Toulouse

This past weekend, my friend Samantha and I went to Toulouse.  The rest of the group went to Nice for the weekend.  I have already visited Nice, so I decided to see somewhere new! We took a train from Montpellier to Narbonne, and then from Narbonne to Toulouse.  It was not hard, and was only two hours. 

 We took our chances by booking our hotel last minute-the night before. It was in a great location, clean, and cheap! After the concierge gave us a map of the city, we set out to explore! 

Toulouse is definitely bigger than Montpellier, with a very different style of architecture. In France, Toulouse is known as ‘The Pink City’, since most of the buildings have a pink hue. 

During the school year, Toulouse is largely populated with students.  We walked throughout the city, with no need for taxis or metros.  The streets were narrow and windy, so we found ourselves lost multiple times. 

Yet, we were never frustrated because they were very scenic detours.

We started out using the ‘Let’s Go Europe’ travel book, for suggestions on sights and restaurants to visit.  It provided us with the location of historic sights, restaurants and cafes.   

         
      Below is a picture inside The Capital building; it is always fully booked for weddings, but we got to sneak in before it closed. I decided this would be the perfect place for my wedding one day!

We met up with my family friend, Eliot.  Eliot is from Toulouse, and has extended family in The US. He took us to a few cafes, which he said were better than the ones in ‘Let’s Go Europe’. So, we got the local scoop on Toulouse!  He wanted to know our opinion on the city. We all agreed that French cities couldn’t be compared to US cities. They are just too different.  We passed people carrying open beer bottles and wine glasses. Eliot told us that technically it is not allowed, but he then asked us when the last time we saw a policeman.  We couldn’t remember.  We were having this conversation walking in the middle of the street, rather than the sidewalk, as was everyone else. It’s so laissez-faire!

He warned us that on Sunday, like many places in France, all shops would be closed.   Therefore, he gave us suggestions for Sunday.  We walked to the market and bought cheese, paté, fruit, salami, and wine.

 

We then walked to the royal gardens, and had a picnic.   The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, and everyone around us was doing the same! We ended up playing catch with a French child.

            As our weekend came to a close, we were equally happy we decided on this last minute trip. Our feet may still be swollen from walking, but it was worth it! 

Au revoir!