Hey everyone .. I am still buzzing from my trip.. oh my gawd.. it was brilliant..

Day 1

Arrived on 11/01/06 12:50 in Monastir, just me myself and I then got a taxi to Hammam Sousse, visited some friends in my favourite coffee shop Cafe Chicha next to Dreams Beach hotel Sousse. Drank cappucino and smoked a chicha.. then it started raining and getting really windy, I was like damn .. then my boyfriend turned up and we travelled to his house before taking a louage to Hammamet from the main station in Sousse (5TND), then a taxi to my private apartment (just renting..lol), 800m from Sindbad Hotel.

Got to the apartment at 01:00. Once we were in the apartment, I was like wow, so spacious, 2 bedrooms, massive living room, cable tv, dining table, fitted kitchen, bathroom, 2nd toilet, nice bedroom with large wardrobe.. oh yeah.. washing machine too All for only £135.00 for 1 week. Beach was at the end of the road, only thing was that the apartment was not near to any shops, run out of fags.. get a taxi.. got the munchies for snacks.. get a taxi.. really felt quite stranded, and times we were waiting for like 10 minutes at the side of the road praying for a taxi to turn up..lol

Day 2

My boyfriend feels home sick, so we go back to Hammam Sousse, he gets some clothes, I'm chilling with the family. We decide seeing as we're near PEK, why not go quad biking, as he's never done this before. 60TND for 2 hours (2 persons). So we're having a good time, racing each other, then we decide to have a quad race and get daring. Basically, we crashed into each other, I flew off my quad, straight into the cactus bushes and my boyfriend's lying there with the quad bike ontop of him. He gets up, asks me if I'm ok, I start laughing (still in the cactus bush.. from pain and shock), then he drops down). After about 10 minutes of picking out spikes the size of cocktail sticks from my butt and legs and other places we wont go into, I grab the camera, run over to my boyfriend and start taking snaps. Asked him if he was ok at the same time..lol he was mumbling, just leave me and some stuff in arabic I didn't understand. I was still kinda laughing, still picking out spikes. Really bruised, my lip was fat, my boyfriend looked like he had been in a pub brawl One quad bike was busted and we ended up being out quadding for like 4 hours instead of just the 2. What an experience.

Later about 9pm, we went to Marhaba hotel PEK, watched a sketch show and line dancing. It was good to speak to some English people and have the comfort of a hotel after the day we'd had. 11pm, I'm saying to my boyfriend, it's time to start going back to Hammamet by louage, he dilly dallies, in the end, we're stuck in Sousse nowhere to stay, I refuse to pay a taxi from Sousse to Hammamet in the middle of the night. We end up staying at some apartment for 40TND across from Star bar on Route Touristique towards PEK. The apartment was so grotty. Something from fawlty towers. I slept in the bed fully clothed, hood from sweatshirt over my head, no hanky panky for my boyfriend, I was so ticked off..lol In the morning, we jumped out of bed and walked to the front door, no need to get dressed..LOL, sleep n go. The only thing missing were the cockroaches and rats, and maybe they'd be there come summer.

Day3 travelled around Hammamet with my boyfriend, ate in local restaurants, went to the beach, nice but obviously way too freezing to dip a toe. Hammamet was so windy, also it's like a seaside resort, I had the distinct feeling of being stranded and worse for boyfriend, he was home sick. Much prefer Sousse and PEK

Day 4, went to Tunis by louage (5TND), walked around the medina, brought some oils, never got hassled bad, maybe I look like I've been a few times before, although it was my first time in Tunis. I quite liked it, after being in Hammamet, it was nice to have the hustle and bustle of the city. Decided I was going to try and find Bardo museum, got really lost around some back streets, no map..lol A guy called Mohammed took me to get something to eat, took me to Bardo by foot.. I must've been really lost because it took about 45 minutes walk to get to the museum, 2 hours too late. He only spoke arabic and french, and mine is very limited, we were together for about 4 hours. I got the louage to Hammamet, having wasted one whole day.

Day 5
I say I want to go to Kerkennah, get up end up in Tunis, walking around, get lost again. End up with some arabic guy who speaks Italian, actually I understood him more than the french and I speak neither..lol. Bardo was on lunch when I got to Tunis, then I went to drink coffee and pass the day away, by the time I got back the museum was closed.. so 2nd attempt still never got to see the place. Arabic guy who speaks Italian takes me to the metro station at Bardo. Meet up with 2 people really friendly, one was called Sheriee but they took me to Tunis city, then the guy phoned his friend who works in the bank, so he came, spoke some english to me, we walked about, looked in shops, talked, joked then Sheriee took me to the Tunis train station. Had to get 3 trains to Hammemt from Tunis, such a long thing. Louage is much quicker and cheaper, after 2 trains, I got off at Borj Cedra and took a taxi for 5TND to the apartment.

Day 6
Finally, I get to see the Bardo museum, a taxi driver called Habib, took me around Tunis, Carthage, Sidi Bou Said for 5 hours, £35.00. We had a drink and a meal together afterwards, before he took me back to the louage station in Tunis.

Day 7
I'm really ill, chest infection, flu. Tunisia was really cold and I had only brought light winter clothes, when I needed some real winter stuff. Stayed in bed all day, felt a bit sorry for myself, boyfriend went out and brought me a coat, socks, thick hat..lol Had to buy medicine from pharmacy.

Day 8
Leave apartment at 6am, meeting at Sindbad Hammemet to go on my 4 day desert safari with African Tours (£195.00 full board for Single person).

During the safari trip we visited the mosque and medina at Kairouan, Douz market, Matmata, the Troglodyte caves, the salt desert, stone desert and sand desert, Tozeur, Nefta, Metlaoui, went on the red lizard train through the mountains, visited the Oasis in Tozeur where they filmed the English patient and the oasis where there are thermal spas, absolutely brilliant. Rode on a dromedary over the Sahara desert at 6:30am, ran over the sand dunes screaming Aslemmmmmmmmmmmmma and making red indian noises. So funny, also went on the horse and carriage over the desert. Went to Kebili, Gabes, Chott el Fejej, Chott el Jerid, Chott el Gharsa, Medenine, Tamerza, Gafsa, Tatouine, Remada, Borj El Khadra near the Libyan border. A really informative trip, our guide was brilliant and spoke English, French and Arabic.. he spoke more, but those were all he needed for the guests on our trip. Over the 4 days we spent 1 night in Hotel Le Sahara in Douz, lovely hotel, food brilliant, loved it, I'll go and check if the hotel is in the review section soon. Then 2 nights in Hotel Caravan Serail in Nefta, hotel looked nice on the outside but it was cold, the food was nasty, noone was happy about the food from our trip, they moved me into another room, cos the 1st one was freezing. Day 9 it rained so heavy in Nefta, the reception guy said in the 10 years he's worked at Caravan Serail he has never seen rain like what we had. Several hotel rooms were flooded from the rain. The heavens opened that day. Day 11, I braved it and did some karaoke in hotel Serail which was so much fun, never done it before, Mambo No.5

Day 11, go back to Cafe Chicha and some a chicha, drink coffee around 4pm. Obviously, I'm in chicha cafe innit?! Boyfriend turns up, looking for an apartment to stay in, never organised that part, so left my suitcase at his house, then walked around in the rain for 3 hours looking for somewhere, boots were soaked. After, ended up going back to the same apartment I stayed at in November 2005. Stayed for 1 night, went to his parents house, they prepared a lovely meal of cous cous with chicken, vegetables, a sweet bread, can't reme and Osban, followed by white Booga..lol. Got back to the apartment at 01:00. Packed my cases for Djerba, only ended up getting 1 hour sleep.. hehe.. slept in the louage from Sousse to Tunis airport.

Day 12
arrive in Djerba, only 1 hour flight from Tunis. Stayed at Sun Club Djerba, all inclusive, which is only really breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nice hotel booked through medhotels, really cheap £36.00 for 2 nights AI, with transfers. Djerba is so lovely sunny, like a little tropical island in the med, even though it was breezy, nowhere as cold as mainland Tunisia at this time. Ate pizza at the restaurant opposite the hotel, watched line dancing and chilled in the disco before going to bed.

Day 13
Had a hammam, followed by scooter riding around Djerba. From 13:00 - 18:00. Went to Houmet Essouk, Midoune, Agir, Borj Kastil. Went to a guy's pottery place, he showed me the process of making the pots and the different furnaces for clay and ceramic. Captured it all on camcorder, wicked!!. Had lunch at a restaurant called Le Douphin, can't remember which area, but it was lovely, pricey though (for Djerba) 20,900 TND, although I did have 4 mint teas & 2 cappucinos (tiny glasses and cups). Stopped off at Museum Del Gallala and went to the cafe, watched some footie and smoked a chicha with a cappucino..lol Had a bath, was so cold after the bike ride, then met the masseur for a few drinks and a meal before going back to the hotel and to sleep.

Day 14
Wake up go downstairs, bargain hard for some Nike Shox, manage to get them for 50TND, they are like £110.00 in the shops here, go horse riding, went to Idoun shopping centre and bazaar, bargained hard for some belly dancing gear and sports wear. After, go to the Fakir show, watch belly dancers, swords, fire, the lawrence of arabia horse riders, brilliant. Then later went to the pizza restaurant, eat lunch (like 5pm).. then transfer to Djerba airport. So sad to leave Djerba, that island is beautiful, so laid back and calm, people were great. Have to go back there again. Preferred it to mainland Tunisia.
20:45, get back to Tunis Carthage airport (much nicer than Monastir). Get taxi to loauge station (15TND), then louage to Sousse (7.5TND). Had to wait 40 mins for the louage to fill with passengers, got back to Sousse at 12pm), taxi to the apartment in Hammam Sousse (5TND). Met my boyfriend, then we went for a meal at the kebab shop across from Star bar, then into Star bar for a few beers and a boogie, then return to the apartment at 4:30am.

Day 15
Pack the suitcase, get to bed at 05:45, don't actually get to sleep until 06:30am, alarm goes off at 07:00, drag myself out of bed at 07:45, get ready to go to Monastir in like 15 minutes for my 10:50 flight, just as well it was delayed for 1 hour..lol

So that was my trip, had a wicked time, and now I'm looking to take my daughter for 1 week during the easter half term, it will be her 2nd time and my 4th time.

If anyone has any information on arabic language classes in the south east london area or nearby, please let me know, also if you come across any cheap flights during easter half term for 1 week from LGW-MIR. Cheapest I have come across is £368.00 with thomson for 1adult +1 child.

Thanks for reading I hope I haven't bored you all, I'm just so overwhelmed by my experience.