Ikea, Toulon and some DIY

We’ve been staying in our new flat for a few months already, and haven’t really spent a lot of effort on the redecorating front. So it was time for the inevitable finally – the visit to Ikea. So we jumped into my parents Scenic, and down we sped the A8 down to Toulon, which is where the nearest Ikea is located. We were very well prepared, having pretty much decided what to buy beforehand (a bit unusual for us), but unsurprisingly managed to spend over 2 hours there. That’s Ikea for you, I suppose. But we left happy enough, having found everything we looked for and more.

We thought we’d take the opportunity to visit Toulon for a bit, while we were in the ‘hood, so to speak. Toulon has a bit of a scruffy reputation, being one of the main military ports of France. And to be frank, the suburbs of Toulon won’t win any rewards for beauty or architectural inventiveness. But the town centre was pleasant enough, with its typical Provencal old town. After grabbing a quick sandwich, we strolled along the lively port for a bit – very nice too. Then we hit the road – promising ourselves to come back one day and properly explore the place.

In the evening we met up with Marianne, Mikko and Sami in Haut-de-Cagnes for dinner. The only place we were able to reserve a table at was actually Le Manoir – a nice enough place we’ve been to once before. This time we were a bit disappointed – I’ve never waited half an hour for drinks before (thankfully, Sami provided us with great entertainment all evening, the sight of a miniature horse on the table seemed to make him think he was back in Lapland herding reindeer or something…). The food was nice enough, though.

Sunday was spent swearing whilst assembling Ikea furniture – one of my favourite pastimes. My parents also came over for lunch.