La Tournelle

Billie Stormzy settles on my lap while his mum and Rihanna Gaga, his big sister, go to the toilet. We’ve sat down at the terraces of La Tournelle, overlooking the familiar fountain in the pond around which the terraces are spread. Nothing has changed here, except that there is now a sound system added to the rocky island in the middle of the pond from which the fountain is sprouting forth, and loud music is entertaining the handful of guests who are here at the moment. After a few moments, Billie Stormzy jumps from my lap, announcing he wants to walk to the red bridge crossing an arm of the pond that extends beyond the main body of water, connecting two parts of the terraces of La Tournelle. He waves at me while he walks to the pond, crosses it, then walks back announcing he’s returning. Then, he repeats this several times.

As before, La Tournelle, isn’t particularly pretty, but it is still nice because of its location next to the water, with geese and ducks, with the sound of the fountain in the background. Although, the latter is mostly drowned out by the songs of George Wassouf, the Syrian singer who sounds like his throat is made of sandpaper – he’s hugely popular all over the Arabic world, although I’ve never really understood why.

In any case, I remember well how I often went here with Rihanna Gaga, as she always loved to go and see the ducks. Even during Ramadan, when the place was closed, we’d spend hours here, with her throwing the tiny stones that cover the terraces into the water, and the ducks being disappointed they were only stones. We’ve walked here from Sidi Bou Said, where we’re staying. We first stopped at the playground, which had actually improved from six years ago, when most of the structures were broken, and Billie Stormzy played with his big sister, climbing a large wooden structure and sliding down the two slides protruding from it. Now we’re here, for the traditional pancake that we always ate here.

When my partner and Rihanna Gaga have returned, we order. Everybody takes pancake with chocolate, except me, as I feel more for a Tuna-cheese pancake. My partner and me also take a Turkish coffee, which is the second of the day because we had one earlier at Café des Nattes, the pretty spot overlooking Sidi Bou Said and, beyond that, the rest of greater Tunis. The entire morning was very relaxed. Our hotel is in an old mansion, with the rooms all facing a courtyard, where breakfast is served in the morning. It's a lovely, quiet spot, with the strong smell of Yasmin from the bushes lining the walls of the courtyard adding to the idyllic setting. Rihanna Gaga is delighted by all the cats around here. We got two cats ourselves a few months back, two kittens from the same litter, and she is now decidedly a cat person. Even Billie Stormzy, who mostly keeps his distance from the cats, is very comfortable around cats, to the point where I saw him trying to pick up a cat that entered our hotel room to throw him out – a comical sight as he is still too small to actualy be able to pick up a cat.

The food is brought. Billie Stormzy announces he doesn’t like the pancake, because he wants one with powdered sugar and syrup, not chocolate. I find this amusing, as this was exactly the other way around for his sister, who was very annoyed for years after we returned to the Netherlands that it was impossible to get a chocolate pancake anywhere. And anyway, Billie Stormzy still finishes his chocolate pancake. I’m also enjoying my tuna-cheese pancake, which is of course strengthened with harissa, the Tunisian red hot sauce.

When we’re all finished eating, it’s time to go. We will walk on to La Marsa, first visiting Rihanna Gaga’s old daycare (where we get a warm welcome by the owner, who remembers Rihanna Gaga very well, and where Rihanna Gaga again has a number of memories coming back to her), and then on to the beach for a swim.

Also on Breakfast at the Beach: Jump back in time to when I visited this place with Rihanna Gaga in 2015