Rome Tour Guides Flee South of the Border

Some When in Rome Tour guides recently took advantage of a last minute deal and spent one week on the beach in Monastir, Tunisia. In off season (departing from Italy any time besides August), an all inclusive package with flights, 4 star hotel and all meals included can be found for as little as 300 Euro. We found this to be an offer too good to pass up, and decided to check it out.

While Rome already begins cooling down by mid September, summer in North Africa is still in full swing.  Our flight left Fiumicino airport at 10:00 on a chilly September morning, and by 11:30 we were on the ground in Tunisia. We were escorted by bus to our hotel, which was about a 15 minute ride from the airport (while Eros Ramazotti serenaded us through the bus speakers).  The Hotel Globalia El Habib was excellent. It has a huge swimming pool that looks right out over the sea, and a separate kiddie pool for the little ones to play in. WI-FI access was free in the hotel common areas, which was great. Meals were all buffet style, and usually there was something to please everyone’s tastes. Tunisian food is pretty spicy overall. They even served pasta and pizza, although coming from Rome we will refrain from passing judgment on the Tunisian variation!

The week came to a close all too soon for us tanned and rejuvenated Rome tour guides, soon we would be back to the daily grind of operating tours of Rome and the Vatican. Although we hadn’t seen a drop of rain all week, a farewell lightning storm nearly prevented us from making it to the airport alive!  Our taxi was at least 20 years old, and the window defog was broken. The driver couldn’t see a thing through the down pouring rain, yes thought it would be okay to talk on his cell phone AND smoke a cigarette while driving! Despite the near death experience, in a few hours we were back at good old Fiumicino and Rome sweet home!

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When In Rome tours is a small company dedicated to providing innovative and thought-provoking Vatican Tours and Rome Tours for all audiences. Native-level English speaking guides of Rome and Italy help the tourist to discern between documented history and legend,  bringing the Eternal City to life like no other tour provider.

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