Text: Peter Johansson
Editing: Christer Lundstedt
Photos: Christer Lundstedt, Peter Johansson
Videos: Christer Lundstedt
Friday 30th of December
08.13 The morning dawns in Toulouse and we have slept through one of the last nights of the year here at Hotel ibis budget Toulouse Center Gare. What can the city and the day have to surprise us with? Today we have one of the few full days of this journey in one and the same city. It feels good.
09.20 Most of the morning's business is now completed. Outside there are some gaps and holes in the cloud cover.
10.22 We have initially walked the same route as we walked yesterday when we went home in the evening. Now we have reached Boulevard d'Arcole. Here are some mobile vendors that sell their products. They are simply vehicles that have a small meat shop or cheese shop housed in the vehicle.
10.36 With half-quick steps we have now moved to Basilique Saint-Sernin. The basilica (church) contains relics of 128 saints and a thorn said to be from Jesus' crown of thorns. The weather has unfortunately deteriorated. It has thickened up there.
10.49 Our rainy walk along Rue du Taur has taken us past the Swedish-French teahouse Café Fika. We saw such a Swedish café last summer too when we visited Limerick in Ireland.
11.01 The sky releases a lot of liquid. The Starbucks Coffee we found on Rue Lafayette is small and very well visited. It will probably be another venue for our coffee break. We have arrived at the square Place du Capitole.
11.11 The Starbucks Coffee we are now standing outside is larger than the previous one, but if possible even more well-visited. The coffee hunt continues.
11.31 Third time we succeeded in our coffee hunt. At Columbus Café & Co (https://www.columbuscafe.com/boutique/toulouse-jeanne-darc) on Boulevard de Strasbourg there is both space and coffee. This is a chain we haven't visited before but will gladly return to.
12.17 With coffee in our bodies and less rain, we are back at Place du Capitole. Here there are some beautiful houses and statues.
14.49 It's nice, calm and peaceful here in front of the wall, but that can change if the sun disappears. It is probably best that we continue. We have some things left to see here in Toulouse. Right now it is +17˚C. It's a perfectly fine temperature at the end of December.
18.48 On the TV right now a number of funny clips from things recorded by ordinary people are being shown. The program is called Le Grand Bȇtisier.
Saturday 31st of December
Canal du Midi, Toulouse.
Meat vendors on Boulevard d'Arcole.
Basilique Saint-Sernin, Toulouse.
Café Fika on Rue du Taur.
Better than Systembolaget?
Christmas tree at Square Charles de Gaulle.
Our coffee hunt led us to Columbus Café & Co.
Christer has found a seat at Columbus Café & Co.
Carousel de Jeanne d'Arc, Toulouse.
Le Capitole, the city hall of Toulouse.
Place du Capitole.
Couvent des Jacobins. The theologian Thomas Aquinas rests here.
The Garonne flows through Toulouse.
Peter takes notes in front of the Basilique Notre Dame la Daurade.
Pont Neuf, Toulouse.
Musée des Augustins, Toulouse.
Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, Toulouse.
Travel journal entries behind the Christmas tree.
Monument des Combattants de la Haute-Garonne.
Christer at Les Gourmets d'Asie.
Peter is enjoying this evening's dinner.
09.01 After the last night of this year, it will now be a bedside breakfast here in our room. Today we will switch Toulouse to the next city on this trip's long list of French cities. In the local dialect (language) Occitan, breakfast is called dejunar. The language's closest relative is Catalan. The area where Occitan was spoken is called Occitanie and includes parts of southern France and smaller areas in northern Spain.
09.36 The closing day of the year is a dull day to begin with. Within the next hour we will be making our way to the city's Toulouse Matabiau train station a short walk from our hotel. 10.07 We have checked out of the hotel and before we check in to the next city we will get there via the railway network. 10.49 Ahead of us is the station building at Toulouse Matabiau. Soon we will be in there too. A short distance away is the name of the city in large red letters. It is also advertising for next year's Rugby World Cup to be held in France. Toulouse will be one of the venues. Toulouse actually has Europe's most successful rugby team. Stade Toulousein have become European champions five times. 11.04 It seems that we can´t leave yet. In any case, not when we want, a delayed train for us causes it. 11.13 There will be further delays. This means that we will miss the planned connecting train in Narbonne. That is what will take us on to Montpellier. However, there is another train on that route, but then there will be more waiting before it departs.
Toulouse letters outside the train station.
Toulouse Matabiau railway station.
Christer is waiting for a delayed train.
Finally on the way.
Gare de Narbonne.
How much of the town do we have time to see?
12.07 The train has finally rolled into the station. It's almost an hour late. Apparently it is due to some kind of technical problem.
13.11 The journey continues east through a cultivated landscape. It's not that far to the next station. How long will our wait be there? 13.23 Now something actually happens here on the train. A light-skinned man with a beer can is generally unhappy. He waves and talks loudly, especially to a dark-skinned man with whom he seems very angry. 13.44 Now there is certainly more happening on the train. However, we do not know what happens there. We have stepped off the train and are currently on a park bench in one of France's oldest cities, Narbonne. In ancient times it was known as Narbo. The Romans founded here in 118 BC. his first colony in Gaul and called it Narbo martius. It was located on the Via Domitia, the first Roman road through Gaul. As the capital of the Romans' first province of Gaul (Gallia narbonensis) and a station for the Roman fleet, Narbo became a rival to Massilia (today's Marseille), but a great fire in 150 and the division of the province reduced the city's importance. Under the Visigoths it was then one of the most important cities before it was captured by the Arabs in 719. Today there are 51,869 inhabitants here in Narbonne. 14.25 After tasting small, sour, orange-colored citrus fruits in the eco-garden at Square Thérèse Léon Blum, we have started to make our way back towards the train station. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to see the center here in Narbonne. 14.53 Before we boarded the next train, I bought an espresso. It was actually the first coffee of the day for me. I don't usually wait this long, Now we are ready to continue our journey. 15.37 We have just passed Béziers, a city we had planned to see along the way to today's final destination. Unfortunately, it was not possible because the train we intended to take was cancelled. Now that we are in Agde, we are more than halfway to Montpellier. Only around a third of the day remains in the year.
Waiting in a park in Narbonne.
Many people want to go by train on New Year's Eve.
Peter takes a break at Paul's sandwich shop.
At the Montpellier Saint-Roch railway station.
Circular view from the hotel room.
Evening in Montpellier.
16.28 After a number of hours of travel, we finally arrive in Montpellier and at the Montpellier Saint-Roch station. It is this city that this year gets to host our New Year's celebration. Here 2022 ends and here 2023 starts. At the sandwich café Paul at the station we now enjoy coffee with a ham and cheese baguette.
17.04 At the Hôtel Campanile Montpellier Center Saint-Roch and in room 561 we will spend a little more than half a day. The hotel is right next to the station. Now we're going to stop for a bit before we go out again. Unfortunately, we will probably experience Montpellier in the dark. The time of year and the train problems mean that we have time to see very little in daylight. 18.00 After covering a few matches in the Premier Leaugue, we start to get ready for the last hours of the day. We will look around the city and eat a New Year's dinner, preferably consisting of something more luxurious than what we usually eat during the trip. 18.43 We have walked around in a glittering and flashing Montpellier. We want to see the best of the sights before New Year's dinner. Montpellier is France's fastest growing city both in terms of economy and population. It is also the city with the largest proportion of students in the population. There are 311,835 inhabitants living here. 18.54 After passing a triumphal arch (Arc de Triomphe) from 1692, we are in a park area (Promenade du Peyrou) with countless shining and flashing lights in several colors. It is i.a. elves, reindeer, trees and a fox. Here also stands a not quite so brilliant statue of Louis the Great, also known as Louis XIV.
Carousel at Place de la Comédie, Montpellier.
Opéra Orchester National Montpellier Occitanie.
Christmas tree in front of Préfecture de l'Hérault.
Arc de Triomphe, triumphal arch from 1692.
Bright Christmas decorations on the Promenade du Peyrou.
This will be this year's New Year's restaurant.
19.31 We had found two equivalent meat restaurants on the same street, Rue Aristide Ollivier. We opted out of À La Braise and instead went to Le Carnivore (https://le-carnivore.fr). This is where we will eat our New Year's meal. There will be plenty of meat, Entrecôte XXL. It is not possible to order wine with the food. We had missed that it was marked Halal on the door and thus food and drink adapted for Muslim visitors.
20.15 It was really good, but I certainly missed a Gin & Tonic before the meal and a good glass of red wine with the meat. Now we´ll go and buy drinks for the stroke of twelve. 20.45 Things are not going well for us now. The supermarkets Carrefour and Spar have both closed for the New Year. Nothing is open inside the railway station either. We refuse to bow down. Something must be open somewhere, right? 21.17 On a small street corner near the station there was and probably still is the small shop Le Bienvenue. It became our saviour in times of need. There we have been able to buy tomorrow's breakfast and something to drink at midnight. Good! Then we can walk towards the hotel again. 22.03 We let the clock tick on towards midnight. We intend to celebrate the New Year in the room instead of making the town. There is certainly a better atmosphere there, but more difficult to uncork our drink.
The meal at Le Carnivore, lots of meat but no wine.
Le Bienvenue, the store that saved our New Year's celebration. Many thanks!
Tintin waiting for the stroke of twelve.
Peter prepares the New Year's drink.
23.04 Here in the room, we mostly take it easy and watch French TV. Various things are shown on the channels. Tintin is shown on one channel. In Finland it has just become 2023. Yes, in many other countries too!
23.24 A look at the news tells us that the former Pope Benedict XVI died this morning. Peace to his memory. 23.40 Soon it is time to open the purchased bottle. This year, unfortunately, we don't have a balcony to toast on, but we do have a bottle of Café de Paris Brut to toast with. The TV shows the New Year's celebration from Paris. It will be a double Paris for us, in other words. 23.54 Now it's almost time. It is important to prepare everything that is needed. It's an opened bottle, glass to drink from and a phone to film with during the stroke of twelve.
Sunday 1st of January
00.05 Bonne année, Happy New Year! 2022 has turned into 2023. The drink was suitably bubbly and good. On the TV, the New Year's parade from Paris with the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées is shown. From Montpellier you can hear fireworks, music and people. A new travel year is here. During the previous one we got out into Europe again. How will it be this year? Are we leaving Europe?
00.55 It has become a tradition to celebrate the new year in various places outside of Sweden. We have been doing it ever since the new year 2008/2009. Now it's time to see if I can manage to sleep this year too. 08.44 It's nice to sleep. It is also nice to wake up with the certainty of the proximity of the railway station we are leaving from. Now it will be the first breakfast of the year. Yesterday, the Swedish junior ice hockey team lost 5-1 in the match versus Canada. It is the first Swedish loss in the first round in a long time. 09.41 Goodbye the room! You will be missed. It is clearly the best room on the trip so far. Maybe only natural because it was the most expensive too. 09.56 At check-out we were told that what was paid for the room and deposit yesterday has been put back into Christer's account again. Could we pay for the room now? It was made by Christer. When he was going to check that everything was correct, he did not come online. I didn't manage to get out either. Well, we have a train we're going on. By the way, why did they take a deposit, as far as I know they haven't checked that the room is okay. 10.07 The train with Avignon as final destination is boarded by the two of us. However, we are not going to go with you all the way.
Our hotel has an interesting architecture.
Here we sat and waited far too long.
Christer visits Starbucks at Gare de Nîmes.
Underground vaults of the Nîmes railway station.
Once again we are staying with the ibis hotel chain (Hôtel ibis budget Nimes Center Gare).
A light meal at Square Feuchères.
10.31 The tickets have been checked, the mobiles have been restarted, we have contact with the internet again and as far as the payment is concerned, no money has been put back from yesterday but it has been withdrawn today. However, all payment is only reserved and preliminary. It seems that we lost contact with our Swedish internet provider when it was a new year. After restarting the phones we have surf again.
10.55 When the train rolled into Gare de Nîmes, it felt as if the whole city was waiting for us on the platform. Now that we're out on the town, however, we don't see many souls. We just sat down on a bench. Check-in at the hotel is only in three hours. Do we carry the backpacks with us or do we go and see if we can leave them at the hotel already? 11.42 Sad news reaches us. The Swedish actor Bert-Åke Varg died last night. More fun news is that we know where the next hotel is and that we have sat down at Starbucks to drink coffee. This branch is located inside the station building and it is quite beautiful here with a stone arch to the roof. 12.37 Strengthened and recharged by the coffee break, we set our sights on a park. We didn't get in there, the gate was closed and locked. Now we are back where we sat before the Starbucks visit. Nîmes is another southern French city with a long history. It is usually called the most Roman city outside of Italy. During the Roman Empire, the city was a regional capital with a population of approx. 50,000–60,000 inhabitants. Several famous Roman monuments can be found here, such as the amphitheater and the temple of Maison Carrée. Nowadays, 146,709 inhabitants live here. 13.28 Hôtel ibis Budget Nîmes Center Gare is the name of our new home here in Nîmes. Check-in went well. However, room 206 was not cleaned when we got there. When I took the opportunity to visit the toilet in the room, the cleaning lady appeared in there. Now Christer and I are back in the lobby. The cleaning lady is in the room to complete her mission. 13.41 That's it, now we have a new, simple room. The stop in here will be short. We should see more of Nîmes than what we have had time to do so far.
Fontaine Pradier, Nimes.
Santa and his reindeer are on site in Nîmes.
Are penguins and igloos really in the same place?
Memorial to those who died for the motherland 1914-1918.
Arènes de Nîmes, the city's Roman amphitheater.
Eglise Saint-Paul, Nîmes.
14.17 It's almost time to say au revoir, goodbye to the hotel room. Nîmes is waiting as I said and the room is not that exciting.
14.48 After buying baguettes and juice in a kiosk at the railway station, we will now have a light meal in a park. 15.10 Around us in the Square de Bruxelles there is a bull statue, a small amusement park, a Roman amphitheater and an emergency vehicle. In addition to this, there are some extra decorations connected to Christmas and winter. There are polar bears, penguins and Santa and his reindeer. 15.14 Now we are at a beautiful memorial to those who fell during some of the battles of the First World War. Battles such as Marne, Sommes and Verdun are mentioned here. But also some in Mali, Africa. 15.46 After seeing some possible dinner restaurants and a beautiful church (Eglise Saint-Paul) we arrive at the Roman temple Maison Carrée. It is, as I see it, well preserved. Maison Carrée was built in 19 BC. by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, who also had the Pantheon built in Rome. The temple is dedicated to Emperor Augustus' grandsons Gaius and Lucius. The reason why the temple has been preserved so well is above all that it was transformed into a Christian church in the 4th century. 15.56 We are at a small watercourse, a small canal. A short distance away, there is a small stone plaque with the city's symbol, a palm tree and a crocodile, as well as text about the memory of the victims of a flood in the city on October 3, 1988. 16.15 Here in the Les Jardins de La Fontaine park area, we have just avoided a bearded man with a microphone. He seemed eager to interview and hunted for suitable victims. Now that the man has wandered off to his car, we will look around here among ruins, fountains and ponds. The garden here was laid out in the 18th century and then some Roman remains that had been forgotten since the Middle Ages were also discovered. 16.43 We returned into the park and have documented swans, ducks and most recently the ruin of the Roman temple dedicated to Diana, the goddess of the hunt. The last mentioned is clearly more worn than the temple we saw earlier today. 17.02 The homeward walk has begun. We just saw what I think was a bookcase. Can anyone leave and/or take books from it?
Maison carrée, Nîmes.
Emperor Antoninus Pius looks out over Nîmes.
Quai de la Fontaine, Nîmes.
Les Jardins de La Fontaine.
Temple of Diana in Les Jardins de La Fontaine.
Tour de l'Horloge de Nîmes.
17.45 After we have been to the cathedral which was draped due to reconstruction, I have been on a visit of a private nature inside the railway station. Now we will hopefully go shopping. Hope some shop is open even though it's New Year's Day.
18.28 We had to buy our breakfast at the small store Spar at Place Montcalm. Sure, it was a long walk here, but at least now we have some kind of breakfast for tomorrow. Now we rest for a while at home.
18.45 I have delved a little deeper into what we saw earlier. The stone plaque we saw at 4pm is linked to a dramatic event on that very date in 1988. An extreme thunderstorm brought around 400mm of rain in a few hours. Large amounts of water rushed through the city and at least nine people died. 19.14 In order to go out for dinner, we have to muster up the strength. To get this power we have to go out to eat. 19.53 At Pizza Cozy (https://www.pizzacosy.fr) near the amphitheater we have ordered a pizza and a beer, not to share but a duet each. The beer is an IPA of local character. 21.13 The duet was accompanied by an espresso each. Both the beer and the pizzas were really good. Now we are at home for important plans and decisions. 22.58 Now we are thinking about how to get between Avignon and Marseille on Tuesday. Do we go straight or do we stop somewhere along the way? This is something you need to think about when pre-purchasing train tickets at reasonably reasonable prices. 23.40 The first day of 2023 is coming to an end. Tomorrow, our French trip continues with visits to two new cities.
Christer is ready to eat a pizza dinner.
Peter at Pizza Cozy.
The city's most famous bullfighter Christian Montcouquiol in front of the beautifully lit Arènes de Nîmes.
You can see 87 photos from December 30 in this photoalbum.
You can see 57 photos from December 31 in this photoalbum.
You can see 89 photos from January 1 in this photoalbum.