Day 28- Toluouse
Another day in this beautiful city. We were going to ride our bikes but by the time we finished our late breakfast, the heat was unbearable. We took the metro to the city. Gregory had read that there was a flea market so we were excited about it. When we got there, we felt like we were in Morroco again. It seemed that it was a market for Muslims, most of the people were speaking Arabic and all the women were covered. They were selling some of the same things we saw in Tangier. Fabric, shoes, dresses, pants and very inexpensive items. Gregory was speed-walking and I could tell that he was not enjoying himself. Me on the other hand, I was absorbed watching the women negotiating prices with the vendors, looking at the fabrics and just having a good time shopping. Gregory asked us to go outside the flea market, on the other side of the street to avoid people.
This time we decided to walk across the Pont Neuf to the other side of the city. Everything was closed, mostly because it was Sunday. We walked through the medieval streets to the Ferris Wheel that we had seen the first day because the children really wanted to go on the ride! "Really?", I said. Sunshine argued that she didn't have time to go to the fair in Del Mar, and Daniel wanted to do something fun. Whatever it takes to make them happy. I thought it'd be better to spend it in a museum?
After that, we sat outside of an old building that was the Hotel Dieu built in the 15th century which in the old times was used as a hospital. Right outside it was shady, we could hear a band playing across the river in a park, and we even had free Wi-Fi! We sat there for a while until my big boy, Gregory said that he was hungry. We crossed a newer bridge to the other side, it was scorching hot and we thought we were going to melt!
We arrived at a nice shady square called St. Pierre and started to look for food. We thought that everything was going to be overpriced because of the location, in front of the river, but surprisingly, it wasn't!
Gregory and I had the famous French crepes while Sunshine had a salad and Daniel, well Daniel had a pizza of course! We sat there for a while, enjoying the shade, then we decided to go back to the old historic town. This time we realized that the donjon tower was actually an office of tourism where they give you all sorts of information about the city. It was the best discovery because they had air conditioning. We met a very nice girl who spoke Spanish to me and French to Gregory. We asked about the Grottes de Gargas (Gargas Caves) where you can actually see paleolithic paintings but unfortunately, it is really hard to get there without a car! We also asked to find a public pool in case we decided to go tomorrow.
Right next to the tower was the city hall called Le Capitole where you could actually go in for free! The kids decided to stay outside watching the children play in the fountain while Gregory and I went inside. (Daniel's Note: I wasn't watching children play in the fountain, only my mom does that, I was enjoying the free city Wi-Fi. Yes, there was free Wi-Fi that stretched across the city!) The place was beautiful with fancy ceilings and wonderful paintings from the 19th century. Some of the interiors of the Capitole can be traced back to the 16th century. We texted the kids to come inside and see the place, it was worth it! The construction of this building started in 1190 and is considered the head of the municipal administration of the city. We took some nice pictures, rested some more and left.
After that. we walked to the metro nearby just to find it closed. Luckily there was another one nearby and what did we find? a McDonald's. I hate to admit this, but we actually went inside to get ice cream! We never go to McDonald's in the US, we do not eat junk food but we wanted a cheap ice cream. The establishment was very small and modern. We had to place our order on big touch screens and then picked up our order. We sat there and enjoyed our "glace" (French for ice cream). On our way home we found an open grocery store, which is rare because it was Sunday so we went in and got some groceries for dinner. It feels like we are always looking for food! We took the metro, walked our usual 10 minutes to our home and had dinner. We talked about our plans for tomorrow and everyone agreed to go to the pool, well mostly Sunshine and I. Daniel was worried about how clean the water would be. This trip will help him to relax about it. Gregory spent hours looking for a way to go to the caves in the next few days. We'll see, it is complicated without a car and no public transportation actually goes there. Renting a car? way too expensive for one day. Part of me thinks it's worth it, but then there so many beautiful and amazing places to see that we don't need to go to the caves. We'll see...
This time we decided to walk across the Pont Neuf to the other side of the city. Everything was closed, mostly because it was Sunday. We walked through the medieval streets to the Ferris Wheel that we had seen the first day because the children really wanted to go on the ride! "Really?", I said. Sunshine argued that she didn't have time to go to the fair in Del Mar, and Daniel wanted to do something fun. Whatever it takes to make them happy. I thought it'd be better to spend it in a museum?
After that, we sat outside of an old building that was the Hotel Dieu built in the 15th century which in the old times was used as a hospital. Right outside it was shady, we could hear a band playing across the river in a park, and we even had free Wi-Fi! We sat there for a while until my big boy, Gregory said that he was hungry. We crossed a newer bridge to the other side, it was scorching hot and we thought we were going to melt!
We arrived at a nice shady square called St. Pierre and started to look for food. We thought that everything was going to be overpriced because of the location, in front of the river, but surprisingly, it wasn't!
Gregory and I had the famous French crepes while Sunshine had a salad and Daniel, well Daniel had a pizza of course! We sat there for a while, enjoying the shade, then we decided to go back to the old historic town. This time we realized that the donjon tower was actually an office of tourism where they give you all sorts of information about the city. It was the best discovery because they had air conditioning. We met a very nice girl who spoke Spanish to me and French to Gregory. We asked about the Grottes de Gargas (Gargas Caves) where you can actually see paleolithic paintings but unfortunately, it is really hard to get there without a car! We also asked to find a public pool in case we decided to go tomorrow.
Right next to the tower was the city hall called Le Capitole where you could actually go in for free! The kids decided to stay outside watching the children play in the fountain while Gregory and I went inside. (Daniel's Note: I wasn't watching children play in the fountain, only my mom does that, I was enjoying the free city Wi-Fi. Yes, there was free Wi-Fi that stretched across the city!) The place was beautiful with fancy ceilings and wonderful paintings from the 19th century. Some of the interiors of the Capitole can be traced back to the 16th century. We texted the kids to come inside and see the place, it was worth it! The construction of this building started in 1190 and is considered the head of the municipal administration of the city. We took some nice pictures, rested some more and left.
After that. we walked to the metro nearby just to find it closed. Luckily there was another one nearby and what did we find? a McDonald's. I hate to admit this, but we actually went inside to get ice cream! We never go to McDonald's in the US, we do not eat junk food but we wanted a cheap ice cream. The establishment was very small and modern. We had to place our order on big touch screens and then picked up our order. We sat there and enjoyed our "glace" (French for ice cream). On our way home we found an open grocery store, which is rare because it was Sunday so we went in and got some groceries for dinner. It feels like we are always looking for food! We took the metro, walked our usual 10 minutes to our home and had dinner. We talked about our plans for tomorrow and everyone agreed to go to the pool, well mostly Sunshine and I. Daniel was worried about how clean the water would be. This trip will help him to relax about it. Gregory spent hours looking for a way to go to the caves in the next few days. We'll see, it is complicated without a car and no public transportation actually goes there. Renting a car? way too expensive for one day. Part of me thinks it's worth it, but then there so many beautiful and amazing places to see that we don't need to go to the caves. We'll see...
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| Sunday flea market. |
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| Walking across the bridge |
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| At the Ferris wheel |
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| Having french crepes! |
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| Behind the Capitol. |
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| Inside the capitol |
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| Admiring the paintings. |
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| I love this detail of the painting! |
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| Selfie! |
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| Children playing outside the Capitol! |
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| Looking for the metro. |
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