Friday 4th September 2009
After breakfast we checked out and walked to the main train station. Two tickets from Toulouse to Lezignan-Corbiers, came to €38.00 for both of us. We arrived in this sleepy little town and found the only taxi driver at the café next to the station. He was having lunch. Priorities are different in France. He still had two other passengers to drop off before us. They were waiting for him to finish his meal. We decided to eat at the café too.
Canal du Midi
They served us each an enormous baguette with Brie, a coffee and a tea, all for €8.00. The presentation of the tea was a little different – I got a small cup of boiling hot water with a tea bag in it.
The drive to Loca-boat passed through ancient villages and vineyards that were planted way back in Roman times. One got the feeling life has not changed much in these villages. Local villagers sat outside their old stone homes and watched the world go by. A barking dog or a bicycle passing was about as busy as it got.
At Locaboat we had our handover and set off immediately as we needed to buy food and cleaning items. We tied up at the next village, Paraza, and asked some people walking past in our best pidgin French where we could find the local grocery store. They asked if they could speak in English. But of course!
Our Penichette boat
They said it wasn’t much of a store but directed us up the road. We scrambled up a thorny bank and meandered along lanes that twisted and turned until we found the local ‘epicurie’. One has to remember to look out for cars coming on the opposite side of the road in France or one can walk right into a car. We managed to buy the absolute basics and headed back for a quiet night on the canal. Sleeping well is a given in such tranquil surroundings
Saturday 5th September 2009
At the Locaboat mooring
Our plan was to head along the canal to Narbonne, track back, and then head in a different direction to our final destination, which was Negra. We stopped en route at Ventenac d’ Aude hoping to shop. Buying supplies was not as easy as we thought and our attempts to get guidance from locals proved amusing to all. At times it was like playing a game of Charades with a word or two thrown in and plenty of smiles.
We passed Le Somail and decided to brave it and eat at a bar/restaurant type place we saw close to the canal banks. Nice to be able to check out potential places to eat as you cruise the canals. I’m vegetarian and the French don’t get why anyone wouldn’t eat meat. However they served us a divine salad with warm goat cheese on bread, a demi-carafe or ‘pichet’ of wine, a bottle of water, a cheese platter to share with bread, and two coffees or cafes as they call them. Our meal excluding tip was €32.00.
Le Somail
Back at our boat we got going again. Further along the canal we decided to stop at Capestang. Voila! At Capestang we finally found a supermarket. And after a shop-up we promptly found an even nicer supermarket. C’est la vie!
We both went for a short run along the towpath. I stopped and ate wild black berries growing along the banks of the canal. Our mooring for the night was picture book perfect. There was a crowd of riverboats under a bright full moon. We could hear of the strains of other people chatting and cutlery on plates. Meanwhile we tucked into a meal of baguette, cranberries and Brie with a fresh vegetable salad. We both slept soundly.
We flew in to a warm, slightly overcast day in Toulouse, the pink city of France, and the epicentre of aeronautics and aviation. We planned to arrive and leave via Toulouse for our canal boat holiday along the historical Canal du Midi.
The French style of doing things was immediately apparent as we spent our first hour making our way to the hotel. We had done a basic French Speaking course to be on the safe side. We like the Michel Thomas method of learning a language. We did try a language school but forgot all they taught us. With Michel Thomas we were able to at least make ourselves understood and string words together.
Maybe we were lucky, but we found the French helpful and friendly, contrary to expectation. It started at immigration. Border control let you through with a stamp in your passport and skipped the harrowing interrogation some countries find necessary. It’s a much nicer way to start a holiday.
View from hotel room
The airport was clean and their information or ‘accueil’ went beyond what was required to help us. They phoned the Ibis Hotels to find out which one we’d booked into. Who knew there were three? And they gave us plenty information and maps so we could find the shuttle bus, all in perfect English.
At least two people saw us with our map and offered us directions as we walked to our hotel so we eventually hid our map. We were not expecting the French to be so helpful.
Anglicization going on here
After checking in and showering we popped out for a bite and promptly changed our minds. Toulouse is bigger and so much prettier than we imagined. We bought snacks and went back to our room to furiously read up on Toulouse and what to do. We like Wiki travel for travel information. wikitravel Toulouse
Our rudimentary French was slowly coming back. The complimentary Wi-Fi was great but you sign-on in French. And one has to be able to ask things like, “Can I drink the tap water here?” or “Where is breakfast please?”
We were glad we have made the effort to learn basic French many times.
Wednesday 2nd September 2009
Jardin du Plante
We like Ibis Hotels. Ibis Hotels Booking on-line is easy, and the rooms, although cosy, are always clean and comfortable. We opted to have the hotel French style breakfast at €7.50 each, which was a spread of the usual fruits, cereals, pastries as well as some regional foods such as cheeses, tortilla and good coffee.
Pont Neuf on the River Garonne
We had two days to explore the city on foot before we collected our boat. Toulouse is the 4th largest city in France. It’s home to Airbus, the aeroplane manufacturers, and has the 2nd highest number of universities in France. The modern energy contrasts sharply with the old architecture of the city. We strolled through cobbled walkways passing by cafes and buildings with typical Mediterranean architecture, terracotta roofs and shutters on the windows.
Then we went to the city gardens, which had fountains, sculptures and plants grown to resemble faces and objects. We ambled along the Garonne River and the Canal du Midi, which was built in the 1600’s, and was a vital link between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
At lunchtime we remembered the superstores in France often have cafeterias, which offer local cuisine at excellent prices. We found Monoprix, a block away, and we each had a plate of assorted fresh salads from the buffet, boiled eggs, a small carafe of red wine to share and two carafes of water.
Not bad for €10.00?
Streets of Toulouse
The French style of eating is right up our street. They utilise lots of fresh vegetables. Fruits and salads are common components of a meal. Plain tap water and a small glass of wine usually accompany food. They take their time to enjoy lunch, which is from 12.00 to 14.00. Everything comes to a complete halt lunchtime in France, as people head home, baguettes in hand, to enjoy their midday meal.
That said that, we avoided the pricey French Bistros and Brassieres. The challenge of deciphering what we could receive on our plate, as well as the prices, kept us on the streets where we found great food. We regularly ate at Lebanese cafés where a huge combination mezze and salad platter would cost around €8.00 each, and a large carafe of wine to share (500 ml) was about €4.00.
We ended the evening with a stroll along the Garonne River, which came alive at night with students engaged in various activities along the banks.
