I just can't help myself where cheap flights are concerned... Ryanair was having a sale and I managed to snag a return ticket to Toulouse for £26! So cheap! Toulouse had been on my map when I campervanned around France in 2016 and I skipped it because I was running out of time and knew I could fly there.
As with all cheap flights, there was a catch. I was up at 3am, and left my London flat before 4am in order to catch a 1.5 hour bus to Stansted to make it there for my 7:12am flight. But, actually, it wasn't really that bad, because I got to my hotel in Toulouse a bit before 12pm. Even though I'd had an early morning, there's nothing quite like a bit of adventure to wake you up again, and I dropped off my suitcase and set about looking around.
My first stop was at the Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse. This church is on the UNESCO list and is also one of the churches along the Santiago de Compostela path through France. It also has a beautiful 5-tier bell tower, different to most churches. I had a wander around the church, reading the pamphlet provided about the history of the church.
It was getting to be near lunch time so I thought I'd head on over to the Victor Hugo food market. The market itself has little restaurants up the top and I had a walk through but it was so busy, there was nowhere to sit, even for one person! I had a look at the menus of the restaurants near to the market and nothing quite grabbed my attention. I always have a Google MyMap of the place I am going to and it always has food recommendations marked down, so I kept going and finally settled on Hughette, where I had a nice lunch and a glass of wine with a view of a colourful old merry-go-round.
The next stop was St Stephen's Cathedral, or simply Toulouse Cathedral. This was one of the weirdest churches I have ever seen. Apparently its odd exterior is due to it being made out of two older incomplete churches - the rose window was from one building, while the second church was built on a completely different axis. Other things have been added throughout the ages and that's how it appears - as though no one could decide what they wanted the church to look like so they just threw everything at it. It was just was strange inside as well, very disconcerting to walk in the door then have to scoot over to the left in order to be on what is now the main axis of the church.
From St Stephen's, I did a big looping walk through some of the areas where people live until I made it to the Garonne. I walked past some cute cafes and restaurants, before hitting the Pont Neuf bridge. I crossed the Garonne, then walked back across in on the next bridge, Pont Saint-Pierre. I was going to have a wander on the other side of Toulouse, but my legs had had enough of walking for the day so I thought it best to head back to the hotel (slowly, since I was quite far away!). I ducked into the church near the bridge, Saint-Pierre des Chartreux, which was a lovely church.
My early morning had finally caught up to me. I went back to my hotel for a bit of a relax, then went out to an early dinner a little bit later. I went to this place called La Faim des Haricots. This place was awesome. You paid for a meal type - salads, pies, desserts etc - then went to fill your plate with as much of what you paid for as you wanted. So you could have two different slices of quiche with your pile of salads and go back for more! It was also all vegetarian, which I always try to eat but usually struggle in places like France. So I got a plate for pie, salad and dessert, and went to town! It was delicious, homemade, healthy, and just what I wanted. So a very good end to what was a great first day in Toulouse!