Toulouse, France, Sun 13 - Tues 15 July 08

We were originally going to Biarittz but with the weather so terrible a beach town didn't seem quite right so we headed directly to Toulouse. Sadly Sunday in Toulouse is not a good choice, nothing is open and there is nobody around. It's a university town and being term break things were definitely on the quiet side. We saw a couple of churches and lots of terracotta houses which have dubbed Toulouse the Pink city. We had also just missed the Tour de France by about 3 hours! I think everyone had gone back to bed after getting up early to see them off.

This area is famous for a local dish called Toulouse Casseterole. A casserole made up of beans, duck, sausage and pork in a very tasty sauce. Yum!

Monday the 14th was Bastille Day, a French national holiday commemorating the beginning of the French revolution. We spent the day biking along the Canal du Midi. No bike hire shops were open but Toulouse have a city auto bike hire system where you can hire bikes for 1euro a day. Only trouble was trying to work out the instructions which only came in French! About half an hour (and a friendly local) later we were off biking the canal.

The city bikes only have three gears and are extremely heavy so it was slow going but a lot of fun and beautiful scenery. Tree lined paths right next to the canal, pretty little boats dotting the waterway and fields of sunflowers and maze on either side. There were lots of other walkers, cyclists and rollerbladers with the same idea. Great people watching and we found a lovely little spot with picnic tables to enjoy our packed lunch.

That night the festivities began. We watched some local singers & dancers while having dinner in Pl de Capitole and they even performed the Can-can! They were very extravagant with massive cabaret style outfits and the guys looked like they were straight out of a bad boy band. Great to watch!

We headed down to the river front to watch the Bastille Day fireworks. Finding a location was tough, it was packed! I have no idea where everyone came from considering how quiet the city was yesterday. We managed to find a small spot on the other side of the bridge which hid some of the views but at least that meant we found a seat! The bridge (The Pont Neuf) was very picturesque lit up in all different colours. We arrived at the end of a waterski show complete with giant sparklers.

The fireworks were incredible, performed to music and seemed to have a story attached to it too but it was in French so couldn't tell what they were saying.