Up a flight of steps is the picturesque and famous Cafe des Nattes, with the stunning view of Sidi Bou Said and the magnificent Mediterranean Sea in the background.
While enjoying my mint tea with nuts served burning hot, I soaked up the atmosphere of my surroundings. It’s quite impossible not to fall in love with the place.
Hanging on its wall are pictures of it’s famous patrons such as Richard Nixon the controversial U.S. president and Simone de Beauvoir, the famous French writer and feminist.
I remember Beauvoir's book, 'The Second Sex' she famously wrote, 'One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman'. The book contains two volumes, one on “Facts and Myths” that de Beauvoir attempts to deconstruct, and the second on “Lived Experience,” in which she explains her own take on how women actually experience sexism day to day.
It was such an enchanting afternoon as I spent more time exploring the labyrinth of the winding streets and walking up and down. The view from every corner of this sweet little village is absolutely stunning with flowers draped from almost every wall and doorway. The artifice is no less charming and the little cobbled streets leads to places that is truly original and authentic.
I encountered various souvenir shops ,selling ceramic plates, targines, pottery.
I saw a few old street vendors with raffia trays weaved in and peddling the miniature jasmine bouquets bounded with twine, seemingly lost in time.
I wondered through the wooden gates opening onto an Andalusian-style courtyards.
Indeed the town is full of characters. The cafes where filled with men smoking shishas, the traditional shared waterpipe.
As the evening falls, the village was returned to its residents and for me, it’s time to tour the Medina. Soon I pass through the Bab el Bahr or the Sea Gate also known as 'The French Gate', since it’s French settlers considered it to be a recollection of the Triumph Arch in Paris.
I walked along Avenue Bourguiba and casually stroll by the Mosque of Youssef Dey and had dinner at a restaurant, I had forgotten it’s name..and they played a song truly fitting for the night by Ella Fitzgerald’s
'A Night In Tunisia'
The cares of the day seem to vanish..
The ending of day brings release ..
Each wonderful night in Tunisia..
Where the nights are filled with peace...
Words fail to tell a tale..
Too exotic to be told..
Each night’s a deeper night..
In a world, ages old..
Good night my steemit friends :)
Don
#travellingartist