Suddenly , I am walking at night in the street of the old Sidi Bou Said , a suburb of Tunis , Tunisia . It is my first time here — I grew up in Paris but I can feel the air , the background noises , the testimony left on each wall , the yellow dirt and old cobblestones ’ smell pumping through my veins with every beat of my heart . I don ’ t understand this experience , but I don ’ t need to . The distinctive white houses of Sidi Bou Said piled on top of each other in a harmonious chaos lead my footsteps and my memories . I am not sure what miracle carried Tunisia through my genes , for everything here seems to be so foreign and so familiar at the same time . I keep wandering the streets of Sidi Bou , as the locals call it . The night is gorgeous .
I reach the top of the hill to face the beautiful light blue door of the Café des Delices , decorated with arabesques that words cannot describe . Café des Delices — what a gorgeous name . I guess the best translation would be “ the bliss café ,” but in a plural form because here every traveler is to invent their own experience of intense and unique pleasure . I push the beautiful door and its intricate laces of carved wood . They tell a thousand stories to anyone who wants to listen . And there it is , the most gorgeous multi-level terrace , offering a staggering view of the Tunis Bay — all the poetry that the Mediterranean Sea could possibly offer . I am now sitting on the bench of the café overlooking the bay and wrapped in a blanket of stars , slowly sipping a peppermint tea with roasted pine nuts and a light touch of absinthe . I am enjoying every second of this moment . At this time of the night the precious orange blossoms , like ornaments in each street and garden of Tunisia , open up to reveal the fragrance they have been secreting away all day .
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