We had a great quick trip to Monastir the weekend of April 22! The booking was with Iberostar Kuniat Palace, and we decided to do a half-board, which included dinner and breakfast. The drive from Tunis was 2 hours, and we decided to do some sightseeing first downtown, including the Ribat, and driving to the Port area. We also had lunch on the way to the resort at Costa Cafe, and the view of the Gulf of Hammamet was spectacular. Our check-in wasn’t until 2 PM, so we relaxed for an hour before going to our room with a sea view. I took a short nap and then hung out in the lobby for an hour, drinking wine and playing Pokemon with Aiden. Dinner was good, and we even saw a lovely sunset. After dinner, we went to the room and slept until around 9:30 (we are old!). Breakfast was great, and we then went to the Mauselome, where the first president of Tunisia was buried (Bourghabi). I walked around the medina and then did a nice walk on a cliff to get a more excellent sea view! Drove straight back to Tunis and arrived around 2:30! Very memorable, and I like Monastir more than Sousse since it’s less crowded and the water is emerald and turquoise!

Upon extending our assignment in Tunis to August 2024, we were mandated to take home leave back in the States for at least one month. We decided to take 21 days and left Friday, July 15 for Virginia. An interesting start to the journey when in Paris, our flight ultimately got canceled due to mechanical issues. We ended up in a hotel that evening and took a subsequent flight the next day. In retrospect, I should’ve taken the incentive of 600 Euros to volunteer instead of waiting and hoping the flight would depart the same day. We still have a claim with AirHelp to receive some compensation for our troubles.

The first week of home leave was devoted to doctor and dentist appointments and fortunately, Aiden didn’t need tonsil removal surgery which freed up our plans. We decided to take two trips to the South which were Williamsburg and Charleston and spend 10 days total touring through those areas and seeing the sites. We made some new experiences including zip lining, Escape Room, and water slides. I tried out Planet Fitness and was impressed with the facilities and the price.

The other big news is purchasing another investment property in Manassas on the same street as our other property on Ratcliffe Trl. We closed in record time after submitting multiple documents and working with various stakeholders including Redfin agent, owner, and closing company. We closed on August 10 after sending another wire and secured a tenant for move-in August 19. The deposit was received on August 12 (my birthday) and Pop coordinated the cleaning of the condo on August 15. My birthday was great with cake and Thai food during lunch. Then we went to Barnes and Nobles to buy some books for all of us.

The next day we departed back to Tunis and felt good accomplishing a lot of our goals and excited about managing four properties and might add a 5th in a year or so or even look at buying an apartment building!

We had a nice family trip to Williamsburg from June 21 to June 24, 2022. Left on Thursday and that evening, we toured Yorktown and Aiden ate sushi. It started pouring shortly thereafter and we drove back on the famous Colonial Parkway in a torrential thunderstorm. Dinner was at a Mexican restaurant called Azteca and then we went back to the hotel (Hampton Inn). The next day was Water Country USA and we had a great time on the water slides and the wave pool. Our favorite ride was the Hubba, Hubba highway where the current takes you all over the place. Aiden rode some tube rides with us and then we left around 4. After the park, we went to play putt-putt and then dinner at a pizza place which was quite good. The next day, we decided to tour Colonial Williamsburg and then went Zip lining for the first time. Fun and scary at times. Aiden did the whole thing without falling. After the zip line, we went to an Escape room which was awesome, especially after the first clue. Dinner was at an Indian restaurant which was okay but not great. We checked out the next day after 11 and headed to Premium outlets before heading home arriving around 4. After resting, we went to Arti-Suraj for sushi which was excellent, and then came back home around 10. All in all, a great 5 days with tons of activities and memories!

We decided to travel to Paris in late June 2022 for 4 days. Our friends, Henda and Olivier, are there and they offered for us to stay at their home. We flew on a Saturday and Oliver picked us up at the airport. Their house is about 45 minutes away but with traffic, it took almost two hours to get there. Henda, Sona, and I went to the mall and Sona shopped for her while I just walked around. On the way back, we got McDonald’s for Adam and Aiden and relaxed at home. The next day we did sightseeing which included Versailles and Paris. The highlights were Montmarte, lunch, Eiffel Tower, and Champs Elysee! The following day we went to an amusement park (Parc Asterix) and Aiden rode his first roller coaster and we did many water rides as well. It was a nice experience and we spent close to 5 hours there followed by a dinner stop in Chantilly. After dinner, we went home and then relaxed at home. They live right next to a golf course so it was cool walking around there as well. On our final day, Sona bought fruits and cheese while I relaxed at home. Olivier drove us to the airport around 2 and we just made our flight back to Tunis. A memorable trip with tons of pictures and Aiden seemed to enjoy it!

I really enjoyed this short three-day vacation in Port El Kantaoui. The town is about 90 minutes from Tunis and we booked an all-inclusive hotel called Iberostar Selection Diar El Andalous. We left Saturday morning and reached there around Noon. Our room was already ready and we proceeded to check in and then went straight to lunch which offered a fantastic view and decent food. Afterward, I was in the pool with Aiden most of the afternoon and then we had drinks before dinner time. We were supposed to see a dance show at 9:30 but fell asleep instead. The next day, I took Aiden to Acqua Palace where we had lots of fun riding slides and going in the wave pool. We spent three hours there and then went back to the hotel. Dinner was around 7 and then we played games like Chess and Clue. On our final day, we found the mini-golf place and the Star Camp where the entertainer played with Aiden several games including bowling, putt-putt, memory, and darts! I forgot I lost in the first round of the ping-pong tournament! Before we went home, we stopped by Hard Rock Cafe and bought souvenirs and ate burgers! A great trip where we made lots of memories!

On Sunday, May 22, we decided to do our first hike in Tunisia. Sona found out about a place 30 minutes from here: a coastal town called Hammen-Lif. All of us started hiking up the mountain, and Aiden was also fine, walking for around an hour. The views of the sea were spectacular; we even found a large tortoise that we took home and is now living in our backyard. For lunch, we went to La Marsa and found an Italian restaurant (La Bruschetta) where we had pizza and pasta. The meal was excellent, and finally, we went to Paul for coffee and pastries. Hot day but it was a new experience, and we plan on going back in the wintertime for longer hiking.

In April 2022, we all went to Texas for a short week-long vacation to Austin and Houston. Austin was the first stop and we had a long journey arriving there. First, a two-hour flight from Tunis to Frankfurt and then a 9-hour flight from Frankfurt to Houston. Arriving in Houston at 4 PM, we then had to navigate a rental car shuttle to pick up our car and then proceeded to drive 3 hours to Austin all while jetlagged and tired. I drank about 4 cups of coffee to stay awake but we did make it. For the next three days, we ate a lot of Taco Bell, saw a couple of parks, and took Aiden to the children’s museum. In addition, we saw one of the main attractions, which were bats who fly daily at Sunset from underneath a bridge to another area of the city. We found a good burger place and enjoyed the American breakfast at Hyatt Place. It was great to be back in America! Houston was next which was the wedding destination and it turned out well seeing our family and being there in person for Vishal’s wedding. Ajay and his family were there along with Mom-Pop, Arti-Suraj, and Sapna. A great time filled with nice memories! We’ll return in July for one month of home leave which should be awesome as well!

In early February 2022, Sona and I decided to go to Dubai to celebrate our 20 year anniversary. We had a great time exploring the sites and shopping in all the malls. A bonus treat was Expo 2020 where we took the Dubai metro and spend almost an entire day seeing all the pavilions showcasing their culture and environmental initiatives. Of course, we did Burj Khalifa and saw the Dubai fountain at night. We went to Dubai Marina and were able to find nice diamond earrings for Sona. Anniversary dinner was at a tasty Japanese restaurant in the Oberoi hotel where we were staying. I also had my fair share of Starbucks coffee and other American brand items. Thought it went well and I planned to the best of my abilities. Happy Anniversary to us!!

We decided on Thanksgiving weekend to head out to Tabarka with Mom-Dad and stay at La Cigale for three nights. We left on Thursday morning and arrived at the hotel around Noon. The check-in was amazing since we booked a villa. The receptionist took us straight into the VIP lounge and we had drinks and finger foods while waiting for the room to be ready. Quite relaxing and we waited half hour or so before they took us in a club car to our room. The room was nice with three bedrooms and a sea view on the outdoor terrace. We hung out there for about an hour and then had a late lunch at 3 PM with Oliver and his family. Lunch was burgers, chicken cutlet, and pizza. Then Pop, Aiden, and I went with Oliver to the driving range while Sona and Mom got massages. Afterward, we went back to the VIP lounge for happy hour and just stayed there until 8:15 before heading back to the room. I ordered room service for Aiden which was a club sandwich and dessert and we took it easy until going to bed at 10 PM.

The next day, after breakfast, we went sightseeing in Tabarka and saw the Tabarka Fort, the projections sticking out of the water, and walked around downtown Tabarka checking out the boats and having lunch at a local place. The weather was fantastic and Aiden rode an electric bike and did a lot of walking with us around the city. We got back around 3 and then went to the indoor heated pool to swim for an hour. Finished around 5, got ready, and then went to the VIP room for drinks. We left around 7:20 to make our dinner reservation at La Corail which was pasta and other appetizers. Went back to the room and slept around 10 again.

Since we saw everything, we decided to check out on November 27 and after a nice breakfast, went straight to Cape Angela. The drive out there was adventurous and we took several wrong turns but finally made it around 3 PM. Very windy but we captured the moment and the sign saying this is the northernmost point in Africa. After half hour, we headed back to Tunis and arrived around 4:30. A great trip with many awesome memories and Mom-Dad also had fun!

The first leg of our Fall Break 2021 trip in Tunisia was Kairouan. We decided this would be just a pass-through on the way to our first overnight destination in Mahdia. On the way, we went through all types of towns barbequing sheep, selling tires, and other unique items. We arrived in Kairouan and found a decent parking spot next to the main attraction — the Grand Mosque! We toured the mosque for an hour and took some pictures before going onwards to Mahdia. We also went through the old Medina of Kairouan but mainly everything was closed. It’s kind of a maze inside so we had to ask a local how to exit and fortunately she guided us out back to our car. Overall, it was a worthwhile stop but probably won’t be going back.