Le Gourmet

It's Saturday morning and Rihanna Gaga did not sleep well last night, so I am very, very tired. She's having difficulties sleeping lately and we don't really know why - although it seems likely that the oppressive heat has something to do with it. Because it is hot in Tunis right now. Very, very hot. And since we live close to the sea, that is a humid, quite unbearable heat. In fact, of all of us, Rihanna Gaga seems the most able to cope with the heat. However, I do suspect that the heat must be the reason as she normally is a very easy sleeper.

Anyway, it's a lazy, hot Satuday morning and we're walking through La Marsa to one of its fanciest places: Le Gourmet. Located at a busy junction a bit inland from where we live, this place cannot compete with the cafés and restaurants around the corner from our appartment in views. Qua decor, however, it is much better. Nice lounge chairs and couches in grey and white with some trendy artefacts scattered around the place. In the winter, this is a sort of greenhouse, with large glass windows making up the four walls. In the summer, these windows are taken away, so that the wind can blow through the place. Normally, that doesn't seem like a very good idea because the junction has heavy traffic all through the day, but since it's in the middle of summer and the whole country has virtually come to a standstill, this now makes for a very quiet, breezy spot.

Rihanna Gaga enjoys the place: she can run around among the couches. She also knows the surroundings quite well: we always pass Le Gourmet on the way to her creche, so it must feel familiar to her. We order breakfast: a set breakfast with omelet, croissant and citronade for me and an omelet for my girlfriend. The place has run out of fresh juice, so we don't order anything for Rihanna Gaga. However, she really likes the cheese omelets that Le Gourmet serves and eats large parts of ours.

Beside the food, she is mostly interested in a little boy at a table next to us, who has an impressive looking toy motorbike. She herself has brought her Mumin doll and at one point decides to show it to the boy - but then is too shy to do so, despite our encouragements. She's clearly interested in him, but cannot bring herself to actually go to him. This happens a lot these days. Since she goes to the crèche, she has become much more sociable than before. She used to be very bold towards other kids, but this changed during the four months that she didn't go to the crèche (when we lived in Sidi Bou Said and Dubai). Then, she didn't like other kids and panicked when they approached her. Now, it's much better again, although she remains rather shy - but age probably has to do with that as well.

The lack of sleep is getting to her: she starts to whine and seems to have had enough of sitting here. We have finished our breakfast and decide to leave. While we've been sitting here, the temperature has risen: midday is approaching and even the slightest movement results in heavy sweating. Apparently, August will be even hotter than this.