We were eager to put Nice behind us and make our way to Italy. Our first hour long train ride was standing room only. I stood wedged between an emo looking Japanese guy with a bright pink suitcase and a Greek looking girl with thick black eyeliner, a low cut dress, and platform shoes. Dale was kept busy corralling suitcases, as at each new station more people crammed themselves on board. We were able to catch glimpses out the window of the beautiful coastline as...

Rental car safely returned, we embarked on the train to Nice in high spirits. Little did we know what lay in store for us... Somehow we ended up seated behind a family of five on their way to a seaside holiday. Across the aisle from them sat another small child travelling with his mother. Add to the mix a three hour delay stopped in the middle of nowhere and you have the recipe for a cruel form of punishment. Initially the kids seemed kind of cute and Dale...

"Dale, where's my backpack?" ... That sinking feeling as you are standing on a train platform and realise you have done something stupid. Fortunately for us the train to Avignon was running 40 minutes late, so we had time to retrieve the forgotten backpack from where I had left it at the hotel. But not a great start to the day...My bad! In Avignon we picked up our rental car - not the super chic European car I was hoping for but a Ford Fiesta - and Dale had to ...

We arrived in Nimes early Sunday afternoon. Our hotel was just a short walk from the train station, but the hot weather and failing suitcase made it seem longer (my suitcase handle is refusing to extend, so now poor Dale is dragging it around almost bent double as it is too heavy for me to pull). After dumping the cumbersome bags in our surprisingly spacious room, we set out to check out the sights. Walking around near deserted streets, it wasn't long until...

It was somewhat surreal arriving in the quaint historic centre of Toulouse in time to catch the end of a Gay Pride parade. The rainbow flag was flying everywhere and there was a carnival atmosphere in the main square as music blared from tents set up in the square. Gay men, lesbians, and heterosexuals leaned on placards chatting together, many of them were wearing fancy dress (we saw a flock of angels, a pack of devils and some cancan girls). After the depriva...