Toulouse, France

The next stop on my adventure was Toulouse. It is in the south of France, closer to Madrid than Paris. It is two hours from the Mediterranean Sea and it is a wonderful place. This was the first stop on my latest tour with Big Art Group. Toulouse has around million people, but it feels like a small town. It has a huge college population. The school there was established in 1229. It has 90,000 students in the town and it definitely has the night life to show it. The small streets are flooded at night and there are people hanging out all along the river. The atmosphere is very laid back, people take at least 1 1/2 hour lunches and usually 2 hours for dinner!

Dan and I spent our free time wandering around the small streets and enjoying the shuttered windows and iron balconies. There are several nice parks there and a 2 story carousel. Our favorite part was the river and the system of canals that run throughout the town. They are tree lined and give a peace to the city. The last night we were there, the city had an art festival at the park across from the theatre. They had a lot of different projections and music and everyone had a lovely time.