Hotel

After 3 busy, but fun filled days, it is good to have nothing planned.
After breakfast, and a quick look around one of the shops in the hotel, it was back down to the beach. The clears watered sea is the calmest it has been since our arrival, and I haven't got my snorkel down with me. I shall get it after.we have lunch. Possibly due to the calmness there are some fish swimming close to shore, and there are a lot more little sailboats on the water, gently bobbing along on the gentle breeze.
When I was coming out of the water, after having a quick dip in the cold water, I stood, calf deep, and noticed quite an amount of small fish just inches from the land. After standing quite still for several moments, they, tentatively at first, then more bravely swam in and started eating, I am not sure if that is the right word, but we will settle for that, at my legs. Just like the sort of thing that you got in the malls and in stores in the U.K. Until recently, when it was banned through possible spread of infection.

I suppose at this point I should write about the hotel we are staying in. it is called the Riu Palace Oceana. it is part of a chain of holiday hotels situated in various parts of the world. I believe they are a Spanish owned company. Our hotel is made up of the ground floor, where the reception, bar and some suites are situated. All the rooms have balconies with large windows and doors that ope onto the balcony which has a table and two chairs situates thereon. On this level however the door opens out onto a patio which leads straight onto the gardens adjacent to the pool area.
Next up is the level we are situated on, the mezzanine levelAbove are just 3 more floors.
Our room is made up of one very large room which houses a emperor size bed, a sofa, two stools, a large drawered table with a big, but not huge plasma screen T.V. on it, a coffee table two bedside cabinets and a mirrored dressing table.
A small hall leading to a dressing room, and the bathroom with a shower cubicle and bath in there.
It appears there about 34 rooms on our level, and possibly more than that on the higher levels.
Also on the mezzanine is the dining room and La Pasha restaurant, although you cannot access them directly from the rooms, you either have to go down to the ground floor, and then up again at the opposite side of the hotel. Or, as we do, go up the flight of stairs beside our room and then along the third floor a short way, then down a few steps to get to the dining room.
Back on the ground floor can be found three stores, all,owned by the same man; a sliver jewellery store, which June has already utilised, and a couple of souvenir and clothing shops. These are neighbours of an Italian restaurant, the tea/ hubbly bubbly pipe room and the Spa and indoor pool area.
Every night in the lobby bar there is free low key (very low key) entertainment. Quite boring really.

The guests are quite a mixture, made up of elderly German or French couples. middle aged couples of those two nations plus British and strangely for the type of quiet place this is, quite a few young couples, some look in their teens, but certainly a good few are early twenties. Also Tunisians use this hotel for their vacations. Occasionally an overnight guest appears, presumably on business.
There is a particularly puzzling French couple, made up, of a young man in his twenties and an older chap perhaps in his forties. the elder chap is always dressed in the same scruffy, washed out grey canvas jeans and matching denim style shirt. They come in for dinner and the elder unshaven fellow only ever eats some pieces of melon, whilst the younger has a main course and melon.
They then often go down to the bar, where the junior of the pair is permanently on his pad, and his more senior companion just sits. Very rarely do two words pass between them. And on the rare occasion you see the during the day, it will be in the lobby doing the same thing. Occasionally the youngest will be seen heading to the wifi access area on his own.
Intriguing indeed.

The town of Hammamet is made up principally of three parts, Yasmine Hammamet , hub of the tourist facilities, where the bars, night clubs restaurants etc are. This is where we walked to the other day via the beach, and where we plan going on Friday night with Lewis and Norma.
Then there is the newer part where we are, which contain several hotels with their own beaches and a supermarket and what looks like holiday villas and apartments.
Further along the bay is situated Old Hammamet with its medina, market and marina. We are going into the market and spice museum Friday morning. Sadly, I doubt if we will make it to the historical medina area, although I would have thoroughly enjoyed to see it. But since this is first and foremost a relaxing holiday, and as I have already reiterated the very first time that we have had a holiday that
involved doing very little, I will not feel,overly guilty by not going there.
Today's blip is the young man who hands out the towels on the beach an sets up the loungers for you. Here he is staking up the cushions off of the loungers after the guests have finished with them. Of which ours will be next. His name is Kiemanes. And he, along with a lot of the locals, speak Arabic, ( obviously), French ( naturally) English and German.
He is assisted in ths ask, by an older man who has the words " securitie " written on his shirt. I believe is his job is to keep the pedlars at a discreet distance from the pampered guests.
I am now off to luxuriate in a hot bath sprinkled with rise water, read my book, have a cold bottle of Tunisian beer and put on my headphones and listen to some music before dinner.