Toulouse and surroundings with lots of rain

We had been spoiled by good weather since mid-November, but then we were hit by a bad spell in the Basque Country, which continued to haunt us during our time in Toulouse. But that's just part of it!

We were relatively lucky with the weather during our stay in the fall, but you just have to find things that work in the rain, even if hiking isn't possible.

We went to Aeroscopia because Toulouse is the home of Airbus, so you can take part. I've always wanted to fly Concorde, but unfortunately that's no longer possible, so we went for the fun and marveled at the flying pencil without flying. It's amazing what the engineers have gained and designed in terms of knowledge and technology over the last 120 years, because every aircraft, even the flying goldfish Guppy, has its own charm!

We also explored the hinterland, where we were in Mirepoix and Pamiers in the autumn, and for the first time we followed the traces of the Stone Age in the gigantic Mas d'Azil grotto. There is a lot to marvel at in the Ariège department, but this is something that cannot really be measured in terms of dimensions. I didn't even realize that I would then drive through the cave to get to the car park for the museum. The drive was gigantic, because the Arize river dug its bed through the rock and created the cave thousands of years ago. It wasn't just the animals that quickly discovered this, because there is a passage in the grotto that is almost filled with cave bear bones, as well as mammoth bones and woolly rhinoceros bones. The funny thing is that the bears and humans probably lived almost parallel in the grotto system for some time. The Stone Age has left its mark with tracks and a skull, as well as brightly painted stones that can be found mainly in the south of France; perhaps they were a form of currency. The Cathars also used the grottos as a place of refuge, and up until World War II the grotto was a kind of retreat. The diversity of the cave only became apparent when the road was built through it. Unfortunately, this also removed a lot of the original sediment within the cave, so the Stone Age finds are limited to only a part of it. Tant pis, what a pity, but unfortunately it can't be changed now.

We were thrilled, because there are even more caves and dolmens in the surrounding area, which impressively demonstrate that people in the past were much more familiar with stone and engineering than we are willing to give them credit for today. The art that was found in the cave, from the jewelry to the bone that served as a diving aid/acceleration for a spear, is all wonderfully delicately crafted and beautiful.

Toulouse was great again, I met my best friend, enjoyed a cup of tea with Christian in a brilliant café and even took part in a yoga class. I'll definitely be back, because nobody can do anything about the weather!