Some cities you love or hate, some you love and hate and some leave you a little undecided. Barcelona I love and London is definitely love and hate, though perhaps hate is too much of an emotive word. We walked extensively (emphasis on extensively) round Toulouse today. I began with pre conceived ideas about it, which changed as the day went on. I can’t ignore it’s obvious homeless rough sleepers, an encampment of whom were about to be evicted by the municipal police from a shop frontage this morning. I’m not condemning them at all, just that their presence makes you feel a bit on edge. However, the rest of Toulouse began to win me over. It has fabulous architecture, intriguing history, lots of open spaces, quirky and swanky boutiques and more variety of bars and restaurants than you can poke with a Michelin star.

On our rambles, we came across Capsule a quirky small pavement cafe run by two lovely girls. We had a hot drink and a couple of very yummy patisseries and found out that they had only been open less than a week. We loved it so much we decided to return for a late lunch.

From late morning we wandered around, taking in the Capitole, then down to the Jardin des Plantes and up the Allees Francois Verdier, where an antiques market was in full swing. There’s certainly plenty of variety in Toulouse.

By now we were flagging and our weary legs led us back to Capsule for a much needed light snack and a cold drink. It’s a shame they aren’t open tomorrow, as I’m certain we would have returned. Retracing our route from this morning, we walked past the river and then the canal, where we paused to watch a tourist boat negotiate the locks back into the river, with the lock keeper operating the gates by remote control. This evening we’ve relaxed in our hotel room, massaging our over used legs with virtual essential oils…or eating crisps as we know it..

We’ll wander a bit further tomorrow, then in the evening we have a date at a two Michelin star restaurant. Let’s hope they turn the lights on…