after sleeping loads and he was giving me tips on Tunisia. He had been here for 1 year doing a Masters program in Tunisia. Most people go to the US or UK for Masters. This American had come to Tunisia to do a Masters. I went to bed around 2am.

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