'Trouver d'abord, chercher après'

Following a mutual agreement that there hasn't been enough 'city hopping' together since settling into Bordeaux, this last weekend saw a girls' weekend in Toulouse. Upon our arrival on the Friday evening- after a 2 and half hour train trip congregated in the bar area drinking from novelty-sized cans of 1664 and vin blanc- we popped into the local 'Pizzeria' (pizza fast-food joint by day, suspicious 'gentleman's club by night...) to collect the clefs, clambered the staircase, shot-gunned the beds (subject of hot debate and bribery throughout the weekend- mezzanine for the win!) and headed to the Carrefour across the road for evenings' essentials; pizza, Camembert, part-baked baguettes, rosé. 

The notion of a quiet night-in washed away with the contents of the first bottle and we headed out into the Toulousienne night! Needless to say, being situated parallel to a street lined with an array of clubs and bars served us well from dusk till dawn but haunted us during the (harsh, so harsh!) light of day- I swear by a bolognese crêpe to set anyone right. Without this turning into an entry about alcohol/cheese consumption and subsequent Miley Cyrus sing-a-longs at 4am (albeit, a good 50% of the weekend's contents) we did get up, get out and immerse ourselves in art, architecture, culture and cuisine. 

      

'La ville rose' from a car-park's eye-view / #YOTO

Place Wilson - perfect Lomogram opportunities

A hot topic of discussion throughout the weekend was the difference in architecture between Bordeaux and Toulouse. Bordelaise buildings are formed from limestone which lend a light, sandy colour to the city whereas Toulouse's architecture is a spectrum of warmer, pastel tones due to its use of smaller, red bricks (obviously, my professional opinion). Toulouse is known as 'La Ville Rose' because of this very notion. I liked it.... even through the misty grey of the weather (and the post-vino state). So, in the summer I've decided I'm coming back atcha, Toulouse, to see you in all of your rose radiance!

Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toulouse / pastel-palette architecture

So with map in hand, touristy-determination and a strong desire for cultural nourishment we decided to venture to Musée des Augustins. 

Here we were exposed to all matter of artistic mediums and mind-sets; from our favourite canine statues (completed by an installation of our rendition of 'I'm so happy! Oh so happy!'), to all number of nude statues, many ancient stone pillars, two grand halls exhibiting huile sur toile portraits and finally minuscule to massive leather-bound religious scriptures. 

It should be noted that the last provided more entertainment than nourishment- it was the only pay-for-entry installation in the immense museum (so, of course, it was subject to ridicule before we'd even step a foot into it...), it was surrounded by barriers and during our brief tour of the ancient holy literature (great use of colour and quill, it has to be said!) we were more-or-less chased out of the exhibition by the (ridiculous amount of) security swarming around the old books... So, we went back to hang out with our dogs.  

Sunday also saw a miraculous post-party recovery as we sauntered round Jardin des Plantes. It's a fantastic open space with plenty of greenery, a duck house and a number of interesting bridges- so, obviously everything you could want from a public park.  This place is definitely on the 'revisit when the weather is brighter' list. 

Bandstand / The notorious duck house (potential band name right there) / The benched-bridge; a perfect self-timing photo opportunity

So there we have it- two and a half days in Toulouse! And now that the 'Carte Jeune' train ticket has been purchased- there ain't no stopping the train-hopping!

Next stop: Perigueux, Round 2! Watch this space.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mum! Love, always xx