un petit séjour a Toulouse

Toulouse is becoming one of my favourite little European destinations.  The Franco-Spanish atmosphere, warm climate and cutesy little back streets are just so charming.  We arrived on a Saturday night in August, and the whole town was out to play.  The bars lining the Capitole were a-buzz with the young Français drinking bottles of wine and draught beer (funnily enough the French don't seem to go for cocktails or shots) and singing to songs I'd never heard of.  Myself, the Captain, First Officer and two other crew members ventured out into the balmy summer evening for a drink and were seated on the terrace facing the grand Capitole de Toulouse.

Capitole de Toulouse

We ended up staying out til 2am, dancing a little on the tiny dancefloor, getting propositioned in French and chatting over bottles of Sauvingon Blanc before tipsily trying to navigate the windy streets back to the hotel, dodging the kids zipping around on vespas...it's always so pleasant when you have a fun flight crew!

The next morning, a little worse for wear, we headed into town for breakfast.  Again we chose a cafe on the Capitole and enjoyed a very French breakfast of bacon and eggs, ha.  We did supplement it with croissants, but when hungover the only thing for it is a good old fry up.  The residents of Toulouse seemed to have the same idea.  I love European cafe culture.  Families treated themselves to breakfast and noisy chatter, couples fed each other fresh fruit, lone diners sipped cappuccinos and read the paper.  The atmosphere was lively but relaxed and leisurely.  In this part of the world they respect the reverence of Sunday.  No one had work, everyone took their time to enjoy the freshly squeezed orange juice, basking in the Mediterranean sunshine.  It's exactly how I'd like to live.

Kyle standing by the busy morning cafes on the Capitole

As it was Sunday, the bells of the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne were ringing.  We browsed the huge market below it for a while (I bought buttons!) before exploring inside.  For a 13th Century building, the sheer geometry and artwork of the cathedral were breathtaking.  Labourers had clearly devoted their entire lives to create such an architectural masterpiece, a testament to their reverence of God. 

Of course, soon it was time to stop for a petit dejeuner, and if there's one place you simply MUST go if you visit Toulouse, it's the Flowers Cafe in Place Roger Salengro.  Not just because you sit on a terrace beside a softly trickling fountain...

...but the food, oh the food.  Their menu is small but it changes frequently, and I believe a smaller menu often translates to better quality dishes. I had mille feuille of mozzarella and tomatoes with mini toasts and tapenade, the others had steak sandwich and salmon salad.  They were presented as if they were gourmet dishes from a five star restaurant, and we were given a complimentary basket of fresh baguette.  We each had a dessert from their onsite patisserie (tarte tatin, chocolate mousse, raspberry-dark chocolate torte) and a cappuccino.  It satiated completely, and for such an elegant lunch at a clearly popular restaurant I expected to fork out quite a few of my euros for it.  So I was shocked when the bill came to twelve euros each.  Definitely recommended.