France: Toulouse and Biarritz

In July 2013, a few days after getting back from a trip to Austria, Kate and I went to the south of France with a group of her friends.

The reason was the wedding of her mates Jess and Corby, who'd chosen the beautiful French countryside for the location of their special day.

Rhys, Emily, Sophie, Katie, Seb, Sonia, Kate and I flew to Toulouse, picked up a hire car and travelled an hour or so to our hotel in Salies-du-Salat.

The wedding was the following day and took place on a picturesque hillside next to a ruined church. The reception was in the back garden of Jess's mum's house, a stunning, rambling mini-mansion with garden views over the French countryside.

The day after the wedding we went back to the house for the retour, the French version of a mop-up. Eat some food, chat about the day before, relax in the sunshine. Nice.

We wanted to see another part of the country, and get some beach time, so had booked three nights in Biarritz on the west coast.

I wasn't blown away by Biarritz but it was pleasant enough. We had a day on the beach, took a day trip to San Sebastian over the border in Spain, and enjoyed a couple of great meals - in particular the one at 'Surfers' to celebrate Seb's birthday.

Here are some pics:

Austria: Austria Vienna v Everton

In July 2013 I went to Vienna, via a cheap Ryanair flight to Bratislava, to watch Roberto Martinez's first match in charge of Everton.

I spent most of the weekend with Terry, who'd decided on a 5-night trip, and met with Phil and Jon on the day of the match. 

Everton lost the game 2-1 but, as with most pre-season friendlies, the result was much less significant than the chance to travel to another country, spend time with your mates and have a few drinks.

I'm not going to go into details - here are some pics instead: