Part 1 - Tunisia Holiday

We arrived at the airport in good time, or so we thought, only to find a queue that seemed to go on forever to the Tunisair counter. Eventually, we booked our things through and went to wait in the departure lounge.

We found the flight as comfortable as it could be. The airlines provided us with a meal and drinks but we did find the hostesses to be very surly and generally unhelpful. The flight took almost three hours and when we arrived at 10.20pm in Monastir, it was 29 degrees. The Neckerman ladies were waiting for all the newcomers and we were told to go to bus no. 136. There must have been 50 buses waiting to take people to their various destinations. We were amazed at how many flights were coming and going!!

We arrived at our hotel “Sahara Beach” at about 11.00pm. We had to fill out forms etc. and were then ushered into a little room where we were all photographed. We were each given identity cards which were in fact, our “all inclusive” tickets. We asked about supper and were told that we could possibly find supper in the Pizzeria which was still open. The boys couldn’t believe their luck on hearing the Pizza word. Unfortunately, for them, they were not making pizzas but had some delicious Roast Beef, potatoes and green beans left over from the actual dining room.
After supper we took a look around and found out how our I.D. cards allowed us to order drinks etc. We could go to any bar area, hand in our cards and order whatever we liked. Obviously there was limited hard tack, but beers and cold drinks were readily available.

There were three blocks to our hotel. The one we stayed in was apparently more for German speaking people. Another block was mainly for the British tourists and then the third was a mixture of Italian, Spanish etc. The hotel had a total of 1 046 rooms.
The two blocks were linked with passage ways which were lined with shops, coffee shops, bars etc. The hotel was like a village all on its own and there were people coming and going all the time.
The hotel had an indoor pool, as well as 3 outdoor ones. There was a hairdressing salon, massage parlour and discotheque. There was an entertainment/games room with all the tv games and pool tables available at a price of course. There was also a little animal park or zoo on the premises but there was an entrance fee for this however. The sports centre had tennis courts, soccer fields, archery, basketball courts and minigolf. One could book a game in advance and we were entitled to an hour every day (for free) of whichever game we wanted to play.

They also had an Animation team who supplied all the entertainment. Around the main pool, people were entertained by this young energetic team. There was always some music playing, either water aerobics, waterpolo or some sort of fun happening at the pool. There were also a few table tennis tables out next to the pool. The animation team would also form groups of people and would head off down to the beach. Here they played Boccia, beach soccer and volleyball.
The animation team also put a presentation on every evening. They would involve the kids in the earlier part of the evening and the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. There was a stage area and seating for close to 1000 people. We watched part of the Michael Jackson show that they put on, on the Saturday evening. It was very well done.

Scattered around the pool area and on the beach were Café/Restaurant/Bars which we could go and help ourselves to whatever was available. The beach one was great because they had a sprinkler system in the beams of the roof which sprayed off a fine mist of water as you sat and ate your meal. What a clever way of cooling you off!!!

Second Week of Summer Holidays

There were only two more sleeps left before we flew to Tunisia and this was really exciting. On the Monday, I was washing and ironing last minutes things we wanted to take along with us and then I tried to pack as much of our stuff as I could.

On Tuesday morning, Lara and I went into town and met up with Heidi and Marcelle. We went to the ice cream parlour for milkshakes. Just as we sat down outside, it started to rain very lightly. So we moved indoors and all had a milkshake and then later a cappuchino. We went to Heidi's where I picked up snorkels and goggles from her. Wished Heidi well, as she was due to fly to Zimbabwe on Wednesday evening.

Later in the afternoon, Gerard phoned and said that we were taking some Bell guys out for dinner. We went off to the Greek restaurant with Seni, Andre and Peter. It was such a lovely evening that we were able to sit outdoors.

Roxy, Ryan, Marcelle and Heinz were also all there with the Dutton's, who had arrived that morning from S.A. Seems as though all the S.A.'s had the same idea about food that night!!!

Gerard had Wednesday off work which was great. We were able to sort things out leisurely before we left for the airport.

I am attaching a photo of our family which was taken by Cindy on the Saturday morning. Cindy has been with Bell for years and she writes articles for the company magazines and is their photographer.

First Week of School Holidays

The first week of the school holidays has come and gone. The kids did very little due to the miserable weather. Lara still went to kindergarten as the kindergarten only closes from the 16th July to 30th July.
On Tuesday night, we met Larissa and Cindy at the Greek restaurant for dinner. We had a nice evening together.
On Wednesday I met up with the other S.A. ladies for tea at Heidi’s house. We spent the morning chatting away as we usually do.
On Thursday, I took the boys into town with me. Our first stop was the bank, where Steven wanted to collect his birthday present. The banks are very children friendly and with the kids having their own accounts, they get a birthday card every year and a small gift. Then we parked in the town centre and went to the Vodacom shop to meet Gerard. My cell fone contract had to be renewed and I had been offered a new fone. So we sorted that out and I am now the owner of a Blackberry fone. After that, we went off to our little Doner Kebab shop where we had a lovely Doner each for lunch. These are Shwarma’s in S.A. They are very popular here in Germany and being so tasty, are fast becoming the number one fast food.
On Friday evening, Bell had their Somerfest. The weather had been miserable all day, only to start clearing that evening. The food was excellent, the company was good, so all in all it turned out to be a really lovely evening.
We had arranged for Larissa and Cindy to join us for a breakfast on Saturday morning and then we could all watch the rugby together. Well what can I say!!! The breakfast was good, the rugby …… terrible!!!
On Sunday morning Gerard went off to play golf with Heinz. It was a very hot day and Gerard arrived home absolutely exhausted.
He had a shower and a snooze before getting up and getting the braai ready. We had a lovely braai in the afternoon with our friends and ended off our week well.

Photo's of Steven's Birthday

Some of our latest news.

After Gerard’s mom left us, the house just seemed so empty. To top it off, Gerard left the next day (Sunday) for Spain.

I got together with Roxy and Marcelle on Tuesday for tea at Roxy’s house. Roxy treated us to her delicious scones.

On Thursday, I picked Heidi up and the two of us went off to Fulda for the morning. It was so nice to walk through the shops and look for things without kids moaning and groaning as to how boring it was. We had a nice cup of coffee and some German cake before making our way back to Alsfeld.

The schools were breaking up on Friday 6th, so that whole week was spent winding down with very little homework. Robert took a little gift for his teacher on Friday, as he had spent the last 3 years with her. He said that the whole class was very tearful at the final farewell. He was quite tearful at home just telling me about it all. I just can’t believe that my little boy goes into “high school” in September.

It was also report day of course. Robert and Steven had very average reports and are both going onto the next year - thankfully.

Friday being full of excitement for the kids was even more exciting for Stevie as it was his ninth birthday. I had planned for his birthday to be at Halligalli and I was quite pleased, as the weather had not improved at all. He had a total of 12 children at his party including himself. We had bought him the Bayern Munchen soccer outfit amongst other smaller things, and my S.A. friends clubbed together and bought him some Adidas soccer boots, goalie gloves and socks that all matched his new outfit.
Boy, was he chuffed with all of this!! I will post some photos of his party so that you can see his cake etc.
The last two years, Zelda had been here and helped me out with Steven’s party but this year, I had to go it alone. I was at the point of muttering under my breath “never again” when Heidi walked in. How relieved I was to see her.
Ryan and Roxy arrived a bit later and they were pleasantly surprised to see how many activities Halligalli has to offer. Gerard arrived and both he and Ryan played soccer with the boys. Oh what fun they had.

On Saturday, we had a nice lazy start to our day. I was busy with breakfast, when Gerard walked in and said that Clive (Gerard’s boss from S.A.) and Seni (a colleague from S.A.) would be here soon!!! He had omitted to tell me that the rugby game was starting at 12.00. Well was I caught unawares. Anyway, the two of them decided to go and do shopping in Giesen afterall. Gerard and I watched the rugby and were disappointed that S.A. lost. Clive and Seni returned in the afternoon with all their shopping.

On Sunday, the family had been invited to Gary Bell’s birthday lunch and Cindy’s introduction to Germany. It was great to get out, the weather was quite good and a good time was had by all.
We all left at about 3.30pm as Gary was flying back to S.A. a little later that evening. Well, Gerard received an SMS telling us that the party was continuing at their house in Romrod. Gary had postponed his flight until the following night.
It was a great evening where we met Gary and Larissa’s neighbours.

Photos taken during the month of June

June has come and gone!!!

Hello everyone. The whole month of June has come and gone in a flash. As I said previously, we had Gerard’s mom arrive on the 1 June and she spent a month with us this time. After her trip out here last year, we felt that she can still cope with the flight from S.A. When she comes to Europe, she usually visits us and then goes on to her family in Austria or Switzerland. After a real problematic time with her flight back to S.A. last year, we decided that the Austrian family and anyone else, who wanted to see her, could come to us for a change.
So our first week was spent just relaxing at home. On the 8th of June the Austrian family arrived. Peter and Traute stayed until the Tuesday afternoon and left Tante Hilde here with us. They were attending a business conference in Munich. On Friday 15th I drove Hilde through to Fulda station. She caught the ICE train down to Munich where she met up with Peter and Traute again.
On the 23rd of July, Manfred and Lisabet arrived from Switzerland. They caught the ICE train from Thun through to Fulda and then caught the connecting train through to Alsfeld. They got to spend one night with us and then we took them through to Fulda the next day to go all the way back.
Besides school activities, a few braais with friends and getting together for teas etc. we did not actually take Mom around for much sightseeing at all. She seemed to enjoy her stay here very much, as she said it was a nice relaxing visit for her. She involved herself with the kids and their homework which was great and helped me around the house and garden..
She left on Saturday 30th July and we are all feeling quite lost without her.
I will be writing a few more detailed posts with some photos about her stay here.
Now there will be no excuse for my emailing you all again and getting back on track with correspondence.