I forgot to mention on the Day 22 post that the check-in process at The Social Hub was nicely automated. You just have to enter your confirmation number in the kiosk, it validates some info, scans your passport and then has you pay the city tax. The only problem I had was that Expedia modifies the confirmation number. Expedia told me that it was EXP-92....348, and when that didn't work after a few tries, I took the "EXP-" off and just used the seven-digit number. Success! Then it had me take a keycard from the stack, set it on the reader/writer, and wait while it programed the card. Very slick.
On Friday morning I got up early to head to the train station. The host from last night (~2 a.m.) was still there when I left in the morning (~6:30 a.m.) and she asked if I managed to get any sleep. "Three or four hours", I told her. She looked at me with pity.
 |
| The Toulouse train station |
 |
| The TGV I'd be taking to Lyon |
Once in Toulouse I took the tram to a station near the hotel. It took me a while to find the hotel on foot, because Google's walking directions kept trying to send me through some private industrial service roads. I took a long way around to avoid them, and eventually found the hotel. It's perched on top of a car dealership.
 |
| The hotel; on top of a Volvo dealership |
I rested for a bit and then headed to a nearby brewery that had good reviews and a menu that looked promising. When I arrived I was told that they were open for drink. but their kitchen was closed until 6:30. Ooof, that would be a bit too late to wait as I wanted to be on the way to the match by then. The hostess lowered her voice and said "I'm not supposed to do this, but Ninkasi, just down the street, is open and they are good." She even pulled it up on her phone's map and showed me the way. I thanked her, and made a mental note to try to eat here the next time I'm in town to repay the kindness.
So I had dinner at Ninkasi. A pretty good French burger.
 |
| Burger and fries at Ninkasi |
Then I made my way to the New Zealand v. Italy match.
...doug
No comments:
Post a Comment