A Frizzy Weekend In… Toulouse
A couple of years back, after celebrating a significant birthday in Mexico I told myself that I would spend every birthday abroad. About that plan, it crashed and failed! But on my last birthday, I woke up 2 days before and alongside my sister said “Yo, peace out England. Hi Toulouse!”
First Impressions
I left England in 9-degree rainy weather and I touched down to 30 degrees. My turtle neck top was stuck to me so I was 50 shades of flustered. I noticed how clean the streets were though.
What I Did
Treated a boujie Seafood restaurant like a strip club on my birthday. I was throwing euros down on all type of seafood that I’d never tried before! Clam, clam, sea snail… oui oui, euro, euro… splash. I’m sure I endangered the seafood species because I was eating all sorts non- stop. Oh yeah, and I dropped a whole seafood platter. Oops!
Chilled by Pont Neuf river day and night. During the night time, it gets super lively, with food and music. And during the day it’s really calming to just chill there with a takeaway.
Visited staple places such as La Capitole and the Basilica of Saint Sernin. The buildings were cute. I didn’t learn about the history behind the buildings or anything. Sometimes just stare and admire.
Spent half a day in the Jardin Du Japonais reading and being mesmerized by the view. If you do only thing in Toulouse, you have to visit these gardens. Honestly, they are so beautiful.
Stumbled into some random graffiti street art district and fell in love. The road is called Rue de Gramat.
Food
I’m a seafood lover so Toulouse was the shiz-naii-ee no flies around. The food was fresh, I was forever full up. And I literally had my cake and could eat it too. There are also a lot of Senegalese restaurants so you can get your West African food fix. Senegalese fish is prestige!!! They seem to run on Black people time so don’t rush there at 6.30 pm when they have just opened at 6.pm, because they just might be closed.
Food Spot Recommendations
Brasserie, Les Boux Arts: The Fishmonger Platter
Black Lemon: Carrot Cake and the best smoothies.
Wrap Up
Toulouse was actually amazing. It was quirky, tasty, and it was super relaxing. You will not be disappointed spending your birthday there and it’s also the perfect location for solo travels. Everywhere is so easy to get to which makes a first trip there extra nice. I would go back, I think it’s perfect if you’re there for a good time, not a long time.
I cried in the lead up to my birthday because I felt miserable that I’d be in England on yet another year. After my breakdown session, I G’d up and went on Skyscanner and checked for the cheapest flights out of the UK. Random places like Luxemburg came up. 4th on the list was Toulouse and I just ran with it. I’m really happy that I chose this city.
A Frizzy Weekend in… Cannes No Festival
I visited Cannes last month, literally in between two of the biggest Cannes festivals Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Lion. Visiting Cannes definitely created an... I came, I saw, I conquered moment. Keeping it all the way 100, you don't need more than one day in Cannes. It's only a 30-minute train ride and €4.90 train ticket from the city of Nice, which is a 2-hour flight from the London. No peer pressure, but I'm going to throw it out there you could fly out in the morning, bang out the day, then be home in your bed after a night flight! Bada-bing Bada-boom.
Shopping
Head to the Boulevard de la Croisette to find the well-known luxury brands. I’m talking the usual premium brands such as Chanel, Gucci and Prada. Imagine Knightsbridge in London except with palm trees. C’mon that’s a nice location to shop in! Plus across the road is the seafront. The road stretches over 1 mile and there are all sorts going on there. People walking their dogs, people jogging, effortlessly, and people heading to and from the beach in their swimwear.
Between the train station and the main boulevard, there are lots of boutique shops and your well known high street ones. Plus, if you are from the UK and are barely surviving without Sephora, Cannes has you covered!
Beachlife
So how it works in Cannes is there are public beaches and also private parts of the beach. The private parts generally are reserved for restaurants or hotels. Because I went in between two festival there were loads of pop-up restaurants and I kid you not they tried to charge me €13 for a soft drink. And I saw Coca Cola on the menu for €10. Newsflash- I'm not that girl!
The public beaches are perfectly fine and I found that they weren’t packed at all, there were only a small amount people there. FYI the sand feels better than it looks. It looks quite grainy but it feels softer. I mean it’s definitely not Seychelles type of sand but it will do.
I can't tell you how nice the sea was for surfing etc because I didn't do that. It was a shame to see that on certain parts of the beach there was lots of oil in the water. It was really off-putting. I'm assuming it's because of all the big yachts parked up nearby, but if you’re after a holiday where swimming plays a large role, I’d reconsider going to Cannes.
Major Key- How happy would you be if you could get a massage whilst you sunbathe on the beach? Some ladies roaming the beaches have got you covered, for €25 per 20 minutes. Don't try to look for them, they'll find you!
Food
The food in Cannes was the highlight of my trip big time. One restaurant in particular really stood out and is open for both lunch and dinner. Astoux & Brun serve the good-good fresh seafood. Seafood and fish is their speciality. And I had the opportunity to try escargot for the first time. *Insert Drake lyric* When’s the last time you did something for the first time? They are basically big snails. It sounds nasty when you overthink it but they taste banging. Ooouu and I also tried oysters for the first time... I have no shame saying that I had to Google how to eat oysters. Lobster, Crab and all that good stuff are also available at the restaurant.
For a light lunch I’d recomment eating the Seafood Spaghetti at L'Avion or getting a Pad Thai Salad at Warner’s Cafe.
*I have a confession I saw a snail in my garden today and found my mind drifting into what it might taste like*
Accommodation
If you want to spend a night or two or three in Cannes there are plenty of places to stay. I went with an apartment I found on Air Bnb which was a 15 minute walk away from the beach and anything important. Cannes really isn’t a big city. the property was clean, bright and cost £69/€80 per night. Plus it had a mini kitchen. I didn’t cook but it’s nice to know the option was there. The closer you are to the beach the more you pay for properties so bare that in mind. Prices range from £150 per night upwards.
Photo’s taken from host’s Air Bnb page *
Wrap Up
If you're going Cannes you need to slay. Cannes is not a humble visit. No, no, no you need to get your "bad and boujie" persona on. So get your shades out of your wardrobe, bring out them Oooh lala outfits and get tah stepping.
Disclaimer: I will not take any responsibility for you going into your overdraft after reading this post!
