Last day

It's the last day already! Off we go to the capital, Tunis, and it's many surrounding highlights! We got out of bed early and watched the sun rise over hilly coastline of Tunisia while driving north. Everybody was watching the sunrise over the fields as if fixed in a state of trance, while trees went rushing by. I was tired but had high spirits. When the sun finally arrived, everybody sighed and smiled collectively.

First stop was Carthage. The ruins of the once mighty Punic city of Carthage, the bane of Rome and home of the famous general Hannibal, the dude who was mad or brilliant enough to cross the alps with an army of elephants. There are not many ruins left, because the Romans thoroughly sacked the city, and most pillars and walls are from the new, Roman Carthago that they had built on top. You'll have to see the models and the drawings that indicate the scale of what it used to be to really appreciate the ruins, though.

Next: Sidi Bou Said. A little pittoresk coastal town right next to Tunis, and it has a real mediterranean mood. It reminded me of the pictures of Greek town. To build a house in Sidi Bou Said, you simply have to follow this rule: paint your house in bright white and the dark blue of a summer sky. Everything, down to the dustbins and street signs, is painted blue. This town is an excellent place to buy a few souvenirs, but keep in mind that every item is ridiculously overpriced.

By the way, one of the funniest things about other countries is the products they offer at the local supermarkets! So far in Tunisia I've had Fanta mango, Kitkat chunky peanutbutter and Kitkat cappuchino! Those are completely unknown in the Netherlands.

Then Tunis, the big city. It is quite a modern city too! And kept rather neat and painted, in comparison with other north African cities! It reminds me of any big mediterranean city. An Italian city for instance. The Bardo Museum was on our itinerary (ghehe, I know a guy named Bardo). In here you can find lots of Roman mosaics. Some are beautiful and depict wellknown mythology, some are of naked people and some are quite funny. There is also a little statue of Hercules, drunk and taking a piss.

The medina of Tunis is big as well! And seemingly completely filled with gift shops. We pushed through and found a big open space at the other side, where all the government buildings were located. There too we met a nice Indian guy with his Chinese girlfriend. :) They were kind enough to take our picture. We ended the day with a glance at the Big Ben of Tunis, brightly lit at night.

Well, thats it. The end of my story. Tunisia was a wonderful country and while having seen a lot, I still have reasons to return some day. That's important, I think. Cheers, Jeroen.