Tuesday 6th May - Moissac to Outskirts of Toulouse

A little cloud and the wind returned today; at times in the morning it was like riding into an on-coming falling snow of horse-chestnut blossom. Eyes dusted and teeth gritted we pushed on through the wind until things began to ease and the sun made efforts to force its way through the clouds.

Today seemed to have the least inspiring stretch of the canal and things were pretty quiet and uneventful until a Gendarme shakedown at our lunch stop (nothing to declare). After lunch we bowled along merrily until hit by yet another puncture c.5km from our planned camp stop at Camping de Rupe on the outskirts of Toulouse.

'De Rupe' . . . wouldn't have offered them deux rupees! Possibly the worst 3 star campsite we've seen but easily rating 3 Squeals on the Hillbilly Rating. Perhaps we should have been reassured by the presence of the police helicopter overhead in the evening and the following morning ;-)

Our plan had been to stay for two nights and take another city break from here into Toulouse but, we didn't feel comfortable with the idea of abandoning all possessions for a day while heading into the city on the metro. Bit the bullet that evening and booked a two night stop in the city for the following days. Surely the Rose City of Toulouse could beat its northern outskirts for charm?!