Always, without any shadow of a doubt, music and alcohol should go together. What's that? You want me to explain? Read on dear friends.
I arrived in Toulouse on the afternoon of the 28th exhausted and thoroughly prepared for two nights of a decent sleep that hadn't been induced by alcohol. After my 20+ hour bus ride, I thought this a reasonable thing to expect of myself in a beautiful city in the South of France. When I arrived in the bus station, I was fully prepared to follow their directions and catch the metro, switching once, and then walking to get to the hostel, however being a traveller on a budget, I decided that not only would a bus be cheaper, but more efficient. Oh how wrong I was. After being thoroughly confused as to the way buses in Southern France seemingly don't work, I decided to start walking.
I managed (using my excellent French skills-thanks Ariella) to find my way to the main street, and then walked form bus stop to bus stop checking the map making sure I was going in the right direction. After I had turned a fifteen minute walk into an hour and and a bit, I found my hostel, even more exhausted and prepared for a good sleep than before. However, before crashing I had to take care of that small thing called dinner.
I got out of the shower after freshening up and met some of my absolutely lovely room-mates, Nina and Adam, who were on their way to the supermarket. I hurried to join them, after being told it shut at 7 (it was then 6:30) and stocked up on noodles and wine. Yes I know I said no alcohol, but Rose was cheap, who was I to let it pass? We made it back to the hostel and after preparing our dinners went downstairs to relax and eat. It was a rather lovely night, and I awoke the next morning to my fresh breakfast, looking ahead to a day of exploring.
However, my plans took an interesting turn. I found that accommodation in my next city of choice, Bordeaux, was too expensive and so I had a change of heart. I decided that since I could get a cheap flight to Switzerland I would take it and move my plans forward a few days. After booking my flight and consulting my already weathered tourist map, I set off to explore the city.
My first stop was to be the Cathedral of Saint Sernin, which whilst beautiful was not anything spectacular. It's beauty was marred by the expanses of waste laid at the base and which a team of street cleaners was trying to clear (but looked more like they were just star gazing at). I continued walking.
My plan was to follow the river for a while, walking down under the gorgeous English trees in the sun and shade and then back along the other side. I walked around the Place Capitole and managed to find the river, being surprised at the amount of waste in the river and at how fast it was flowing.
I crossed one bridge and meandered my way past a gorgeous park on the other side, before making my way back towards Centre Ville to find some cool places to stay for a while. I ended up (by accident) making my way back to to Place Capitol, and it was here that I was made to remember why I became a musician.
At the opposite corner of the square, I could hear brass music. I needed to go in that general direction, so I made my way towards the sound of a large brass band, and stumbled upon the highlight of the trip.
There on the side of the road was a troupe of young brass and saxophone (yes, I know my wind instruments) players, dressed in everything from glitter to (the recurring theme of) drag, surrounded by crows of French people laughing and filming and in some cases, dancing along (she was old, it was bad). They were playing all sorts of music, from your semi-traditional pieces (semi as they funk-ified a lot of their music) to Disney classics such as "In the Jungle" and "The Bear Neccessities", fuelled by copious amounts of beer. I spent a good hour watching and laughing and listening as they played the afternoon away, and was struck by the though of how bohemian it all was; standing on the side of the road, drinking, with your friends, and then picking up your instruments and creating a show for everyone to enjoy. I actually wished I could participate, as it was the sort of outlandish fun that appeals to me.
I wandered back to the hostel as they finished and started looking up my next few days worth of travel and hostels. I met up again with Nina and Adam and relaxed for a while as they had dinner and I caught up on my blogs, before I continued to stress over train tickets and then crashed.
The next morning I awoke early to face the 55 minute flight to Geneva, and then my travels onward. Geneva is actually an incredibly expensive city to stay in, and I had heard from other travellers that the place to go was actually a city in the Alps called Interlaken. I made my flight after a walk in the rain to the bus airport shuttle bus and finding my way around Toulouse Blagnac, and after a little wait was on my way on the next part of my journey, which is where I will leave you!
Until next time!
Love Love!
Clem xx
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| The bus ride to Toulouse |
I arrived in Toulouse on the afternoon of the 28th exhausted and thoroughly prepared for two nights of a decent sleep that hadn't been induced by alcohol. After my 20+ hour bus ride, I thought this a reasonable thing to expect of myself in a beautiful city in the South of France. When I arrived in the bus station, I was fully prepared to follow their directions and catch the metro, switching once, and then walking to get to the hostel, however being a traveller on a budget, I decided that not only would a bus be cheaper, but more efficient. Oh how wrong I was. After being thoroughly confused as to the way buses in Southern France seemingly don't work, I decided to start walking.
 |
| Place Capitole |
I managed (using my excellent French skills-thanks Ariella) to find my way to the main street, and then walked form bus stop to bus stop checking the map making sure I was going in the right direction. After I had turned a fifteen minute walk into an hour and and a bit, I found my hostel, even more exhausted and prepared for a good sleep than before. However, before crashing I had to take care of that small thing called dinner.
I got out of the shower after freshening up and met some of my absolutely lovely room-mates, Nina and Adam, who were on their way to the supermarket. I hurried to join them, after being told it shut at 7 (it was then 6:30) and stocked up on noodles and wine. Yes I know I said no alcohol, but Rose was cheap, who was I to let it pass? We made it back to the hostel and after preparing our dinners went downstairs to relax and eat. It was a rather lovely night, and I awoke the next morning to my fresh breakfast, looking ahead to a day of exploring.
 |
| Cathedral St Sernin |
However, my plans took an interesting turn. I found that accommodation in my next city of choice, Bordeaux, was too expensive and so I had a change of heart. I decided that since I could get a cheap flight to Switzerland I would take it and move my plans forward a few days. After booking my flight and consulting my already weathered tourist map, I set off to explore the city.
My first stop was to be the Cathedral of Saint Sernin, which whilst beautiful was not anything spectacular. It's beauty was marred by the expanses of waste laid at the base and which a team of street cleaners was trying to clear (but looked more like they were just star gazing at). I continued walking.
 |
| The River |
My plan was to follow the river for a while, walking down under the gorgeous English trees in the sun and shade and then back along the other side. I walked around the Place Capitole and managed to find the river, being surprised at the amount of waste in the river and at how fast it was flowing.
I crossed one bridge and meandered my way past a gorgeous park on the other side, before making my way back towards Centre Ville to find some cool places to stay for a while. I ended up (by accident) making my way back to to Place Capitol, and it was here that I was made to remember why I became a musician.
 |
| Why? Well, why not? |
At the opposite corner of the square, I could hear brass music. I needed to go in that general direction, so I made my way towards the sound of a large brass band, and stumbled upon the highlight of the trip.
There on the side of the road was a troupe of young brass and saxophone (yes, I know my wind instruments) players, dressed in everything from glitter to (the recurring theme of) drag, surrounded by crows of French people laughing and filming and in some cases, dancing along (she was old, it was bad). They were playing all sorts of music, from your semi-traditional pieces (semi as they funk-ified a lot of their music) to Disney classics such as "In the Jungle" and "The Bear Neccessities", fuelled by copious amounts of beer. I spent a good hour watching and laughing and listening as they played the afternoon away, and was struck by the though of how bohemian it all was; standing on the side of the road, drinking, with your friends, and then picking up your instruments and creating a show for everyone to enjoy. I actually wished I could participate, as it was the sort of outlandish fun that appeals to me.
 |
| The guy in the blue jacket was my favourite. He danced along. |
I wandered back to the hostel as they finished and started looking up my next few days worth of travel and hostels. I met up again with Nina and Adam and relaxed for a while as they had dinner and I caught up on my blogs, before I continued to stress over train tickets and then crashed.
The next morning I awoke early to face the 55 minute flight to Geneva, and then my travels onward. Geneva is actually an incredibly expensive city to stay in, and I had heard from other travellers that the place to go was actually a city in the Alps called Interlaken. I made my flight after a walk in the rain to the bus airport shuttle bus and finding my way around Toulouse Blagnac, and after a little wait was on my way on the next part of my journey, which is where I will leave you!
Until next time!
Love Love!
Clem xx
Haha, how funny we both posted on the same day about brass bands on the street!!! Glad to see you are enjoying your travels!
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