Bonjour, Toulouse!

How can it be? Toulouse is competing with Bordeaux to be selected as 'the city of culture' in 2013? I wasn't impressed by Toulouse since it was dirtier than Bordeaux: more trash and doggie poop on the streets. The most interesting element of the city was transportation convenience: plenty of bikes for residents and tourists at all major sites with the purchase of a city card. For me, Bordeaux not only has the history and architecture, its local government also has been doing a good job by keeping it clean and installing new trams, shops, and restaurants. Of course, the city government of Bordeaux is most likely richer (ex. wine) than Toulouse.

Woh, where did that tank come from? As a matter of fact, we saw quite a few military soldiers carrying semi-auto machine guns patrolling in train stations and major touristy sites in France. But a tank on a street was just too bizarre... later on the tank turned out to be on the way to the city plaza for a movie set.














We had good food in Toulouse. Syd finally got his crepe (with mushroom and cheese) while I had my long-awaited salad. We have been eating great French cuisine with Sera which consisted lots of meat, therefore a light dinner was most welcomed. My perfect salad had all my favorites: green pepper, onion, avocado (Syd hates them), and... are you ready for this... mustard sauce! How can I not love France?!