Sunday, March 4th, 2007

We planned a hiking trip during one of our weekly French Friday meetings at Bapz. The forecast for Sunday was a bright and sunny day with temperatures expected to reach 24° — what better excuse to head for the hills! And so it was, that on Sunday, March 4th, eight members of English in Toulouse met in Bonnac for a hike and a picnic.

We met at the church, which is conveniently located at the start of our trek, at around 11.30am. When everyone was assembled, we headed off up the road, following the yellow trail.

Our walk began alongside a picturesque river and we saw a lot of pretty wild flowers in bloom on the way. Towards the middle of the trek we tackled some very steep hills and finally earned a rest after an hour's walking, when we reached a wide open field. We stopped for the best part of an hour and enjoyed a picnic and a brief siesta in the sun, before continuing on. In the second half of the trek we got a great view of the Pyrenees, which I tried really hard to capture on film.

We finished the trail at around 3pm and briefly explored the village of Bonnac. It being a Sunday, there was nothing open, and the only bar in town was dark and smokey, which we didn't find particularly welcoming. Thirsty and longing for a sunny terrace, we decided to head back towards Toulouse and stop at Les 3 Brasseurs in Labege for an ice-cold beer outside. But it was not to be. Les 3 Brasseurs don't serve drinks in between meal times, so we ended up at Tommy's Diner, across the road. It was rather tacky inside with garish neon pink and turquoise decor, but the beer was cold, the seats were comfortable and, best of all, it was smoke-free.

All in all, the day was very enjoyable and everyone agreed we should do it again sometime.