Exploring the cuisine

Here goes for my fifth and hopefully final blog on Tunisia. Not that I don't love writing or talking about my trip, but I'm not sure how long it will be interesting. I saved the best for last - the fact that you can't go to another country without exploring the cuisine. You definitely have to follow this rule when in Tunisia, where there is plenty of delicious (sometimes overwhelmingly spicy) food.

Of course the best way to eat in a country is to eat in a private home - which I didn't do. I would have loved to, but instead I ate in the hotel buffet-style restaurant most of the time. It wasn't fabulous, but still not bad for food that was cooked to serve 400 people. The chorba - a thick mixture of rice, green bell peppers, red chili peppers, other small vegetables, and of course lamb meat - and couscous with veggies and merguez sausage were my favorite of everything there. The other highlight of the Tunisian food was the harissa, a sauce of chili peppers. Now I love spicy food and all, but the harissa becomes the limit for me. If you eat it with rice it's excellent, but if you eat it straight with a spoon as one of the animaters did the last evening, it makes you stick your head in the pool and eat lots of bread. The other highlight of the Tunisian food was the dates. I didn't eat any apples or strawberries when I was there because I had to take advantage of the amazing, fresh dates.

The final topic has to be beverages, of course. Although Tunisia is a Muslim country, they still make some decent wine and beer. I drank a few Celtia blond beers, which was pretty good, when I went out to the dicotheques. But the best beverage by far that you can find in Tunisia is the mint tea. Hot and very sweet, it's what Tunisians traditionally drink with their meals or any other time of day for that matter.

That's all I really got. I think that's it on Tunisia, but you can always ask me more if you have questions. Later