La Residence (and more), Tunis

(December/January 2006-7) A direct flight from Nice, and we arrived in Africa; but not the Africa one expects. This is a country with a very Western look, very good infrastructure, and it is totally clean.

La Residence  is a member of Leading Hotels of the World and very comfortable. There is a large, outdoor free-form heated pool, and an indoor salt water pool (also heated) and a sandy beach on the sea. 

We and our friends, Mitchell and Michele,  on the first night drove to Sidi Bou Said to eat in the Restaurant au Bon Vieux Temps, well into the pedestrian area of this charming old town. Our table looked out over the sea and the town, and we ate a very nice mushroom soup, some mixed Tunisian salads and our main course was a sole meuniere and a kabkabou (a meat or fish dish with lemon confit, tomato, capers and olive oil) we drank an acceptable 2005 cabernet sauvignon from Carthage—all for about 50€.

The next day was our day for Carthage, with a guide recommended by the hotel. The Roman ruins are interesting, especially the baths, but destruction by subsequent conquerors and then “borrowing” of the stones and columns by the locals to build new structures has left this once proud city a mere fragment of what it once was. We understand that Dougga is perhaps the best Roman ruin in the world and only about two hours from the hotel, but we saved that for next time.

After the ruins, we went into the medina of Tunis, starting with lunch at Dar El Jeld, an elaborate old building with tiled walls not far from one of the entrances. We began with some salads, and then ate a couscous, a tagine which was more quiche-like than the tagines of our experience. The red wine, Didano, I think, was quite good. After lunch we walked around the medina, without a guide, stopping to buy various things, particularly fragrances.

Back at the hotel, our dinner was in their Chinese restaurant, Li Bai. The menu is laid out in a unique fashion, at least on the fish page. You could choose the method of cooking, steamed, sautéed, fried, baked or braised, and then choose the fish. We started with steamed prawn dumplings and then both had poulet au citron with stir fried noodles. We drank a Vieux Magon which wasn’t the best Tunisian wine we drank this trip.

Another expeditions, this one an all day affair, took us to Kairouan and the oldest mosque in the world. I guess because it is slightly inland, it was never a target and is therefore totally preserved. The day of our visit, a holy day in the Islamic calendar, many young boys were there for their circumcision. Because a feast must accompany the event, many families have to wait years to amass enough money to pay for it all, so the boys we saw awaiting the cut were as old as 12.

New Year’s Eve was a real spectacle. Cocktails began in the main reception area, with horses and camels and traditional music and carpets covering the marble floor. Dinner went from foie gras to seafood fricassee to grouper to stuffed lamb fillet and then desserts, while they poured your choice of red or white wine. Then, around 11:00, we moved to a sort of impromptu night club where they performed several very good acts, well into the night.

Amanjena

Marrakech, Morocco  (212 4) 4403 353; www.amanresorts.com

Our last trip to Marrakech was thirty five years ago; and some things have changed a lot and some not at all. The changes for the good are a new king with a more liberal outlook than his father, and the development of an area called the Palmyria, a few kilometers outside town with luxurious new hotels, apartments and golf courses.  The medina, happily, appears to be the same as it was but there must be some more stores.  Also, several riads have been bought and refurbished, both by Moroccans and by Europeans.Amanjena is in the Palmyria, and what a lush, exotic place it is.  There are only 39 rooms, each with a private courtyard and small pool.  Each room is basically the same generous size, with a large bed, fireplace, couch, chair, desk. The bathrooms are immense—two separate dressing areas, shower room looking out on a private citrus garden, as does the bathtub and the WC. There are two restaurants, one is Thai and the other is Moroccan/continental.  Both are delicious, so delicious that we never ventured into town at night.

In town, after a three hour walk with a guide, we had a traditional lunch on the roof terrace of a newly renovated riad, Riad Kniza in the medina.  The owner, a “famous” Moroccan guide chatted with us, explaining the history of the riad (his wife’s family, abandoned for years, she recently bought out the other relatives).  He told us about his wife’s art/antique shop in the new town and gave us a card offering a 20% discount .  Supposedly in the new town the prices are fixed. 

The next trip to town, we concentrated on the new town, without a guide.  We did go to the recommended shop and introduced ourselves to Yousef, the son.  He laughed about the discount, and promptly told us 25% on rugs, 15% on gold and 20% on the art and antiques.  Who are we to pass up such a deal?  So we bought a painting, a three dimensional piece by Yousef himself, an antique embroidered piece, and a pair of earrings.  Lunch was at Rotisserie de la Paix, which we never would have found but which was recommended by the riad owner/guide.  It had a very nice courtyard in the back and served grilled food, salads, etc.

New Year’s Eve at Amanjena was special.  There was an elaborate tasting menu, with wines, followed by champagne at one of the larger decorative pools where there were large fires, a countdown projected onto the far wall, and then greetings lit in the middle of the lake.  Very tasteful, low key and just perfect for us.Being the holidays, there were lots of families, and children.  But the place was so spread out and they did such a good job of entertaining the children that we rarely saw them.  And, more important, rarely heard them.  The tennis courts, deserted except for us and a young French girl who took a few lessons, were the best ever. The back space was incredibly generous, the surface, Moroccan clay was in tournament shape, and we were served fruit juice and water to refresh us.