this page is a small yet useful part of Bozo the Clown's Banality Bonanza

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TOULOUSE - The Town

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Toulouse is an old town in the south of france. It is situated more or less in between Bordeaux and Montpelier, about 200km from both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. It is a town full of southern charm and has a unique accent, even for the south. Toulousians are friendly on the whole in the respect that most barmen will try to speak english (with varying success). Some of my friends have been invited back to dinner with french people they have met in town although there is of course no guarantee that this will happen to you.
The weather is generally good, but not really what i expected from the south of France - the winter was absolutely freezing and so far there has been far more rain than I prefer. The place is not really a tourist centre, although it is beautiful in the old part of town, and there are loads of great towns and tourist attractions in the area. It is in a great position, there is an intl airport just outside town and the pyrenees and the riviera are both fairly accessible, which is good for both summer and winter.
Crime in the city is about what I expected for a town of this size. A lot of bike theft and car crime. The police seem to be very racist, espaecially in the evenings when they hassle any non-whites to the point where the arabs don't seem to come into town at night. the streets at night get pretty dangerous but mostly it is just drunks shouting abuse. I try not to walk around alone at night and stick to the main streets.
I have enjoyed living here and don't really want to go home but I have had a couple of low moments. If you are interested here is an email I wrote to a friend when I got a bit fed up with the dog shit on the pavements.

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