This week, we are going out for a brunch on Saturday, not a Monday, because the place that we are headed for is not open on Mondays. Last week, the owner of Rihanna Gaga's daycare told us that Wednesday was going to be a special day, on which all children had to dress in traditional clothes. That meant either traditional Tunisian clothes, or traditional Dutch clothes for Rihanna Gaga - and since the latter are hard to find here, we opted for the first. And where better to buy such clothes than in the old Medina of Tunis? I decided that buying clothes there could then be combined with having breakfast at café El Ali, a famous place in the medina where I have often been, but so far I always arrived just too late to try their breakfast, which is served until 11:00.
This time, we arrived on time. After being dropped off by the taxi at the main square in the city centre, we made our way through the winding alleys of the medina to El Ali. This is the stuff of tourist brochures: small souvenir shops in covered alleys, a true bazar selling everything from belly dance costumes to Yasser Arafat scarves. It's not only the stuff of tourist brochures - the part that we walked through on our way to the restaurant also caters mostly to tourists, which means that it must have been hard hit by the virtual end of tourism following last year's terrorist attacks.
It's been a while since I last was here. Of course, when we just arrived here I came here a few times, since the medina is one of Tunis's main tourist attractions. Then, when we came back from Dubai, we actually stayed in a small appartment in the medina while we were looking for an appartment in La Marsa. But since then, I think I've been here maybe three times - always when we had friends or family over, to visit the place together with them.
In fact, however, I do pass by the medina weekly, on my way to a university where I teach a course - another university than the one where I do most of my teaching. I never enter the medina, though, as I walk through the city center's main street - Avenue Habib Bourguiba - on my way from the louage station to the railway station, where I catch a connecting tram. I do enjoy that ten minute walk. La Marsa is nice, but only being there can be quite suffocating. It's nice to be in a more bustling place every now and then.
Rihanna Gaga has always enjoyed the medina. She walks freely among the throng of people pushing themselves through the narrow alleys, with an air as if she owns the place. In fact, she's always liked spaces that provide a sense of security: in the medina, airports and shopping malls, she walks around without hesitation, while outside she will stay much closer to us or she will even refuse to walk, preferring to sit in her stroller or be carried by us. Only when she starts getting too much attention, she grabs the hand of her mother, who is with us today.
When we arrive at El Ali, her good mood continues. The breakfast is very much to her liking: egg, toast, cookies and a sweet, porridge-like vannilla flavoured substance that is a speciality of this place, as well as orange juice and Turkish coffee - although, obviously, I don't share the latter with her. The rest, however, is devoured by her and I must work hard to make sure she leaves some for me. In fact, we could just as well have ordered a third breakfast, as the portions aren't very large. I get the feeling you mostly pay for the location, here, even though what you get is quite good.
El Ali is incredibly tastefully decorated. An old medina house, it's fun to climb its staircases up to the top floor where the café is located - past the restaurant on the first floor where lunch is served, but never dinner. In fact, it is impossible to eat dinner anywhere in the medina. Everything closes, for some strange reason, around 16:00. Everything looks nice here: nineteenth century furniture and paraphernalia fill the café in tones of beige, pink, brown and white. The weather is not good enough, unfortunately, to sit outside, but inside is just fine, with its cozy comfy chairs and pleasant music from the early twentieth century. The waiters try to get Rihanna Gaga's attention, but she mostly choses to ignore them. With us, however, she's all theatre. Everything she does is accompanied by a big smile or a loud 'oooh' as she comments on how funny, smart or naughty she is. She will often say that she is 'funny' these days - in case we missed that fact.
When we're finished we move on to a less touristy part of the medina, where we can buy her traditional costume fore her. When we tell her the purpose of our visit, she immediately demands something green - her favourite colour. It's her lucky day: not before long, we find a beautiful green velvet suit with gold thread decorations. She refuses to try it on, probably because the seller doesn't let us do that but starts doing it himself and she doesn't trust him a bit. But when we get home, she is incredibly proud. It is, she tells us, beautiful.
This time, we arrived on time. After being dropped off by the taxi at the main square in the city centre, we made our way through the winding alleys of the medina to El Ali. This is the stuff of tourist brochures: small souvenir shops in covered alleys, a true bazar selling everything from belly dance costumes to Yasser Arafat scarves. It's not only the stuff of tourist brochures - the part that we walked through on our way to the restaurant also caters mostly to tourists, which means that it must have been hard hit by the virtual end of tourism following last year's terrorist attacks.
It's been a while since I last was here. Of course, when we just arrived here I came here a few times, since the medina is one of Tunis's main tourist attractions. Then, when we came back from Dubai, we actually stayed in a small appartment in the medina while we were looking for an appartment in La Marsa. But since then, I think I've been here maybe three times - always when we had friends or family over, to visit the place together with them.
In fact, however, I do pass by the medina weekly, on my way to a university where I teach a course - another university than the one where I do most of my teaching. I never enter the medina, though, as I walk through the city center's main street - Avenue Habib Bourguiba - on my way from the louage station to the railway station, where I catch a connecting tram. I do enjoy that ten minute walk. La Marsa is nice, but only being there can be quite suffocating. It's nice to be in a more bustling place every now and then.
Rihanna Gaga has always enjoyed the medina. She walks freely among the throng of people pushing themselves through the narrow alleys, with an air as if she owns the place. In fact, she's always liked spaces that provide a sense of security: in the medina, airports and shopping malls, she walks around without hesitation, while outside she will stay much closer to us or she will even refuse to walk, preferring to sit in her stroller or be carried by us. Only when she starts getting too much attention, she grabs the hand of her mother, who is with us today.
When we arrive at El Ali, her good mood continues. The breakfast is very much to her liking: egg, toast, cookies and a sweet, porridge-like vannilla flavoured substance that is a speciality of this place, as well as orange juice and Turkish coffee - although, obviously, I don't share the latter with her. The rest, however, is devoured by her and I must work hard to make sure she leaves some for me. In fact, we could just as well have ordered a third breakfast, as the portions aren't very large. I get the feeling you mostly pay for the location, here, even though what you get is quite good. 
El Ali is incredibly tastefully decorated. An old medina house, it's fun to climb its staircases up to the top floor where the café is located - past the restaurant on the first floor where lunch is served, but never dinner. In fact, it is impossible to eat dinner anywhere in the medina. Everything closes, for some strange reason, around 16:00. Everything looks nice here: nineteenth century furniture and paraphernalia fill the café in tones of beige, pink, brown and white. The weather is not good enough, unfortunately, to sit outside, but inside is just fine, with its cozy comfy chairs and pleasant music from the early twentieth century. The waiters try to get Rihanna Gaga's attention, but she mostly choses to ignore them. With us, however, she's all theatre. Everything she does is accompanied by a big smile or a loud 'oooh' as she comments on how funny, smart or naughty she is. She will often say that she is 'funny' these days - in case we missed that fact.When we're finished we move on to a less touristy part of the medina, where we can buy her traditional costume fore her. When we tell her the purpose of our visit, she immediately demands something green - her favourite colour. It's her lucky day: not before long, we find a beautiful green velvet suit with gold thread decorations. She refuses to try it on, probably because the seller doesn't let us do that but starts doing it himself and she doesn't trust him a bit. But when we get home, she is incredibly proud. It is, she tells us, beautiful.
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