We arrived early in Toulouse.
There was a reason for it.
Our day in Paris was, unfortunately, a total wash.
First, our flight was delayed by two hours. However, some of that was made up by how quick our flight was. We made it to Paris in under six hours. The pilot mentioned that they had gone about 1,100 kilometers per hour for a stretch.
So that helped. We didn't arrive as early as six in the morning, as was originally scheduled. However, we also didn't arrive at eight, which had been the adjusted expected time of arrival. Instead, we arrived in Paris smack in the middle, at seven o'clock in the morning.
However, what ground we made up was lost during the ridiculously long and inefficient wait to get through customs. It was uncomfortably warm and long and aggravated everyone. People's tempers were flaring.
When we finally got past all of that, it was 9:15. Still plenty of time, although clearly not as much as originally expected.
More setbacks were on the way, though.
Quickly, we discovered that there was a nationwide public transportation strike. It was the second time that I arrived in Paris during a public transportation strike.
That made things considerably longer.
We did manage to take the train to Paris, and then transferred to the Metro line to Orly Airport, which was where we were departing from later.
By this time, however, I pointed out that it was about 11 in the morning. Our time had grown short.
My brother is sick and he was exhausted. He said that the delays and inconveniences at Charles De Gaulle Airport had pretty much wiped him out. We were just going to head to Orly Airport and wait for our flight.
Neither of us were happy about these developments, of course.
Still, it just didn't feel plausible. We had our luggage, and that made stopping in Paris while we were there highly inconvenient. Having to go all the way to the airport to check our bags in - they could not offer to take our luggage to Toulouse since our arrival airport and departure airport were not one and the same - and then coming back to Paris felt like too much time. So it was off.
Obviously, we were disappointed. It felt like everything was working against us to that point.
Then, we finally got a break.
Because of the inconveniences due to the public transportation strike, we managed to get a much earlier flight to Toulouse. It did not even cost extra.
Needless to say, we jumped on the opportunity.
It felt like this was a break that we needed.
We arrived in Toulouse at around 2:30. Still, the transportation strike made things a bit more complicated than it otherwise would have been.
However, we were able to take a bus that brought us to the Toulouse Metro. From there, we found our subway station and managed to get directions to our hotel from some local police officers.
It was not a long walk. We found our hotel easily.
Checked in and went to our room.
Then, we both took a decent nap.
Once we both woke up, it was evening. It was closing in on eight in the evening, but at least we still had a bit of daylight. Finally, we were on our way.
We walked along the major artery back to the centre ville. Eventually, we found a Lebanese restaurant with some tables outside, so that we could take in the atmosphere of Toulouse while sitting and relaxing. Eating outside, especially on the sidewalks of cobblestone streets, still is one of my favorite things to do whenever visiting Europe.
That, plus the meal, got us in a better frame of mind.
Taking our time, we talked about our annoyingly long day. My brother had barely eaten anything in two days, so this helped restore him. We also mentioned how it was nice to be on our actual trip, as well as in a country where Trump was not the president.
After we were done, we found a little grocery market where we could pick up some snacks and drinks.
Then, we headed to the Capitale, which is the main tourist center in Toulouse.
Obviously, I took some pictures, which seemed worth sharing here. They can be found below. Most of them were taken at night, obviously.
Enjoy.
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