To Toulouse

May 4, 2024 to May 6, 2024

Starting the journey

When the air travel to Europe goes as planned there is not much to say except that it is long, somewhat uncomfortable, but entirely necessary. We do not make it easy on ourselves by travelling in economy and picking a route that requires connections in two Canadian airports before being exported to Europe. We grabbed a Dirty Apron sandwich as we left Vancouver, a turkey wrap in Calgary and fresh pretzels in Montreal to ensure we maintained our blood sugar levels on route. All our connections were smooth and on time. We arrived in Toulouse at 08:30 Sunday morning on a warm, partly sunny, blustery day.

What is in a cord? Less than an hour into the tour and our first missing piece. Pat brought her ¨C to C¨ phone cord but it will not work with the ¨C¨ to standard USB charger... Oops.

Problem solved with the swipe of a credit card.

As painful as the air travel can be, Scott likes flying and airports and he especially likes the Toulouse–Blagnac Airport. The officer at the passport control had not a single question for us about what we are doing, bringing, or how long, only ¨enjoy your stay¨. In ten seconds we were free to go anywhere in most of Europe.

Our four checked bags also arrived as planned and were, in fact, some of the first baggage on the belt in the small arrivals area. We piled the bags on cart and left the area to be greeted by many people waiting patiently behind the blackout security doors. We felt that we were surely a disappointment to them as we made our way out of the airport and to the transit area. We knew our way around having travelled here last fall.

Efficient electric buses provide a quick link from the Toulouse–Blagnac Airport

Toulouse has a frequent electric bus system that will whisk you from the airport to downtown in 15 minutes for ten euros each. The bus was already quite full as we loaded our bikes and bags. We got off at the Gare de Toulouse-Matabiau Train Station, the last of the four short stops. Passing through town we noticed that the weekly Sunday market was being set up along a nearby street and our love for the way Europeans can buy their food was instantly rekindled.

Our hotel in Toulouse for four nights was within a short walking distance of the bus stop. But being much too early for check in, we left our bags in the hotel storage area. We were amazed that it was now only 10 am and our flight had touched down barely 90 minutes ago. We had the whole day to enjoy!

We will not bore you with the details, but we went to the Sunday pop-up market as well as the Victor Hugo Market, the largest covered market in the city. Our lunch spot was on the terrace at a popular restaurant beside a small but busy park. We were certain that there must be a sport game on today as there were many people sporting team logo wear. As we enjoyed our salad and omelets, we schemed how easily we could live here part time. It is such a wonderful place to be.

A butcher shop in the Victor Hugo market. One of the specialty cuts of beef was selling for 125 euros per kilo! Note the flag on the left of the Toulouse rugby team. It is game day and the people of Toulouse are big rugby fans.

The bakery in the market also flying the team colours.

The busy outdoor market primarily sells vegetables from France Spain, Portugal, Israel and Africa.

Bananas are not really inexpensive here. That price is about $2.65 per kilo Canadian.

The white beans make the base for the Cassoulet dish which is a specialty of the area.

Twenty four hours. That is exactly how long we lasted since our alarm went off at 5am in Vancouver. Returning to the hotel, our room was ready and we crashed. Upon gaining consciousness, we explored more of the city that was now clearly elated that the home team had won the rugby game and secured a place in the final! Many bars spilled out into the streets with patrons in full song and dance.

We wandered through Toulouse`s famous Le Capitole district down toward the Garonne river. Dinner was a pizza on the terrace at Marcello's. It was a blustery evening but eating outside was still possible at 9pm. As soon as we finished the last pieces of pizza, the skies opened! We took shelter in the restaurant for a short while and seeing that it was not letting up we decided to brave the two kilometres back home. Without umbrellas we arrived completely soaked to the skin but completely happy to be here.

Reason to celebrate as Toulouse held off the Leinster Harlequins to win 38-26 in the Champions Cup semi-final. They are now in the finals.

It was raining really hard on our way home.

Hiding undercover admiring the Capitole building lights reflected in the rain water.

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Scott AndersonToulouse sounds like such an attractive city. Somehow we’ve never made it here.
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5 months ago

ann and steve maher-wearyHi Pat and Scott
So excited for you that you are back in Europe and in a city we love too, Toulouse. Yes we have had thoughts as well to it being a city we could spend some months in. Enjoy your trip, we will be following along!
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5 months ago

David MathersHi Scott and Pat,
Welcome back to Europe…looking forward to following along. We are leaving Victoria today, heading for Madrid. We’re dealing with our own cable/adapter challenges 🫢. Anne will start the blog later this week.
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5 months ago

Scott FenwickTo David Mathersgood luck with your travels across the pond. I hope that it will go smoothly and looking forward to seeing the blog from your tour as well.
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5 months ago

Scott FenwickTo ann and steve maher-wearyThanks Anne and Steve. I know that you discovered Toulouse first and can see why you loved it. We where out for a short walk this morning to the market and are convinced that this small city has figured it out. Our home town will never catch up.
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5 months ago