Hot town

... summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head...

That song makes me think of my childhood, when I listened to nothing but the Oldies radio station.

Anyway, I've been doing summery things, like discovering the huge public pool in Toulouse. A 15-20 minute walk from my apartment is the Parc de Sports and the Parc d'Expo. Part of the Parc d'Expo has been turned into Toulouse Plage (since Paris had such a good idea) with slip and slides and ropes courses for kids. I don't know where they got the sand they trucked in to cover the parking lot, but it's fine, white, beautiful sand. I guess I'm used to the coarser, darker sand from California's beaches. There's a bar/restaurant that's open late every evening and AVF made an outing of it the other night for the Salsa night.

The summer pool in Toulouse is really great. I'm kicking myself for not having discovered it earlier, but I'll try to take advantage of it now. There's a separate kiddie pool that's pretty big, then a humongous pool for cooling off. It's shallow on the sides, and deeper in the middle, which makes it really accessible I think. There's a separate lap pool that's much deeper, which means that people who want to laze about, swim laps, or play with their kids don't get in each other's way. It really is great. There's grass around for picnics, and a sand volleyball court as well. I didn't have my camera the other day to take pictures of the 30's architecture, so I can't show the stylized façade of the building housing the indoor/winter pool.

B and I also made a quick trip to the Gard this weekend for his friend's birthday. It was lovely driving through the countryside between Nîmes and Bagnols sur Cèze. The cigales were chirping away, making the air almost vibrate, and I realized I kind of miss that in Toulouse. B's friend is a really nice guy (and recently single, which means all his friends are trying to find him a new girlfriend) and we had a great time hanging out, barbecuing, and playing Taboo XXL. His mother wins the prize though as the nicest woman in France. She is incredibly sweet and always tells me how much of a pleasure it is to see me again. B and I try to always bring a hostess gift since we invariably spend the night (as we always come from far away), and Anne-Marie showed me where she planted the last plant I'd given her and how happy she was each time it bloomed because she thought of me, etc, etc. One time she gave me a little sock drawer sachet with lavender, but Saturday, she presented us with a cake platter and tea bag saucers that she'd painted. Her new hobby is painting porcelain, so she made us a platter with the pont d'Avignon. I couldn't believe she made it for us! Adding to her charm, she has a really high pitched voice which makes her always sound cheery (well, she is always cheery). Perhaps her only fault is her decorating sense (she loves garden gnomes, lace, and everything kitsch).

Speaking of summery things, I should water our plants again. We have sunflowers more than a yard high, but they wilted a bit while we were away this weekend. I love seeing plants grow as a result of your tlc, and it's another part of summer I enjoy.