 |
| MY HOSTEL |
 |
| PONT NEUF |
 |
| VIKING ENGINE AT CITE DE L'ESPACE |
 |
| SOYUZ CAPSULE |
 |
| MIR SPACE STATION |
 |
| SOYUZ SPACECRAFT WITH ARIANE 5 LAUNCHER IN BACKGROUND |
 |
| DONJON DU CAPITALE |
 |
| CAPITOLE |
 |
| AVENUE NEAR THE GARONNE |
 |
| TOULOUSE CITY CENTRE |
So, it is the morning of Wednesday 26th of September and it took only an hour and ten minutes for the train to take me from Foix to Toulouse's Matabiau station, the same place from which I had departed for Pau. The cheapest place to stay was La Petite Auberge de Saint-Sernin, at only €47 for two nights. It is located close to the University, so there are plenty of young people about.
Toulouse is, of course, a big city and very cosmopolitan. I took a walk down to the River Garonne and found an exhibition of photographic art called 'ManiFesto' by the Pont St-Pierre. I then followed the river bank down to the famous Pont Neuf which was completed in 1632 following 88 years in construction, and has survived the many floods that Toulouse has experienced, the most recent in 2004.
Naturally I did a bit of shopping and hanging about in squares like Place du Capital. There is more than enough here to keep me amused until it's time to go home.
On Thursday I spent the whole day at Cité de l'espace, which is an exhibition of space, space flight, satellites and all sorts of related things. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Toulouse and it took me over an hour to walk there. They had full size models of an Ariane 5 launcher and a Mir Space Station. I even got to sit in a genuine Soyuz space capsule. There was so much to see that I struggled to get around everything before kicking out time at 5.00pm.
On the walk back I popped into the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, where the organ was being played. The design of the cathedral is a bit unusual because it is the result of two separate churches being grafted together.
On Friday I had to vacate my dormitory bed in the hostel, but they were happy to let me keep my rucksack there while I spent the day mosying about town.
First, I walked to Place du Capitole to look around the markets. There was also some kind of exhibition there for senior citizens, but of course security wouldn't let me in because I looked too young (not). Next, EDF (the French electricity company) have a hydroelectric generating plant called EDF Bazacle on the Garonne, which also serves as an information centre on hydro power and an art gallery, so I went to take a look at that. It was well worth the hour I spent there.
After that it was time for a late lunch, and a bit more aimless wandering. All too soon it was time to collect my rucksack from the Hostel and catch the bus to the airport. Once there, I made the short walk to the Ibis Styles Hotel where I had stayed when I first landed in Toulouse, and reclaimed the holdall that they had been keeping for me. It was good to have some fresh clothes to wear.
Saturday's flight wasn't until the afternoon so I took a walk to the nearby Blagnac shopping complex in the morning. The LeClerc Hypermarket must be the biggest shop I've ever seen. The wine, beers and spirits section alone was bigger than many supermarkets.
By 2.30pm I was in the airport for my 5.15pm easyJet flight back to Gatwick, although it didn't actually leave until 6.40pm in the end. However, the flight was short, as was the train journey to Portsmouth. I was happy to see Rubi waiting for me at the railway station. The adventure had been fun, but it was great to be home again.