... aka A Day In Toulouse.
After an epic fail in which I missed my first appointment to get my visa validated (because I got the mail telling me about it after the appointment), I was determined to get there this time. Sadly, I had a 9am appointment so had to catch a 7.05am train. Yep, I've got soft since leaving AXA.
Had been a tad worried about finding the place, but it turned out to be a case of a metro ride and a short walk. Still, am pretty glad I left myself an hour to get from the Toulouse station to the office, because I needed most of the time!
Arrived, and was directed to a waiting room... waited... got asked a few questions by a nurse... back to waiting room... chest x-ray... back to waiting room... doctor looks at chest xray and asks me a couple more questions... back to waiting room... lady puts 'viginette' (ie extra stickery thing confirming that I've completed the formalities) in my passport. Done. I swear that the Army wants to know more about you than France does. Although Mum did remind me that I had a semi-medical before leaving home. Anyhow, in sum, I think I probably spent more time waiting than actually with a medical professional. But I don't care, cos now I'm fully legally in France AND to come and go as I want (while my visa is valid!).
That done, my day in Toulouse commenced. Train ticket costs equivalent of about NZ$20 and I had no classes on Weds, so I was determined to spend the day in Toulouse and make the most of being there! Il faut en profiter! Lol, I like this phrase more in French... Also, it was a freakishly warm day (for winter): 19C. So it felt like summer. I was clearly meant to enjoy this day.
Profit, I did. Including in terms of my metro day pass. Why walk when you can metro? Well, actually it's way better to walk, because you see what you're passing AND you're not limited to going where the metro lines go, but I was still trying to get rid of a cold so therefore was avoiding long walks.
Went for a random walk in the direction of a church spire that I'd seen from the visa place, just because I could. Was trying not to make too many turns though, as my map of Toulouse didn't extend to this area, and didn't want to get hopelessly lost. Glad I did walk to it though, 'cos it had this awesome sculpturey thing on the side.
On the metro again, and went to the Canal du Midi and walked along the banks. Rather nice.
Walked right into town, and wandered a bit, looking for somewhere to sit and eat some lunch. Clearly was looking in all the wrong places, as I couldn't find any parks (and later, there seemed to be heaps around). I suppose the smart person would have looked at their map but, well, I wasn't the smart person that day.
Did see this awesome Basilisque though (Saint-Sernin). Love the way it's just kinda at the end of a street... Nothing major.
Eventually decided that there must be somewhere in the main square. Glad I headed there, as the Christmas market was in full swing. The whole place was filled with little chalets with all kinds of food (tartiflette, hot chocolate, mulled wine, savoury dishes, cheese, pastries, almond paste decorationy things...) and all kinds of goods (funny t-shirts, hanging decorations, saints etc for nativity scenes, clothes, violet products...). So, after my brief lunch, I had a wander.
Also found an advent display, where there were present-shaped boxes for each day of the advent, so checked out the ones which were open.
Next stop was the tourist office, of which the gift shop was very tempting. Bought a reduction card for Toulouse (some shops, hotels, tourist attractions) and found a brochure for a Resistance walking trail.
While I fully intended to do the Resistance trail, I was distracted after about 2 stops... by a Quick. Which seems to be the French version of McDonalds (even though they have McDonalds). It wasn't so much the food as the free wifi that I wanted, though. So, one strawberry lolly milkshake and 3 'extra cheesy' (yes, that is what they are called in French - they're bite-sized fried cheese thingees) later, I was settled in with my laptop and had a reasonably lengthy internet session. Which was nice.
By the time I finished, I had lost all motivation for the Resistance trail... however, I do intend to do this properly on a future trip, when I'm not carting my laptop and a heavy document holder in my backpack!
So, instead, I decided to go on the Metro again, and find this bridge which appears in all the photos of Toulouse. Very glad that I did this, and am sure you will understand why after seeing the following pix.
Back on the Metro and into central Toulouse to have a quick squiz in the shops. Kinda a nice change to have so many people around, and things going on in the streets (random fire-stick-twirler dude in a park, for example, or the following...).
By this stage, the thought of tomorrow's 8am class, and a good sleep to get rid of this cold, were starting to play on my mind, so it was time for a final metro trip to the station. While I was waiting for the platform number for my train to come up, a couple of policemen leading 4 or 5 armed, camo-clad soldiers came past. Just casually. Also ran into an assistante who works with Kate, the other Kiwi, so was nice to actually see someone I knew!
Oh yeah... got to love the way rugby is so engrained in the consciousness that it's used to show people how to behave on the metro.
Then had a chat with a nice girl on the train home. Happy times... even though my French is far from perfect, it is getting easier and less worrisome to talk to people. :) I'm more likely these days to just talk than to spend time before thinking about what I need to say and how to say it!
The Sunday brunch: scrambled eggs, fig and goat cheese tart, salad with apricots and cheese, a few assorted wee cakes (can't remember what they were, home-made yoghurt, a juice, and a hot drink. = satisfaction!
Tania (Canadian) and Kate (the other Kiwi)... good work on finding this place!
