N. Africa
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The word for the day is “dismal”. We came
to Tunisia looking for warmer weather and have found it to be
warmer not only in Ohio but in Europe as well. Alas! Today we
have a free day at the hotel and awoke to find a dismal day
with cool temperatures, cloudy skies with sprinkles on and off
making outdoor activities less inviting.
So
we started off with homework and then AD went for a swim with
Dima, his Russian friend. I went to a stretching style
exercise class, then back to the room to read. AD arrived soon
thereafter since Dima had gone for a Turkish bath with his
grandparents. We continued to do math problems and spelling
for about an hour while TD worked on editing pictures and
making lunch. I napped briefly after lunch and then went with
AD for his 15 minute horse riding trial. He was very
disappointed because there aren’t any horses here that are
tame enough for someone of his size and experience. We were
disappointed because an hour on a horse cost ¼ of what it has
other places. From the hotel you ride along the beach with no
supervision and the horses are known to gallop across the
sand. He, therefore had to ride with someone holding a tether
around the yard to test his abilities. I was glad that we had
opted for the 15 minute trial and not the one hour version
they wanted us to buy. The horse was very strong and not at
all cooperative, making it evident that AD could not ride on
the beach with small children and tourists running around.
Luckily he met up with Dima right after this and his
disappointment dissolved with camaraderie.
The
two boys spent the afternoon playing paddle ball, archery and
shooting pool. AD is now at an age where he’s too old for the
kid stuff and not old enough for the adult things unless one
of us is along. I went to the afternoon aerobics class which
is a lot of fun. After dinner, AD went to “Snoopy Disco” again
and stayed to listen to some of the Karaoke which was the
program tonight.
As
you could guess, the day we leave Tunisia the sun came out and
it was warm. Many mornings I would have the sun with me on my
early walk only to have clouds build during breakfast. Today
was different. It got warmer and stayed sunny. The look of the
resort grounds changed. Instead of empty lounge chairs, there
was a mass of sunbathers. Everyone who had come for some
sunning was out on a chair. We were disappointed that
yesterday when we would have loved to sit around enjoying the
sun and water, was so miserable and today, as we leave, it’s
beautiful. We’ve now spent more than two weeks on the
Mediterranean and never been swimming in it.
Panic struck at departure time. No Andrew! He had been with us
most of the morning out at the pool, playing paddle ball but
left with Dima for the pool table. Time came to leave and they
were nowhere in sight. We checked everywhere. Pick up time
came and the bus was late. Thank goodness. He came running to
the lobby 15 minutes late. They had found the kids playhouse
on the last day and were taken with the play station unit! The
bus had to pick up at hotels along the beach. Many of the same
passengers who were on the disabled bus coming, were now going
back with us. The trip to Tunis and check in at the airport
went without troubles. We talked with two California girls
most of the time. They had been studying in Spain and were now
traveling for a few months.
The hotel in Madrid picked us up at the airport after a phone
call on arrival. The Hotel Auditorium has 800 rooms and is the
biggest in Europe. It is very plush and was built for business
meetings. I’ve never seen so many meeting rooms before. The
first floor is just cavernous. We walked along the highway to
some nearby restaurants for dinner, which luckily had very
good food.
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