Saturday 22 June 2013

A Taste of Tunisia

Slapped wrists, I've been very bad. I've failed friends/followers who were wanting me to give them advice for future holidays with their children. With school summer holidays now looming (and the weather here in the UK ever diabolical) the thought of traveling to warmer climes is very appealing.
Tunisia.
We went there for a week back in April. The trip had originally been planned for February (apparently the weather can be nice there even then) but a few days before we were due to leave, the opposition leader was assassinated and there were riots (some violent) in capital Tunis. So we postponed the trip for that all to calm down and we finally got there in April.
I have to admit I was slightly hesitant before going. Tunisia is badly situated, sandwiched by volatile Algeria and Libya. And when David Cameron made a comment about there being a general Al Qaeda threat across North Africa, that did little to pacifiy me. However, we went and I'm so delighted we did, because there was NO sense of unrest anywhere that we went. We took public buses with the locals and had no problems. We found Tunisia and its natives to be ultra friendly and warm and the country has a wonderfully exotic feel to it which sets it apart from other Mediterranean countries. Plus it's refreshingly CHEAP. Not that we experienced any problems with mosquitoes, but as I'd forgotten to bring any repellent with we bought some in a little local shop.  Only £1 a tube and it is the BEST cream ever. So effective. I have since had the need to use it and whereas others were badly bitten, I came away unscathed (and so did my children) thanks to the cream. I wish I'd bought it in bulk - we're off to Venice this summer where (according to many Trip Advisor reports) there are a TON of mosquitoes in the summer. Must be because of those canals.....
Anyway, I digress..
Beyond cheap insect repellent, the hotels in Tunisia also offer excellent value, with many of them geared towards families with great (and free) activites laid on. The cuisine was nice. And nobody suffered from any stomach bugs there, which is always a worry when you travel to Africa. That said, in countries where I'm concerned, I NEVER eat salads, but only cooked vegetables. Likewise fruits - I tend to want to peel it myself. And then I find the chances of getting sick are much reduced.
As I look out my London window now the rain is bucketing, the wind is fierce and the trees are swaying wildly - and it's midsummers day!! If only I was still in Tunisa.............check out my review by clicking the link below:
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/travel/404168/Tunisia-paints-a-perfect-picture

And please feel free to ask me any questions.
x
ps - a few days after our return there were the bombs at the Boston marathon. Which just goes to show that we can worry about terrorism, but trouble can happen where you least expect it too. So now I will stop worrying so much about where I holiday..............within reason.

Click on the link below to return to Jo's website:
www.jokessel.com

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