Toulouse and another day. 20 July 2026. Pictures to follow or on facebook

Waking up itchy from last nights bites accumulated from the river. So worth it and … itchy. 

Today the plans changed. Instead of Carcassonne trip by train we stay another free day in Toulouse and tomorrow to Carcassonne.

Five of us concoct a last minute plan to rent a small car and go for a swim – somewhere out of town. It takes a while to coordinate the rental. We are determined to make the dream come true on this free day. 

Heading out on the open road in our electric car we agree on a name for our brave group. We are “Tou- lousers”

  A little play on words we use all day. We hear the sounds of the song from Queen … “no time Toulosers – we are the champions of the world “. We can do anything!!  This is a freedom road trip.  

One of my favourite sites in France is rows and rows of Plane trees lining the sides of the roadways. I take another hundred pictures out the windshield with my iPhone. 

OMG fields and fields of golden heads – Sunflowers looking down from the harsh sun and clear blue sky. Nestled in their green rows we were almost speechless at the abundant display of beauty. Perfection 

Each suggesting musical preferences that we could all enjoy, through Spotify we enjoyed classics including Joni Mitchell and we burst into song and memory. 

A necessary stop to turn around seemed a great opportunity to photograph sunflowers up close and find a sheltered field to P 

We drive through small town of Castres. And stop. Photos of the River. Bridge. Baby ducks.  Fountains 

Monday everything closed. I have been here before, I recall. I think we had a picnic lunch here?

Singing along with Bohemian rhapsody through roundabouts, sometimes twice as we missed our off turn. Haha. Laughter and happy voices filled our car. Joy and freedom through small towns and backroads in south of France. 

Miles of rich green lushious vineyards. We find a rest stop and talk to some horses. Canals, bridges, rolling hills, terra cotta rooftops, little charming stone buildings nestled in quaint communities. 

We are determined with goal set to swim in the Mediterranean. We arrive at Valras Plage and park in a spot with with charger for our electric car. A mere block from the sandy vacation spot. 

The beach was beautiful with soft light tan sand and broken shells. So many people enjoying the water, resting under umbrellas and baking in the hot sun. The water was not cold but provided coolish relief from hot sweaty day. We floated, some in bathing suits, some in clothes. Happy for the experience and grateful to share it together. 

We swam in the sea for 20-25 minutes while car charged (we thought). But it didn’t. Now the other charger is in use so we are waiting and trying again with another cable. A full hour probably. 

We decided to try to push onward and find a better charger on route back to Toulouse. We used an app and found just the right fast efficient charger. Deanna was an excellent driver, Rachel navigating and working the phone, map and keeping us organized and moving through this adventure. 

Laughter. Singing. Fields of sunflowers. Picnic lunches. A swim in the Mediterranean Sea. So many highlights of this special shared day. 

We dropped the car at 11 pm, home to hotel heliot at about 1230. Exhausted, satisfied and completely happy. Bon soir from Toulouse.