An Evening In Paris

When I was turning nine years old, I got the chicken pox on my birthday. It was July and we didn't have air conditioning. All I can remember doing for weeks is sitting in the basement because it was the coolest room in the house.

Now the great thing about being the youngest kid in a big family is having lots of older brothers and sisters. Well, older brothers are scummy, but older sisters know everything.

That summer, my big sisters got me some great birthday presents. I got a shiny green overnight case that I kept for years. At one point, I had every note I ever passed in school packed in that small suitcase. But the gift I remember the most, the one that made the biggest impression on my nine year old birthday brain, was The Evening In Paris perfume. I got a kit of the stuff. Two bottles of eau de cologne and toilet water. I was kerfluffled by the toilet water. Didn't use it for the longest time, because, HEY! toilet water.

Looking back, I know it was some cheap perfume, but it made me feel all grown up. And I was a miserable little stump that year, you can be sure of that.

Tonight, I will spend my last evening in Paris. Maybe some day I'll be fortunate enough to return and see all the things I didn't get to this trip, but whether or not I ever make it back, I want you to know this: it was worth the trip.

I didn't come here in a great frame of mind. I was scared, displaced and grumpy. I might not have given the French a fair shake. I'm not sure. But the city is amazing. Everywhere you turn, there is history and beautiful architecture. The Parisians embrace life and art. We were actually treated very well on all our walkabouts. I only heard one nasty 'Americain' comment and that guy was pretty easy to ignore.

I can't say I've become a huge fan of French food, but in the spirit of adventure, I did try some. I probably won't be ordering a lot of smoked duck in the future. Most of the pates are just too rich for my palate. Frogs legs taste like chicken. I did not even try escargot. French cooking has a lot of wine based sauces, yumm. Dessert is king--one word: profiteroles. That's pretty much the high points.

We're heading back to Tunis tomorrow morning early. I'm going to spend one last night enjoying the ambiance of Paris, France. I know I probably didn't get to see all the stuff, but I have some great memories.

--Sandee Wagner

Traveling Light, or The Bug Out Bag

I have gained a new appreciate for disaster preparedness. I've heard other ex-pats talk about their 'bug out bags' but until this latest evacuation from Tunis, I never understood the importance of them.

We are in a small group of people who fled Tunis at the same time. We all had a similar instruction, "pack for three days at the hotel" and we've all realized that we forgot something.

Of course, we can just go shop for what we've forgotten. Unless, like one gal, you forgot your purse and bankcards.

The thing that bothered me the most? Buying more Q-tips. Do you know how many Q-tips I have at my house? It's got to be in the millions. I have bought them at Sam's and got multiple big packs at once. To have to buy more just seems like overkill. But you need what you need.

Before I left the states, I bought makeup. I figured that in Northern Africa, my skin tone might not be common. So I bought three of each of the colors I needed. When I got to Paris, my makeup held out for a week, then I ran out. I've got THREE of these things at home and I had to buy more. It's crazy making.

I managed to get out of Tunis with a relatively well packed bag. When we fled before a wildfire in SoCal year before last, we forgot the 'important papers' file. Had we experienced a loss, we would not have had our insurance companies and numbers. When we left the country this time, we grabbed those papers.

I'm thinking that if you 'stage' a bug out bag, then you have to have multiples of things that you use daily. It seems a waste. But when you throw stuff into a suitcase in a panic, you don't always remember everything. Of course, if you look online, the topic of 'bug out bags' takes on a more menacing connotation. The survivalists keep bags filled with gear you need if you have to live off the land and fend off looters during a post apocalyptic timeframe. I just had to live in a four star hotel for a couple of weeks.

I wonder if it would have been easier just to walk away with a purse and make a conscious decision to buy everything I needed. It would have been less stressful. And frustrating. Need a Q-tip? Buy some. Don't beat yourself up because you forgot to pack them...

I'm not sure how easy it is to 'travel light'. I think if I had been able to pack for a week or ten days, I might have made better travel decisions. Like close toed shoes. Three days at a local hotel is different from two weeks in Paris. The needs are different. But two weeks anywhere is probably the same, packing wise.

Since I'll end up with duplicates, I wonder if I could stage a couple suitcases and leave them packed and ready to go. I wonder if I really want to live anywhere where that seems like a reasonable idea??

--Sandee Wagner

The Heart of Design

We are staying in the Mercure Hotel in La Defense 5, Paris, France. This is in the heart of Paris' modern business district. The hotel is a small, upscale place that is designed for business travelers who just need a bed and to be conveniently located to their workplace.

When we arrived a week ago, there were three bus loads of Japanese design students being unloaded and checked in. More than 300 but less than 500 at best guess. These are (for the most part) well behaved university students who are here for a 10 day trip to Paris. I quizzed the front desk staff to find out they were design students. But that actually didn't make me feel any better...because these kids are dressing WILD.

This morning, one girl left the hotel and the closest description I can give you to explain her outfit is that she looked like a Christmas tree. I know. It kind of defies description. And I'm a writer, I'm pretty good with words.

I have thought about surreptitously snapping photos of the more bizarre outfits, but it seems a little intrusive. And then posting them on the Internet without that "what not to wear" black bar across their eyes would just be wrong.

One of our dinner companions last night went on a rant. The major crux of his argument is if this is how they dress, what they heck are they going to be designing?? It made me laugh.

So, here in the heart of Paris, where art is king, students of design flock to learn and study. Some need more teaching than others, I'm just sayin'.

--Sandee Wagner

Louvred Out

We decided to make a foray to the Louvre to see some art. One of DH's coworkers decided to go with us. We rode the subway down to the museum and got there about 1100. It was bitter cold and rainy. We joined the queue in front of the big steel and glass pyramid.

I can see why the addition of this underground entrance made of big glass pyramids made all the architect's heads spin. It's a very jarring addition to this ancient castle. I don't hate it, but we did stick around the outside of the museum taking pictures that showed the juxtaposition of the old with the new.

The Louvre Museum is so large that going in, we knew we couldn't see it all in one day. I got the big map of the Louvre and tried to make a plan. I wanted to see all the 'must sees' and give a pass to the exhibitions that didn't matter to us.

The guy who accompanied us on this adventure is the same guy who went to Kairouan with us and helped me buy my magic carpet. He's Egyptian. The minute he saw the signs for the Egyptian antiquities, he insisted that we start there, "with the real art". All day long, it was story after story about how superior all things Egyptian were.

I'm sure the Louvre's collection of Egyptian artifacts is not as extensive as the museums in Cairo, but Taher did say that it was all displayed well. One of the things they did that made the whole thing more impressive was putting a bunch of similar items together so you could see the minute detail differences.


From the very large pieces to the tiny pieces of jewelry and personal items, they would cluster a bunch of them together and you could see the quality of the finds. Some were better preserved, or of better workmanship. An interesting method, instead of just showcasing one excellent specimen. The Egyptian artifacts were amazing. The craftsmanship was astounding and many of the items were thousands of years old. It's one thing when it is made out of stone and it predates Christ by two thousand years. It's completely different when it's that old and it's made of wood or pottery. The fragile things that last that long are miraculous.

I dragged the guys through the Italian painters. Seems like a crime to go to the Louvre and not see the Mona Lisa, no matter how small that painting is.
She's lovely, but I found myself really paying attention to the building. The Louvre was a palace. It's been extended and built up over the years, but the overall structure has a lot of history. And it is BEAUTIFUL. I found myself taking as many pictures of the rooms and ceilings as I did of the artwork ensconced there. Besides the glorious stone floors and carved ceilings in the stairways, there were room after room where the ceilings had murals painted on them. The art on the ceiling was impressive. I wish I had a photo that did it justice. But you have to consider my tiny camera (and they had 'no flash photography' signs up all over) was not up to capturing something in that space and volume. But I did my best to get examples of the best of them. The beauty just went on and on. I found myself taking snaps of a floor grate (it was lovely!) and wainscoting on the wall. The carved doors were tremendous. The structure itself was so engaging, I had to be reminded to look at the art.

I loved the sculpture. Well, most of it. There were some big ugly modern art blobs that weren't worth the floor space, but I'm not an art maven, so what do I know?

In the Louvre, you have to pick your itinerary. I can't imagine being able to do this all in one day. It's just so huge. And I generally amble through each room, reading all the placards. Luckily, all the stuff is in French in the Louvre, so I didn't have to slow down and read stuff. Because, well, I couldn't. At that point, it was just pass through a room, look around, comment on the really impressive or pretty pieces and then move on to the next room.
Luckily the guys were on board. When they weren't on their blackberries making business calls. I could spend another couple days in the Louvre. I exhausted my attention span yesterday, but after a little rest, I think I could walk through again and see even more stuff. I'm pretty sure I missed the Venus de Milo. That seems like something I should have found.

--Sandee Wagner

Shopping in Paris...

Today, the ladies wanted to make another foray into Paris. Instead of sightseeing, they wanted to do some shopping. After a little investigation, it turns out that the Galleries Lafayette is the second most visiting destination after the Louvre. So, we headed out for that shopping center.

We rode the subway to the Opera stop. We walked a couple blocks behind it to get to the shopping center. (It was easy, you just follow the trail of tourists beating feet to the designer outlets.)

On the way, we went around the back of the Metropolitan Opera center and saw the most unique wrought iron. These gizmos appear to have the prow of a Viking ship sailing out of the poles in four directions. If you look closely, you can see the carriage lamps sticking out of the top of the ship's prows. They are flanked with tall poles decorated with women. All that detailed wrought ironwork for a light fixture. There were two or three of these Viking ship bow lights alongside the building and between them, there were the scantily clad female light posts. It was quite stunning.

Then a block or two past that, we were at the Galleries Lafayette. This store is huge. We tried to climb to the top and work our way down, but I'm sure there were floors that we didn't even see.
The central dome is a stunning stained glass and wrought iron confection. I'm sure my pictures don't do it justice and I felt like a true goober standing in the center and taking pictures straight up. The colors of the glass are glorious. It's a colorful, intricate piece of art of which the entire country of France should be proud. It's a four story atrium. The center floor below this is the make up and perfume counters.

So there are a lot of perfectly coiffed women wearing a lot of black looking down on people trying to take a snapshot of this.

I'm used to seeing things like this in historical theaters or cathedrals. Never in a department store. To take these photos, I had to dodge those chicks who walk around spraying perfume on total strangers. If you look, you can see the carousels of clothing up on the floors around the perimeter of the dome curve. It was all I could do to continue shopping and not just stand and stare at the dome and all the detail.

The plaster ceiling that surrounds the arch is ornate and gold leafed. I actually felt like a higher class citizen shopping in these lovely surrounds. The rest of the store was just normal, modern fixtures. The only really gorgeous historical part of the architecture was this central dome area. But even though I was surrounded with lovely, high class decor... it doesn't mean that I have good taste.

Because THIS is what I bought at the Galleries Lafayette.

That's right. I must have been blinded by all that gold leafed splendor because these shiny gold combat boots called my name. And the 70% off price tag made it possible. I'm told with the right outfit, these will look great. I'm just planning on wearing them under jeans. I love, Love, LOVE these shiny gold boots. I arrived in Paris with just three changes of clothing. Two pair of shoes, one of which were flip flops. I had to buy something, right?

--Sandee Wagner

Sightseeing In Paris

Paris was not on my 'bucket list'. I have never saved my pennies and planned a romantic getaway with my DH to take in the sights. It never called to me.

So, when the other refugee wives said they were taking a sightseeing trip out of the hotel today, I said, "I'm in." Not because I cared about seeing the sights, but more because I think it's good to get out of this tiny room whenever possible. You want to go to the mall? I'm in. You want to walk down to a restaurant? I'll come with. You see my plan?

So, this morning I dressed up warm, put on walking shoes and met the girls downstairs. All three of them have been to Paris on trips before. A couple of them love designer shops and were excited to see some of the things. They kept deferring to me because they assumed I had some agenda of sights that I 'must see' to call Paris done in my book. I kept telling them that I was along for the ride, or walk as it were.

We started out from the hotel and went down to the Grande Arche de la Defense. Not because we are enamored of modern architecture... not because we wanted to explore the dichotomy of old arches versus new ones. We went there because that's where the entrance to the train station was.

We rode down the line for a stop and got out, went up to street level and were less than a block away from the Arc de Triomphe.
I find it completely entertaining that these two edifices face each other across a few miles of Paris. The modern arch stands in the business district and the old arch down in the middle of town. It's a hoot, architecturally. At least it makes me smile.

Then we schlepped down the Champs Elysee. Possibly I should have been more impressed with all the glamorous shops, but it's really not my cup of tea. I'm not much of a shopper. Or I should say, I'm a 'hunter' not a 'gatherer'. We walked clear down to the end of the street and we passed a few things along the way.
There is a big museum of modern art that has an amazing roof. It has arcs of glass that look like atrium or sunrooms that wing off the basic structure. The front colonnade has this gorgeous sculpture gracing the top. I guess I should be more excited about the Monet exhibit, but since the rest of the gals weren't interested in going IN the museum, I contented myself with admiring the architecture outside.

We walked on down the Champs Elysees and it's like a long park. At one crosswalk, I noticed this wrought iron piece standing in pride of place.
Could be a fountain turned off for the season. Could be a trashcan, I just don't know. What impressed me was the ornate, detailed ironwork. And the fact that it's just standing there, unprotected. The gorgeous Grecian styled goddesses are running away from the center of the column and you can just see the joy on their faces. It's really a stunning piece. I still have no idea what it is.

We walked on down to the Place de la Concorde. That's a really large plaza known especially for the Luxor Obelisk.
The Luxor Obelisk is a grand piece of Egyptian art gifted to France from Egypt years ago. From this square, it was a few steps to the Tuilleries, which are gardens that lie along the Seine river. We walked up a few steps and had a view of both the Obelisk and the Eiffel Tower in the background. At this point, I'm two for two on sights in Paris I can tick off my list. But, oh yeah. I don't have a list of sights. Still, it's pretty cool to say I saw these two things. The prospect from this square is really nice. You can see right up the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe.
I liked the view up between the two horse statues. It's quite impressive in person. We walked a lot today. Went from this point down to the Place Vendome to see the Vendome Column. Okay. We really didn't go to see the column. One of the gals is a 'royal watcher' and she really wanted to see the Ritz hotel where Princess Diana spent her last days.

We did all this sightseeing by foot and riding the subway for approximately $3 US. We sat in a Parisian sidewalk cafe (COLD!) and drank hot drinks to warm up. We navigated the subways without getting lost. I even managed to do all the walking without getting a blister from my new shoes. So, all in all, a big win for Team Wagner.

I'll probably go back out tomorrow. If you want to see ALL the photos I took on the trip, they are posted in Facebook. Paris has really interesting architecture. I'm sure I'll find something to add to, then cross off, my list.

--Sandee Wagner

All The Best Train Stations...

On Monday, we woke up in London after a very late arrival the night before. We thought we'd stay there for a while, that perhaps the guys would work out of the London office for a few days. In short, we thought we'd light there for a few days, not that we would be bum rushed onto a train.

We were booked on the Eurostar train between London and Paris. I've ridden a few trains in my life, so the prospect of riding a civilized transport appealed to me. Traveling so soon after the exodus did not.

Part of what makes traveling by train interesting is the train stations. They are big if they handle a lot of traffic. And the London stations do. We entered the train at St. Pancras station. The station is impressive. At one point in time, this roof was the largest one in the world. Now, I'm sure someone has built a bigger one... but it's still very interesting. This station was renovated and designed to be an entry point for the Channel Tunnel train.

The 'Chunnel' connects England and France with a tunnel under the English Channel. A high speed train allows passengers to transit from London to Paris in three hours. It was a smooth, easy ride. Comfortable seats. Civilized passage.

The station in Paris was equally impressive but for a different reason.
The Paris station is filled with ornate wrought iron. The posts, columns and even the rafters are detailed like you wouldn't believe. The only thing that kept me from goggling like a green tourist was the very real possibility of having my luggage snatched by a thief. You honestly don't see this extent of detail on support beams in today's architecture. I wish my pictures did the fretwork justice. I just don't have a lens capable of capturing the artistry of this ironwork. I kept looking up expecting to see a point where the supports became flat uninteresting iron. But they didn't.
Right up to the roof ridge beams, every one was detailed and decorative. Like I said before, my pictures don't do it justice. I found it on the Internet and looked at professional photos of the place. It's even more impressive when you aren't exhausted. And in daylight, probably. It was full dark and I was done in when I wandered off the Eurostar.

I'd have to be unconscious to not appreciate the Gare du Nord station, though. It was lovely. Old and used, but elegant and stately. I know that Paris is known for its art and architecture. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of this kind of thing.

--Sandee Wagner

Exodus from Tunis

The company watched the political events and decided that we all needed to evacuate on Sunday. They organized rental car convoys and set up three waves to take all the people and luggage to the airport. We did it in waves so that everyone had a native Arabic speaker in case they were stopped in a checkpoint.

I'd like to say that it went off without a hitch. There were hitches, but they actually were not problems. We realized after the first wave left that we didn't need a third wave. We could fit all the luggage and people into the cars scheduled for the second wave. Only hangup? One of the guys was riding along with the first wave to translate, if stopped. He had planned to pick up his luggage and check out of his room when he came back.

But we didn't need him to come back for us. We could make the second run and all get there. So two of the guys went into the hotel to bully them into letting us into his room to fetch his luggage and check him out. Then we loaded, and launched for the airport.

On the way, we saw several burned out buildings. Most of them were large villas that could be identified as belonging to the ruling family's members. The commercial buildings that were damaged also appeared to be projects that were developed by the president's wife's family members, who run a large construction business. One of the biggest malls, Tunis City, was burned in the violence.

We didn't get stopped on the way to the airport. Although we drove through several checkpoints, they looked in the car and waved us on. The only time we were stopped was by the national guard members who controlled access to the airport. All they wanted to do was look at the luggage and make sure there wasn't anything in the vehicle that was dangerous. We managed to get there, get the luggage and people into the terminal in record time. We felt like we had pulled off a logistical coup!

When we got to the airport, we found it filled with people who were all trying to leave Tunis.
The overhead departure boards showed all the morning flights as delayed. In the Tunis airport there is no seating in the ticketing/check in area. It's just a big room with 50 or so desks. The board lists the numbered desk for your flight's check in and you go queue up to check in. So this room, with no seating, was filled to the brim with humanity. Many worried foreigners were sharing information about what they'd seen or experienced. Throughout the day, I realized that no one was losing their temper. There was no yelling, cussing or carrying on. When the kids got rambunctious and ran around, everyone looked on with smiles instead of anger. For a huge mob scene, this was decidedly well mannered.We all knew we were in for a long day. But I don't think any of us actually thought we'd be standing the whole time. After a while, one of the gals started what she called a 'scavenger hunt' through the airport. She snagged any chair she could find. Busted down office chairs that had been abandoned by airport personnel. Cafe chairs from the restaurant. Stools from the bar. Wherever she found one with no butt in it, she dragged it back to our circled luggage carts. We stood (and sat) for almost 14 hours. We were booked on five different flights. Some of us were going to London. Some were going to Paris via Madrid. Some were going to Paris via Geneva. A final contingent were returning to Algeria.

The whole group hung out and when the first wave of passengers were called and went through security back to the gate area, we were thrilled. The London flight was going to launch. Now, we were just waiting on Madrid, Geneva and Algeria to post on the board. The flights were all delayed for hours. The concern that we'd stay in the airport so long that we'd be unable to go back to a hotel--because of the enforced curfew--made many of us very nervous. It was agreed that at a certain time of day, we'd have to make a decision that could require us to sleep at the airport because of the time restraint.

Just moments before that time... one of the gals went up to the desk where the London flight was checked in. The gate agents were still there hours after our friends had left for security. She has mad French language skills, so she cadged a chocolate bar and offered it to the workers and then asked about some of the flights. It turned out that the London flight had not yet left, wasn't closed and had open seats. She tugged us all up to the desk and we were all booked onto the London flight.

We rushed through security and back to the gate area. Then we sat there for another hour or so... but SEATS were in the gate area. After a day on our feet, even those steel seats seemed like luxury. And eventually a plane showed up and we were allowed on board.

We arrived at London's Heathrow airport at 10:00 pm on Monday night. According to the customs officials who checked our passports, we were the first flight of people leaving Tunisia that they'd seen. I told them to expect a lot more based on the number of people populating the Tunis airport.

So, our first step on the Exodus from Tunis was completed. We got out of the country safely and together. Only one injury, one of the managers sprained/broke his ankle right as he got to the airport and was unloading his family's baggage. He was a trooper and self medicated--see the beer? He wanted to wait to get medical treatment in the UK. With his ankle swelling at an alarming rate, he got nagged to keep it elevated all day long. Last time I saw him, he was on crutches. By this time, he's landed in Canada and has his family safe at home.

The rest of the group continued on to Paris via the Eurostar train through the Chunnel. They'll work out of the Paris offices for the next week and will reassess the situation in Tunisia soon. If things get better, I'm sure we'll go back.

--Sandee Wagner

Command and Control

This is the company's 'command central' at the Golden Tulip Hotel. Here is where the Tunisian contingent are planning the emergency evacuation of Tunis.

I could have shown you the bar or the lobby, but this seems to be more indicative of the seriousness of the matters being discussed. Do we stay or do we go? If we evacuate--is it temporary? Or do we set up operations in a new location? Heavy decisions. I'm glad I don't have to make any of those choices.

All the ex-pat company workers and families are gathering in the hotel, sharing information and telling stories. I've heard folks planning where they'll go, if they go, and who they'll live with. There is a lot of gray matter being expended on contingency planning.

The company folks are busy planning what to do. We have a group of guys headed out to the airport to see if they can catch their scheduled flights out today. We'll know more later. Interesting that they were directed NOT to check out of the hotel. They left their keys here with the guys. That way if they don't get a flight out, we'll still have a hotel room for them to stay in. The front desk is pretty much mobbed with folks looking for places to stay. Things are getting a little dicier.

I wish I knew what was going on out there. What the situation outside the hotel is like? What's happening in the capital?

Our landlord called us last night with the news that someone got into our house. They sent a guard out to watch the place. Am I upset that someone possibly went into our house? Yes. Then I started thinking about it. What are the chances that they unpacked some boxes while they were there??

We are safe. The 'smartest guy in the room' is busy making plans for our continued well being. I feel blessed to be a part of an organization that puts safety first.

More updates later.

--Sandee Wagner

Safety First

There is unrest in Tunisia. A national work strike was organized by local student population. I've been told they have been protesting for the better part of the past two months. It's all become a powder keg. There have been riots and civil unrest.

Then today, the president who has been in power for 23 years, fled the country with his family. My DH's company gathered the troops and circled the wagons. And by that obscure Western reference, I mean that they got all the employees into a conference room at a local hotel called The Golden Tulip. Then they discussed the corporate evacuation plan and went home to get their families. By 3:00 pm, all the wives and families were checked into the same hotel. All of us, in one place, easy to contact and track. Then they determined a course of action and made plans.

First step, keep an eye on the situation. Which rapidly got worse and worse. Some of the fleeing families told stories of mobs in their part of town, and seeing the looting and property damage that started at, but was not confined to, the president's family's residences.

All of us gathered in the hotel lobby, then migrated to the hotel bar. The Tunisian news channel was tuned in on the overhead flat screens and the locals were telling us what was being said by the commentators. It got to a lot of the folks. People with kids were worried about when the school would be back in session and whether or not we'd be evacuated. The opinion seems to be split half and half. Most of the parents were hoping that things would just settle out and we could go back to our homes over the weekend with things back to 'normal' as soon as possible. Many of the less happy campers were hoping to be evacuated and making plans not to return.

I just want to be with my DH. If we're both evacuated, I'm okay with that. But I don't like the idea of 'the little women' being put on a plane and sent out of the country with the 'manly men' staying behind, braving danger. Really. These are business men. None of them have any excuse for staying in the face of danger. The company should know that.

I've had my head down, unpacking boxes in the new house for the past week. No working phone. No internet connection. No TV reception. I had no idea what was going on. I was surprised when I was directed to 'pack a bag for a couple days stay at the Golden Tulip'. After seeing the news for a couple of hours, I'm just surprised I was so clueless.

It's possible I could find myself in Paris tomorrow. Or, I may still be at the Golden Tulip. Hard to say. The wagons are circled.

--Sandee Wagner

Moving Day!

We were so excited when they called to tell us that the container would be delivered to our house at 0830 on Friday morning. One of my Tunisian friends cautioned me that 0830 Tunisian time was more like 1030. So, we got up, dressed and made it to the house at 0820. On the way, we passed a container. DH said it was the color of our container... and it WAS!! They got there moments after we arrived. There were seven or eight guys from the shipping service and they got right to work.

They worked so hard. They never took a break. By 1130, the whole truck was unloaded and they were driving away. DH and I decided to get some lunch before we started unpacking. We drove to La Marsa, got a pizza and strategized how to attack the boxes.
We decided to concentrate on getting the major furniture pieces in place. If we get the bookcases and stuff in place, then we have some place to put things, right? It seemed like a good idea.

And we made a pretty good dent in it. We got the dining room and living room furniture placed. We put the master bed together and got some of the large outdoor stuff placed. It was a good start.

Tomorrow we'll get up early, go over to the house and try to see how much more we can get done. Oh, and guess what? The rug looks great with the furniture!!

--Sandee Wagner

La Plaza Corniche

Several of DH's coworkers here are native Tunisians. One of the ex-pats actually attended college in Tunis, so lived here for several years before going abroad. This provides us with a lot of inside intelligence on the best places to visit, and the best restaurants to try.

The guy who went to college here--we'll call him Cedrick--waxed poetic about a hotel bar and restaurant he called La Plaza Corniche. The first time I went there, I was tired and jet lagged and NOT prepared for a meal to take three to four hours. I know better now. Their website makes this place look classy and elegant, but really it's campy and kitschy. I felt the need to document the flock of pink flamingos for my dear friend Marilyn. If she comes to visit, we'll take her here and get photo documentation.

We've eaten at La Plaza three or four times now, a couple of business meetings and one pleasure trip. Last night we took an outing with two other couples. This time, to try their specialty--fish steamed in a salt crust. I like a nice fish fillet. I do not care for digging out the bones, so I don't order a lot of whole fish. I was assured by my companions that if we ordered this fish, the waiter would do all the work and give it to us 'beautifully, with no bones!' So, it's worth a try.

We had drinks. Appetizers. Some good bread with harrissa. Then the fish was delivered. This fish is the local fish of choice called the durrod...at least that's how it sounds like it's spelled. I'm not enough of a master at language or fish to decide if it's sea bass, grouper or cod. If you say 'durrod' you get the same fish every time. And the locals rave over this one. It's always the best, the freshest, the chef's favorite. So tonight, we ordered it steamed in salt.

Preparation is a tableside production. The waiter/server begins by rapping against the fish with a small hammer or spoons. This is to crack the salt shell. Different servers have a little different technique. This guy picked off big chunks of the salt and set them aside carefully, clearing away the big chunks before going any further. At the next table, the server bashed it all into rubble and swept it away. Different techniques, same end result.

Once the salt chunks were cleared away from the top of the fish, the server carefully swept the fish using a fork and spoon. This creates a bed for him to work on. I'm told they are careful to place the salt away so that it doesn't fall back onto the fish fillets as they loosen the meat and present it to the customers. It makes good sense, that's just too much salt for anyone's palate.

Next, the server took his fork and spoon and just rolled the skin/scales up, stripping it from the fish in one rolling movement. It was the easiest thing I've ever seen done. He made it look easy, that's for sure. Then, he very gently filleted the steamed fish and presented us each a large plateful. I was a little worried about the bones, but the way he did it, our portions were just fish. And so succulent!
There were some side dishes. Some fried potatoes and small pieces of a local crustless quiche. But the star of the meal was that steamed fish. The waiter recommended a drizzle of olive oil. I also squeezed on some lemon juice because I love the taste with fish. Most interesting of all? It wasn't salty. Not a bit. In fact, there was hardly any seasoning or spices at all. Just a very fine white fish fillet, delicately steamed to keep all the moisture in. Lovely.

I couldn't resist taking a few more photos of La Plaza Corniche. Such a classy hang out. I guess it's really typical of the college crowd--the youngsters make it a popular hangout on evenings and weekends. To me, the dichotomy was marvelous. Here's a place that is just as tacky as can be, appealing to students and the young disco crowd. And it prides itself on great service and wonderful cuisine. Each meal stretches out into an event and the attentive waitstaff fill your every need and desire. Up to and including offering cigars after the dessert has been served and enjoyed. It's truly a nice place. It just doesn't look like it would be.

On our second trip to La Plaza Corniche, we hopped into a cab from our hotel. We got a nice cab driver who was taking English lessons and wanted to speak to us to practice his English. As he was quizzing us about our destination, we could see him stop and try to gather the correct words. Then he very hesitantly asked us, "Have you been to La Plaza before?" We responded in the affirmative. He appeared perplexed, then asked, "Are you aware that it's a discotheque and a lot of students go there?" We said yes. His brows were still knitted. Then he finally found the words to say, "Aren't you a little old to be going to La Plaza?"

Oh, good times.

--Sandee Wagner

Port of Tunis

Today was the day that our household goods were inspected by Customs at the Port of Rades. We saw a lot of containers. We had high hopes that one of them would be ours.

The first surprise was taking the long, scenic trip out to the port. We can see it from our hotel. I've been across the causeway bridge, so I know it connects somewhere north of us in La Marsa. But our native guide headed directly into the downtown rush hour traffic of Tunis center then waffled her way out to the port taking approximately nine times as long as it should have taken. But she lives downtown and she only knew the way to the port from her known points of reference. Have I mentioned that this city could use some Google Maps, Mapquest or GPS details? Tunis needs that van to drive around with all the photography equipment and waypoint all the intersections... but I digress.

Once we got to the port, we met up with our shipping company representative, who looked at me meaningfully and began speaking very rapid Frarabic with our native guide. It seems that only DH's name is on the paperwork and he was convinced that I would not be allowed to accompany DH on the inspection tour of our goods. Dodged that bullet.

I rode back to the hotel with our native guide, leaving DH at the port to stand by manfully for 4.5 hours while all the papers were inspected, he was quizzed about certain items ("Do you use this air compressor for business?" "No, it's for personal use." "It's a very nice, very big compressor. Are you sure you don't use it for commercial purposes?" "No, I use it at home.")

There were some items that we were led to believe would be problematic--books, CDs and DVDs. All the horror stories we've heard revolve around those boxes being held and inspected for months. One lady said she thought they kept her DVDs long enough to rip them all. We have scads of books, fewer CDs and DVDs, but still... If it's going to be a problem, we had to 'own it'.

We discussed what we'd do and we wanted to tell them to keep all the boxes they were interested in, but please just deliver the rest of the stuff. That way we could move into our house, get settled. I can wait a while for my books to be delivered.

But it didn't come to that. They cracked open three boxes. One full of linens and sheets. One full of paperwork from our office files. And one full of empty software boxes and computer manuals. During this time, DH could see some of our furniture and the whole container was there, with the door open so they could pull things out and check the entire shipment.

We passed. DH admitted that at one point in time, one of the officials asked about what kind of books we had. When DH stated what types they were, he was told, "NO! You don't have romances. You have cookbooks, business books, and personal papers." DH, being the intelligent international guy he is, said, "Okay."

So, with my decadent collection of romance novels, I have entered the country of Tunisia. They'll never be the same.

--Sandee Wagner

Magic Carpet

We took a road trip yesterday. We met up with another couple, Taher and Emma, and drove the two hours south and west to Kairouan. Depending on who you are talking to, Kairouan is touted as Islam's fourth holiest city. The article in Wikipedia said that some Muslims believe that seven trips to Kairouan is like a single trip to Mecca. Of course, the guy who accompanied us was Muslim and spent the whole day bashing this idea.

Our first stop was the tourism bureau where we had a scenic overlook of the cisterns and hired a guide to take us around and show us the sites.The pools are pretty impressive and still hold water after over 1000 years. The area around them is a big park-like place and lots of families were out enjoying the beautiful weather. These reservoirs, called the Aghlabid basins, are the only remaining parts of some impressive waterworks built during the time of Charlemagne. At that time Kairouan was a center of learning where Muslims built the first mosque by scavenging the ruins of Carthage and carting off the steles and columns.
The Great Mosque of Sidi Uqba is an impressive historical site and can only be visited when it's not open for prayers because it's still a working mosque. The center courtyard has a marble topped area that grades down to a perforated carved grate. The entire courtyard serves as a collector for the cistern below the ground. It wasn't open for visitors, but we were told there were over 100 columns holding the courtyard up. There are over 600 columns in this mosque and no two are alike.

The prayer room has a famous mihrab and minbar. The mihrab is the concave shaped niche that is sited to point directly to Mecca. It's where the imam leads prayers. The minbar is an eleven step raised pulpit that is used by the imams during high holidays. This one is hand carved from imported teak. Both of these are considered the finest examples of Muslim art from the period. Scholars are still arguing about where some of the tiles were made. The floor of the prayer room is carpeted by gorgeous examples of the local carpet makers arts. It is traditional for brides to gift the mosque with a carpet when they marry.

Kairouan is the center of Tunisia's carpet industry.They welcome visitors to town with a giant art piece which has carpets depicted on both sides of the enormous thing.And since my 32nd anniversary present was supposed to be a 'conveyance', I was searching for a magic carpet. This sculpture led me to believe I had found the right place.

One of the most amazing parts of the tour was going through the Mausoleum of Sidi Sahab, generally known as the Mosque of the Barber. This veneration place is dedicated to a gentleman who is said to have saved three hairs off Mohammad's beard. The walls of the shrine are covered in colorful mosaics. For years, these designs were the only ones that could be used for rugs.
There were courtyards and rooms and halls, all of which were covered by glorious, colorful tiles. No two designs were alike. Still today, the women of Kairouan go to these places to pray and get inspiration for the carpets they create. They do not use templates or patterns, they study the walls and then go make a carpet. There are different grades of carpet made here, the finest ones have 90,000 knots per square meter of carpet. No children or men make rugs in Kairouan, this is a woman's work.
You can buy rugs all over the country here, but in this place, the government regulates production and the very best quality workers are employed. Kairouan is very proud of their carpets. The Bey's house is a historic site that also includes an outlet for purchasing carpets that are locally made. When I indicated that I was there to get a carpet and was willing to purchase a magic carpet, I was assured that if I bought one, they'd tell me the magic word to make it fly. I completely forgot to ask the magic word, so I guess this rug will stay house bound.
In case you were wondering, it takes a village to sell a carpet. There were three guys scurrying around fetching rolled carpets from all over the mansion. There was one guy giving us the knot count, type of weave, and specifics on each carpet. When it came time to snap a photo, the owner of the business came out and posed with our crew. One of the guys complimented DH on bringing such a 'good lawyer' with him. I guess having Taher there to argue and negotiate pricing in Arabic was inspired on our part.

They started rolling out individual carpets and as I indicated I liked one, they kept it aside and brought out some more. I narrowed it down to styles, sizes and colors and eventually, selected the 32nd anniversary present. My magic carpet.

Today, we took the carpet over to the new house and rolled it out. It looks nice in the empty room. Here's hoping that it goes okay with the furniture. Regardless, I love the pattern and the colors. You don't see too many blue carpets, most are red or gold. This one really appealed to me.

Emma assured me that it was such a nice carpet that if it doesn't match the furniture, I can just get new furniture. I think we're going to be good friends.

--Sandee Wagner