Biarritz/Toulouse
Last week I had a break from school. I had initially planned on going to Iceland to visit Tom, but due to the fact that we're not really together anymore, that he left the day before I was supposed to arrive, and that I can't even leave France because my visa expired, I didn't go. Instead I went on a short trip to Biarritz and Toulouse with Natalia, Agata, and Stephanie.
Our train left from Tours at 9h and we were supposed to arrive in Biarritz at 14h15 after changing trains in Bordeaux, but the train we took from Bordeaux split at the station in Dax, and we were in the wrong car. So, after getting more than halfway to Pau, we realized that we were not heading towards Biarritz anymore when the ticket guy told us we weren't on the right train. We took the next train from Pau to Biarritz and ended up getting there around 17h30... It was cold and raining, but we went to the beach anyway. It looked like it would have been nice during the day. We went out to eat at this really nice restaurant to make up for our shit luck and had some amazing seafood. We ate Moules Frites à la basquaise, which is a regional dish consisting of mussels(moules) and french fries(frites) in a tomato and pepper sauce (à la basquaise). Delicious.
The next morning we went to Toulouse, where it was raining harder and even colder than it was in Biarritz. The youth hostel was full and so were most of the other hotels, but we found a nice lady that rented us out a room for cheap. We went in a few cathedrals and checked out the Capitole, but we didn't get a very good look at the city because of the rain. Natalia and I went back to the hotel early and I got to take a bath (yay!) before we went back out to a bar where there were a bunch of students having a Halloween party. Natalia and I stayed in Toulouse and went shopping the next day while Agata and Stephanie went to Carcassonne. It would've been nice to see, but I'm glad that I didn't go because their train broke down halfway back to Toulouse and they didn't make the train back to Tours.
I ended up falling in love with Toulouse despite the weather. I'm seriously considering finishing school there, or going back after I get my degree from UNT and teaching english while I go to nursing school.
Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to classes starting back up again this week.
Our train left from Tours at 9h and we were supposed to arrive in Biarritz at 14h15 after changing trains in Bordeaux, but the train we took from Bordeaux split at the station in Dax, and we were in the wrong car. So, after getting more than halfway to Pau, we realized that we were not heading towards Biarritz anymore when the ticket guy told us we weren't on the right train. We took the next train from Pau to Biarritz and ended up getting there around 17h30... It was cold and raining, but we went to the beach anyway. It looked like it would have been nice during the day. We went out to eat at this really nice restaurant to make up for our shit luck and had some amazing seafood. We ate Moules Frites à la basquaise, which is a regional dish consisting of mussels(moules) and french fries(frites) in a tomato and pepper sauce (à la basquaise). Delicious.
The next morning we went to Toulouse, where it was raining harder and even colder than it was in Biarritz. The youth hostel was full and so were most of the other hotels, but we found a nice lady that rented us out a room for cheap. We went in a few cathedrals and checked out the Capitole, but we didn't get a very good look at the city because of the rain. Natalia and I went back to the hotel early and I got to take a bath (yay!) before we went back out to a bar where there were a bunch of students having a Halloween party. Natalia and I stayed in Toulouse and went shopping the next day while Agata and Stephanie went to Carcassonne. It would've been nice to see, but I'm glad that I didn't go because their train broke down halfway back to Toulouse and they didn't make the train back to Tours.
I ended up falling in love with Toulouse despite the weather. I'm seriously considering finishing school there, or going back after I get my degree from UNT and teaching english while I go to nursing school.
Oddly enough, I'm looking forward to classes starting back up again this week.