Today I drove Marissa and the kids to the Cité de l’Espace, a space-themed science centre located in Toulouse. It was decided before-hand that I would not enter the Cité de l’Espace as the admission fees are a little hefty at 19 euros (about $28 CA) per adult so I brought my bike along to pass the time while awaiting for Marissa and the kids to finish their visit.
I spent most of my time cycling along the bike path that parallels the Canal du Midi. Within the downtown core this was not all that pleasant—it seems this path is a favourite crapping place for dogs and the portions of the path that pass underneath the many bridges stink of aged urine—but things really improved the further I went from the city. There are beautiful trees that line both sides of the canal and this canopy provided a pleasant reprieve from the hot sun while I cycled.
One interesting thing that I’ve noticed during my many visits to Toulouse, including today’s visit, is that the homeless youth all seem to carry an entourage of dogs—apparently for protection. I noticed one such group of homeless youth today, close to the train station, getting into an argument with two older homeless fellows. One of the youths grabbed one of the bags belonging to the older-homeless person and then threw it into the canal before motioning to the older fellow that he should immediately vacate the bench that he was resting on. I’m not sure what the argument was about.
I returned to meet up with Marissa and the kids a little earlier than our scheduled meeting time. Rather than wait by the car I then rode to the nearby McDonalds to have a coffee. Upon arriving at the McDonalds I noticed an older cyclist trying to change a flat tire on his bike. I went over to the cyclist to offer my help and he accepted. The fellow, whose name is Louis, is 82 years old and has been cycling the area for over 35 years. He seemed very happy to receive assistance and I was happy to have someone to chat with. Louis thanked me for helping him and insisted on buying me something, so I asked for a coke and then we sat outside and had a great chat for about 30 minutes.
After re-uniting with Marissa and the kids we snacked at McDonalds and returned home for a nice dip in the pool. Speaking of McDonalds, I have to admit, sadly, that we’ve actually eaten there more in the last three months than we have in the entire previous year. Eating out is very expensive here and so our preference is to eat at home or to go to a grocery store or market and buy things for a picnic. But during some of our longer days out it is sometimes more convienent to go to McDonalds and also on days where we do things that are less interesting for the kids, the McDonalds playgrounds always seem to keep the kids in a positive mood while also giving them a chance to practice their French with the other kids playing there.
Marissa will give an update on the tour of Cité de l’Espace later tonight.
