Toulouse the pink city, one of the friendliest place in France...

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Here we are, back on the Old Continent....and a trip over 3 countries...in the cold...for the next coming days. It will be all about food, wine, old buildings, and yes, even some sport!



Imagine, I never made my way to the City of Toulouse. I have to admit, not only the Old Town is gorgeous, but the people are some of the friendliest you will find in the all of France. Tourists have not really made it to Toulouse. Trying to find a post card was a challenge! The city is actually hosting a huge University. So there are young people all around the place.



Toulouse is also hosting the seriously well know Airbus. The airport is surrounded by factories of Airbus. We saw A380 and A350 with colors from all over the world. This is the last stop once the planes are assembled. So now, you cannot fly direct to Africa or Asia or the Middle East on any of those planes you see at the airport.



We spent our afternoon visiting Airbus. Cameras cannot be used for most of the visit, so apologies for not providing many pictures. I was lucky to visit Boeing years ago. Not sure Airbus beat the Boeing experience. We were doing our visit with a group of students from London Imperial College in Aeronautics. So I guess between my time spent on airlines, and their scientific top level, the poor guide was a little overwhelmed by the questions.



We slept by the airport and than right into the middle of the Old Town. Our stay at the Cour des Consuls was a magic one. Top welcome, nice upgrade, what an experience. If you come to this region, be prepared to spend some solid time eating...and drinking! This is not the place you come for a diet, specially if it's cold outside. It is middle of the winter. We even had some snow, which is seriously rare for Toulouse!



Our lunch at "Le Restaurant" was just an amazing experience. Yes, they are not very original with the name! But that food and that service! The place is a little bistro, was just few hundred meters from our hotel. They have one chef, and one guy managing the floor, all this for over 20 guests. Till, I've rarely seen such quality and efficiency in service with just two staff...wow! Obviously the wine was very very nice. I don't know much about wine for the South-West of France, but there is a lot on offer. The hotel, la Cour de Consuls also made sure we never did go neither dry with amazing tasting...or cold! What a welcome!



I guess we will come back. My few friends from Toulouse were pretty happy to hear my comments. I guest this should be a star place to study as an Erasmus exchange student. Too late for us.



Next, picking up a rental car at the train station. Was slightly challenging, as Avis didn't have what I had book ahead. We are going to the snow soon, and snow is falling all over, so no point of me renting a non-equipped. Well, that SUV was solid nice. We received appealing service from Expedia.fr....point to note to avoid them in the future, but the people at Avis finally did their job...would have been a way too expensive experience if not!



Next, we are skiing!

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

Look closer
Quite an intriguing pic, Peter.