Ibiza, Spain + Tunis, Tunisia
The time-space continuum of podcasting means we recorded an episode right before this one, so we are all caught up and don't have anything new to chat about. But we did fix our hair and put on makeup, so that we looked presentable enough for this youtube companion episode! Go check it out!
Alison is obsessed with oil blotting papers. Especially in these warmer months, when your makeup tends to melt. She has some for show and tell, as herself and Lulu test just how badly they needed to blot. Alison goes on to say that she gets weird stares while blotting off her face oil with these miraculous mattifying papers. When she’s grocery shopping, or at Starbucks, or...a disgusted Lulu exclaims "Eeewww". To her, blotting your face in public is like clipping your toenails, or flossing in public. Just, don't. Do it in the privacy of, somewhere. Just not where people can see you. Alison literally had no clue this was in any way a hygiene etiquette faux paus, which makes for witty banter. And also no one is surprised by this. Lulu likes these Clean & Clear blotting papers, because it’s a film not a paper, but whichever ones you go with just DON'T BLOT IN PUBLIC.
Okay then, on the subject of oil, but just maybe we don't want a connection between these two things. Okay then, on another note, Lulu is currently obsessed with her mom's chili oil. She makes it from dried chili's she's collected from different cultures. She made too much the last time she did a batch, so Lulu took some with her and now puts it on everything.
In true Alison fashion, she is wishing not for something, or time to make something, but for someone to make something for her. She has a large assortment of corks from her occasional imbibing of wine, okay not so occasional, like all of us, she has A LOT of corks from A LOT of wine. Can someone make something for her out of all of these corks? If you have any suggestions on what she should have someone make for her, share with us on our Facebook group page!
Lulu is wishing for pasta. Anyone else on Keto we'll understand how strong this wish is. She hasn't found a pasta that is low carb enough for Keto, but if you have found one, please tell her! She thinks about how much she misses penne alla vodka, and linguine with clams in a white wine sauce. But honestly she'd settle for some Kraft® Mac & Cheese at this point. Lulu has been Keto ever since Alison asked her to do it with her. Alison forgot a month or so in, but Lulu is still going strong. Wishing her strength and a keto-friendly pasta to come along soon!
Alison picked this place because every time she is researching a location for her 10K Day, her husband leans over and asks "have you been to Ibiza?". So 90 episodes in, and she is FINALLY picking his suggestion. So she's planning to bring him with her on her stay at the Hotel Mirador de Dalt Vila. What was once a 19th century town house is now a 5-star hotel that "uniquely combines splendour, unique surroundings, attention to detail and exclusivity". They stay in the Grand Suite, which boasts a private terrace with a jacuzzi, a pillow menu, and a hydrotherapy bathtub. Oh, and there is a second bathroom with a treadmill, stationary bike, sauna and shower. Lulu is deterred by the idea of a bike in the bathroom. Alison asks why that is? "Because people are weird. There are people that do things naked just to say they've done them naked. Like you." Lulu has a point there. Well in addition to asking for an extra deep-cleaning of her room prior to her arrival, Alison opts for some add-ons, such as a fresh bouquet of flowers and a chilled bottle of cava, and private chauffeur service for the day.
Now she and her hubby are off to breakfast at Cappuccino Grand Cafe where they get a full English breakfast, which is comprised of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms and beans. Since they are in Spain, perhaps the beans are Spanish beans? Just to be a little more authentic. Also they are trying to eat light, because after breakfast they head to Sa Caleta Beach, which while not an exclusively nude beach, you can find nudist communities towards the end of the sandy stretch. And in Spain it is common to see a mixture of suited, topless, or nude on most beaches. No matter your level of dress (or undress), the red sand makes for a lovely mask when mixed with the salty water. Alison is set up for a day of fun in the sun with the Pacific Breeze Easy Setup Beach Tent, a Cressi Palau Snorkel Set for her and one for her hubby, and they’re going to need a good bit of sunscreen if they are going to be in the buff. This SPF 50 by Obagi will do the trick!
Hopefully having avoided sunburn, they put on some clothes and head for lunch at Bambuddha, a self-described restaurant temple. Alison thinks its kinky, and somehow describes seemingly mildly sensual facts about the restaurant's philosophy and aesthetic in a way that sounds overtly sexual. For the enlightened traveler, this place will seem more like a restaurant exploring consciousness, but you take a few words off the website and put them in Alison's mouth, and it does sound a bit NSFW. The website does say when you walk in you may forget you are not in Ubud or Goa, so perhaps that can give you a clue to the MO of this spot. I mean, we are in Ibiza folks, they left the kids at home. We digress. Check it out yourself! Alison and her hubby "brave the wild scene" and do the tasting menu with wine pairing, then get ready to head back out into the sun!
Alison decides the vacation would not be complete without chartering a boat! She charters the Baia Aqua 54 for $4,000. Your rental comes with complimentary beer, wine, cava, soft drinks and water. They have paddle boards & snorkeling equipment on board, as well as spacious cabins and bathrooms for a little nap in the A/C or an escape from the sun. She ends the night with another tasting menu at hotel restaurant Es Mirador. All that food and all that sun, she's done for the day. No clubbing or taking pills in Ibiza for her.
Once Lulu has clued Alison in to Tunisia's location in Northern Africa, she begins her day. She is staying at this 4-bedroom traditional villa she found on Airbnb. The beautiful arches, white walls, and flowers remind her of Greek houses. It only cost $540 for two nights, so she's going to have to figure out how to reach 10K! Lulu's first stop is to Carthage, about which she tries to describe the history of to Alison, who nods along and says "yeah" emphatically while half-listening to the gesticulating, impassioned history-lover we call Lulu. She's excited to see all the ruins, and in particular the Antonine Baths which was a communal latrine, though archaeologists originally thought the semi-circle structure was a theater. Alison suggests that maybe it was both. Like a theater that had really long plays and no intermissions, hence the in-seat toilets. You can almost hear the ghosts of former theater goers whispering to each other “this show really stinks!”.
Dido was the Queen of Carthage, so while there Lulu is going to sing a song from the opera Dido and Aeneas. Over a FaceTime video call with her college friends. Backed by a string quartet. She’s lost everyone who isn’t a music nerd here but she’s super happy and its her day she can do what she wants.
Lulu heads to Restaurant El-Walima, which according to TripAdvisor is a “fancy Tunisian restaurant”. However it has little to no online presence, so Lulu will have to see what exactly that means for herself. She's ordering everything off the menu, because she doesn't know anything about Tunisian food, and that's the best way to find things you like, and things you do not. She is very excited about this next bit. Well, about telling you about it anyways. Many of the Star Wars films have scenes that were filmed in Tunisia. A lot of scenes in many of the movies, Lulu guesses, as you can take a six day tour with the sole purpose of seeing Star Wars filming locations. Here's the thing though. She likes Star Wars, she doesn't love Star Wars. So she found a Star Wars day trip through Viator. A tour for the I-like-Star-Wars-but-want-to-see-other-things people like her. Still a substantial tour, you get to see the Dune Sea, the Krayt Dragon Ridge and the location of the igloo of Lars Family Homestead exterior on the Chott El Jerid. You also go to a location used in Attack of the Clones and the final shot of Revenge of the Sith. Always one to be on-theme, Lulu is prepared for her excursion with a BB-8 costume and an iPhone case mod by Jacob McAlister.
Lulu wanted to do some shopping, and decided to go for some carpets from Berberlin. She's going to have an apartment soon, so she buys the Vintage Läufer “Amira” rug - a flatware Kilim, handwoven using ancient traditional Berber techniques! She also buys a new rug, the black and white Beniourain “Baha” rug made from 100% sheep’s wool. Alison is shocked by the $3,000 Lulu spent on rugs, to which Lulu replies to - or rather, tries to educate - Alison, “it’s like buying art.” And some beautiful art did she get in these rugs!
Lulu's next activity is to go to a hammam. Not as much for relaxation, a traditional hammam is more about cleansing. After reading this tripsavvy.com article about hammams in Tunisia, Lulu follows their "what to bring to a hammam" list and bought the following items per recommendations: a Louis Vuitton beach towel, a dual-sided lavender infused bath mitt, #Team10K favorite Pre de Provence soap in mint leaf scent, a portable folding camping stool, and rubber slides by Isabel Marant. Oh and she gets bottled water from an ancient aquifer deep under Chuck Norris’s ranch. It can get noisy in the hammam, and either you embrace the culture and listen to all the gossip in a language you don't understand and the children playing…or…you buy Underwater Audio waterpoofed iPod shuffle and earphone bundle and chill out to some spa music. Not hard to guess that Lulu does the latter. Now that she is exfoliated and cleansed, she decides to "treat yo self" and use face serum as a post-scrub moisturizer. Not just any face serum, she is getting two bottles of La Mer The Regenerating Serum to use generously all over her body. This is luxury, folks.
Now that she is feeling like a million bucks, or 10,000 bucks at least, she heads out for a dinner at fine dining establishment Dar El Jeld. TripAdvisor gave it four dollar signs, but a reviewr said for a meal with wine she spent $30. So Lulu is going to walk in with double that and assumes that means she’ll get really good wine. What a day!
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