Photo by ajmiller82

Toulouse is France’s fourth largest city. Fondly known as “la ville rose” because of the color of the bricks made from the area’s clay-rich soil, the city has a distinctive meridional flavor and is well worth a detour on any tour of southern France.

Toulouse centers on the Place du Capitole, a splendid square lined with cafes and occupied on one side by the facade of the City Hall or Capitole. All the main sights—such as the Fondation Bemberg and the Musee des Augustins, one of France’s oldest museums—are within walking distance of the city center. Toulouse combines the relaxed elegance of a town proud of its rich architectural heritage, the exuberance of its big student population, and the prosperity incumbent on being world headquarters to Airbus.

For a good, affordable meal found along the narrow streets that irrigate the Capitole, head for Mille et Une Pates at 1 bis rue Mirepoix, just off the rue Gambetta. Mille et Une Pates specializes in home-made pasta with traditional sauces such as bolognaise and carbonara, as well as more innovative ones such as lasagne with leeks and bacon. At lunchtime you can order the “menu express” at €9.50 and get the dish of the day—the day we went it was nouillettes with kebabs—followed by dessert (raspberry lasagne or ice-cream). A big plate of tagliatelle bolognaise costs €7.80.

For the best ice creams in Toulouse, check out Octave on the place du Capitole.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Photo by Caracolacolacola

Summer’s almost here in southern Spain, which means Feria season is upon us once again. From Malaga to Cadiz, every town along the Costa del Sol will take their turn hosting civic celebrations that turn every plaza, street, and alley into a bar, dance floor, or both.

From now until October, the coast will supply a non-stop selection of city festivals. One of the largest of the lot is Marbella’s San Bernabé. Held from the June 7 until June 12, the Marbella Feria will begin each day in the Old Town, where bars spill into the streets and end each evening in a fairground on the east side of town, complete with free concerts and music until dawn. The drinks are cheap, the music’s free and the dancing will come at you from every direction—the Marbella Feria is not to be missed.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Photo by iced_espresso

Charles de Gaulle airport is an enormous structure. Trust us, we’ve spent what seems like years walking in the place. And nothing puts us in a better mood after a seven-hour flight than schleping twice our body weight in luggage in search of a connecting train into Paris.

CDG has always long had a bus service connecting the airport’s three terminals but the busses were crowded, unreliable and hogged the airport’s slow roadways. Now the new CDG Val, Roissy’s free rail system, replaces the old busses and connects the airport’s three terminals and the RER and TGV stations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No need to schlep.

So, next time you land in Paris take the Val to the RER to the Metro, et voila, 35 minutes later you’re in the center of Paris.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Today, April 19, 2007, head down to the Amnesty International Freedom Café in Temple Bar to celebrate Zimbabwe Independence Day in Dublin.

For just €7, visitors are treated to an evening of food, wine/drinks, raffles Zimbabwean music by DJ Tando and the chance to chat with Simeon Mawanza. Mr. Mawanza is a researcher with Amnesty International’s International Secretariat and has just recently returned from a tour of Zimbabwe.

Though the evening is being held a day after Zimbabwean Independence Day, it promises to be a fun time for all. The Zimbabwe Independence Day Café Evening will be held from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Amnesty Freedom Café, 48 Fleet Street, Dublin.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Photo by phototouring

Baltic cruiseferry giant Tallink-Silja is currently offering one-way overnight ferry rides from Stockholm to Riga for as little as SEK100 (€10.90; $14.80)!

Ferries depart from Stockholm’s Frihamnen terminal, which can easily be reached by bus. (Note that in the summer it will also be possible to take Viking Line from the more conveniently located Stadsgården terminal in northeast Södermalm.)

Approximately 18 hours—and lord knows how many banana cocktails—later, the mammoth cruiseferry pulls into Riga’s Juras Pasazieru Stacija (Sea Passenger Terminal), less than one km north of Riga’s old town. In addition to being entirely manageable by foot, Riga’s rosy cheapness will heal memories of those SEK50 hot chocolates purchased back in Stockholm.

Here’s another tip: from Riga, other Baltic capitals can be reached by bus for next to nothing. By “next to nothing” we mean to suggest €5 to Tallinn and to €6 to Vilnius.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Photo by poke_you

Here’s an understatement: the association of Russia with vodka is strong. Moscow’s Vodka Museum was transplanted from St. Petersburg, opening in Russia’s capital in 2006.
50,000 bottles of all shapes (including guns, swords and submarines) and ages (the oldest is over 200 years old) are kept here. All you could want to know about vodka’s history, distillation techniques, and traditions is here—including Stalin’s edict that frontline soldiers in the Second World War be obliged to drink 100 grams of vodka a day.

There are some interesting collectors editions on display too, especially the edition commemorating the sailors who went down with the K-19 submarine. Best of all is the chance to taste then of the best vodka varieties in the Traktir, a recreation of a nineteenth century bar.

The museum is located in the Izmaylovo Kremlin Park (nearest metro: Partizanskaya). A guided tour takes 45 minutes and costs RUB200 (€5.70; $7.80). The museum is open every day from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., and can be reached by telephone at +7 (495) 166-69-58.

Vodka-swilling Cheapos, take note! Vodka on sale at the museum is more expensive than the vodka on offer at the Izmaylovo Market outside the museum.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Photo by amethystrainn

If you walk to Syntagma Square in Athens along Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, you will inevitably notice a riot of florist’s stands. Whether you stroll by at 6 a.m. or 8 p.m., your nose will be delighted.

This olfactory pleasure is due in no small part to Ioannis Kostakis (+30-210-323-5542, Vasilissis Sofias 8 ) and his neighboring florists. They operate a handful of floral enterprises just outside the Parliament Building, peddling their petaled wares from morning to evening.

Mr. Kostakis stands out from the bunch. He and his colleagues wear smocks that make them look like medical practitioners. Additionally, their unwavering grace and affability are exceptional. On more than one occasion we have received flowers from Mr. Kostakis and his crew free of charge after stopping to enjoy a friendly exchange.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Photo by iritabook

Ah, Prague’s bad old days of dining. There was a long period in the 1990s when yes, the food was cheap, but it was also a lot more…questionable. Put it this way: asking for a green salad would get you a quizzical look—and that’s assuming you could find a waiter in the first place.

While it’s doubtful anyone misses that era in Czech culinary history, it’s amusing to see that the city isn’t completely rid of that type of establishment. In a review in the Prague Post last week, the paper’s restaurant critic makes clear that this culinary tradition is alive and well at a place called The Brother’s in Vinohrady:

Something I translated as “old Czech soup” batters your palate with incoherent strokes of garlic and salt. Clumps of vacuous white cheese bob under the surface, perhaps in the vain hope that the congealed curd will absorb a little of the briny, bitter sting. Or maybe folks brought up in more difficult times considered flavorless, caulky substances nutritious and filling.

While the prices at The Brother’s also hew to that older style (i.e. you get what you pay for), let’s be the first to recommend the wide variety of sausages available at kiosks throughout the city. Complex flavors may not be the culinary strength in Prague, but pork products most certainly are.

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Metronet Rail strike that was due to begin this past Sunday (April 15, 2007) at 6 p.m. was, oh so thankfully, suspended. In its absence, the Tube is running as normal this week, with the usual delays and suspensions.

For fans of transportation strikes and slow downs, there’s hope on the horizon. According to the BBC, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) promises an “indefinite overtime ban” on the part of rail workers, beginning on April 22. The workers who plan to strike are maintenance workers, not drivers or station staff. More information at TFL and BBC.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Photo by Jennifer Sokolowsky

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. For English speakers in Berlin, that would be Hairy Mary’s, which opened last fall in a cellar space near Kollwitzplatz. The bar has the feel of a friend’s living room.

The proprietors, Mark from Glasgow and Laura from Minnesota, offer a warm welcome, well-priced drinks, and occasional live-band nights and special-event parties. Better catch them quickly, though. Hairy Mary’s is a yearlong project for the couple and they will shut its doors in September. Hairy Mary’s is located at Diedenhoferstrasse 5 in Prenzlauer Berg and is open every night (barring Sunday) after 9 p.m.

Popularity: 4% [?]