Crepes, Couchsurfing and Cassoulet

Apparently alliteration is all the creativity my brain can manage today for a post title, but it does somewhat match the last post!

Anyways, week 2 here we go. I met up with my covoiturage driver in Grenoble and along with two other ladies we began the 5 hour journey to Toulouse, although it turned into 6 hours when we got stuck in a traffic jam caused by an accident. After a bit of metro trouble, I eventually found Rahel, who I went to high school with back home in Nelson! It wasn't the first time I'd seen her in Europe; she visited me in Bern where I was spending Christmas in December. But nevertheless it was great to see a fellow Canadian again.

In Toulouse we couchsurfed (my first time ever!) with a lovely lady named Celine who was the best host we could have asked for! We arrived at 9pm the first night and for both us and a Spanish couchsurfer whose stay overlapped with ours for one night she had prepared a delicious beef bourguignon dinner complete with wine and appetizers. It was a very pleasant stay indeed.

Despite the rainy miserable weather that lasted almost our entire 3-day stay in Toulouse, Rahel and I ventured out on the town every day and wandered the streets of this charming city. I loved the colour of the buildings lining the cobblestone streets, which has given Toulouse the nickname 'Pink City' ('La Ville Rose' in French)

Capitole, the heart of the municipal administration in Toulouse

Due to the unfortunate weather, Rahel and I spent a fair chunk of our time in cafes sampling the delicious French treats that this city had to offer. I was especially looking forward to trying the crepes, since I hadn't had the chance to since I'd arrived in France. We found this empty creperie called the Galuchat that looked promising and not too expensive and boy did we pick the right place! We had the meal which consisted of a galette (a savoury crepe), a sweet crepe and some house cider, all for 9 euros, and it was worth every penny! Ever since Foods class in Grade 10 I have restricted my crepe consumption exclusively to sweet ones, but this galette completely changed my perspective on savoury crepes. It consisted, if my memory serves me correctly, of goat cheese, creme fraiche, and honey. Absolutely mouth-watering! And the following crepe was my sweet one, filled with house-made caramel au beurre salé (caramel with salted butter). Also completely delectable!

I could have eaten many more of these, so good!

St. Sernin Basilica, the largest romanesque church in Europe, containing what is considered to be the most beautiful pipe organ in France 

Rahel on a bridge over the Canal du Midi (which I biked along in another part of France 3 years ago!)

Snack break at café number who-knows-how-many..

This fantastic creation is a cheesecake on a speculoos crust drenched (I went a bit crazy I guess...) in none other than maple syrup! It was as amazing as it looks.

Toulouse and the rest of France has endured a lot of rain this winter, causing the water level in the Garonne, which passes through Toulouse, to rise quite high. Luckily there are high banks surrounding the majority of the river, except in this location:

Directly behind the grass you can see the remainders of a restaurant that used to stand beside the river.

Cassoulet is the dish of the region here so, on Celine's recommendation, we went to try it at La Cave au Cassoulet. It's basically a big stew of white beans and meat, and I thought it was quite good although extremely filling. I think the dish in the bottom right of the next picture is intended for one person but Rahel and I split it in addition to a salad and we barely made it through all the food.

Enjoying a classy French dinner in La Cave (it was literally underground) 

After two and a half days in Toulouse, Rahel and I packed up our things and caught a covoiturage to Tarbes, where Rahel is stationed teaching English, although only for one night as I was heading to Bordeaux the following day. Just as in Toulouse, Bordeaux's weather was less than ideal for sightseeing (actually, it was the worst weather of the trip). But as usual this didn't stop me. I walked from 11am until 7pm in the pouring rain seeing the sights, only stopping for a few breaks to dry off in cafés and shops. Bordeaux has a lot to offer! The architecture is amazing, and I really loved the contrast between cleanly scrubbed white walls and buildings which remained as black as they used to look from pollution. Also, because Bordeaux is built on a weak subsoil, there are no skyscrapers which gives the city a feeling of being stuck back in time.

Cathédrale Saint-André, where in 1137 Eleanor of Aquitaine, 13 years old at the time, married Louis VII a few months before she became queen.

I'd been seeing the following treats all over France and Switzerland so I decided to splurge and give them a try. From the impressive multitude of flavours I picked pear speculoos and raspberry. Delicious!

French macarons

Grand Théatre, first inaugurated in 1780 

Porte Cailhau, a medieval gate of the old city walls

I detoured back to the cathedral from my city tour to climb the 231 stairs of the Tour Pey-Berlan before it closed at 4pm. The tower is situated 20m away from the cathedral to protect the cathedral from the vibration of the bells. For students it's free to climb the tower (a benefit of staying with a local: they know these things!). I realized I'm not the best with heights when I found myself at the top of the tower on my own with a fairly sizeable wind gusting around me... Nevertheless, the view from the top was amazing!

View towards the Garonne river from the top of the tower, with the Basilica of St. Michael piercing the sky in the distance

Tour Pey-Berlan from the safety of solid ground

I drew my self-guided tour to a close as dusk started to fall. Walking back across the 'pont de pierre' (stone bridge) I was treated to this beautiful sight of Place de la Bourse and the riverside buildings lit up at night and the colourful lights that line the boardwalk along the river.

I spent the entire following day sitting on a bus from Bordeaux all the way across the majority of France to Lille, switching buses in Paris. The bus line I went with was Eurolines, and I wasn't overly impressed at first since they were one hour late and it was early in the morning (the bus had come from Portugal, thereby crossing two borders where they were held up for longer than expected). However, the kind bus driver called ahead to Paris and got them to hold my connecting bus for me! 

In Lille I was met at the bus stop by Emily, a friend from my university in Canada whom I roomed with in Guatemala last February, and her roommate Courtney. It was so great to see a fellow Xaverian! I stayed in her flat for 3 nights and met more exchange students from all over Europe as well as many from Canada and the USA. We also spent some time touring Vieux-Lille (Old Lille) and the Citadelle, which is a short walk from their flat. The weather got moderately better while I was there which made this portion of my trip even more enjoyable.

Grand Place, Lille's city centre

Entrance to the 17th century Vauban Citadel

Enjoying some delicious Belgian-style waffles :)

Lille marked the end of my time in France, and it was bittersweet hopping on the train to Bruges as I left behind a country where I can speak the language and adore the cuisine (although in Belgium's defence, almost everyone speaks English and their food is also delicious). Part III coming soon!

Enjoy!
-Sonja