A spider from Mars ...

Thank you so much for the comments and favs on my bee picture of yesterday - I really appreciate it.

See him Bigger here.

So, today was the photo marathon in Toulouse - I went with honourable son N°2, Etienne, we arrived in the centre at just after 8am, where the smell of roasting coffee wafted in the air as the city started to wake up.

There were a lot of competitors in the photo marathon, we were team n°186!
We started by meeting all together in the forum of the FNAC, which is a bit like Virgin Megastore meets Dixons, with a reception of croissants, pastries and coffee to be given our first challenge which was "La Joie" - which didn't exactly inspire us.

We headed off to Victor Hugo market, then the train station, hoping to see people full of joy to see their relatives and loved ones arriving by train.
It looked like nobody was that pleased to see the people they were meeting, after a quick peck on both cheeks everyone just got into their cars and drove off.

So, I saw three teenagers doing what teenagers do so well, moping and looking at their telephones on the benches in front of Le Capitole (the city hall) - I asked if I could take their picture, they then became all giggly and happy, and I asked if they could revert to their normal state.
I wanted to use irony in my photo, and they complied - it didn't look too bad after all, but it's no competition winner.
We went back to the FNAC at the allotted time to give in our photos and to get our next challenge, which was "Transparence" - transparency.

So we headed to the river Garonne, where I took a glass of Perrier and photographed one of the iconic buildings of Toulouse, L'Hôtel Dieu, through it.

Same again and got our last challenge which was "fais ton cinéma" which can be understood as making a film or as making a big fuss about something.

I took this picture of a goth who looked really scary but who was such a nice lad.

Today it was a big demonstration of gay pride in Toulouse, which meant the usual colourful characters were eclipsed by even more bizarre and zany people.
The atmosphere was really great - so friendly and happy and the sun shone, making a a very warm day, in all senses of the term.

The challenges were really difficult to do, but we both enjoyed it - are completely knackered tired out now, after walking a lot in Toulouse - but it really was a lovely day and a great challenge.

Tonight it's rugby time - Argentina v England - that's cool too.

Hope you had a great day too, wherever you are.