I loved Paris in the spring time.........

but now its time for the trek to Toulouse!

Did you notice that clever juxtaposition of words giving a play on the famous French character!

That's it, every place I've been to so far, (well maybe apart from the Priory Hotel) has stuck in the memory for all of the right reasons.

You can't 'do Paris' in a day or two, but you can sit back on a sunny morning at the highest point of Montmartre and quite simply be amazed at the magnificence of the Sacre Coeur, the view over the south of the city and the comfortable cosmopolitan and welcoming city that Paris is.

And then their was the Harp Bar, with Nils - the Swedish Dubliner - a tremendously friendly host whose every characteristic exuded Celtic charm, whichever way you pronounced it, Conor from Dublin, Steve from Aberdeen, Stephane, Wully and young Liam from Devon, Charlie and Maria from Castlemilk, Steve from Springburn, Matt and Kieron (father and son) - from somewhere in Glasgow and the wee lassie whose name I didn't catch who came in with two Americans one with his American express card at the ready.

Out came the absynthe, and as they sipped it through the heat of the doused flames, she just looked and stared at Celtic Banner after Celtic Banner. Each time she simply said

"A Celtic bar in Paris........"

And with each repetition her 'mid-atlantic' accent took on more and more of her original Edinburgh rumble!

By the time she said to me

"Wae that shirt oan, ye must be a Celtic fan tae".

I was sure that she had been reincarnated in Westercraigs!

Anyway, a thousand stories later and I'm off to Toulouse - possibly with a stop in Bordeaux.

Bit of a tricky one this one, as following our win yesterday I was a wee bit lax in organising transport and accommodation.

Will be getting into Toulouse really late - if trains hold out - so this could be my first night sleeping in the station!

Still it is much warmer and even Paris was shirt sleeve weather!

One moment worth mentioning happened on Saturday evening when a wee Columbian, possibly partaking a wee bit too much of his Country's main cash crop, haltingly asked me if I wanted to buy a DVD called 'La Clef Ecossaise".

I don't normally buy DVDs in pubs, but I think he may have missed the irony of offering me one about the creation of French Freemasonry.

So onwards and upwards.

Hail Hail

Matt