Lyon and Toulouse

Before I went to university I never really took an interest in music unless it consisted of epic key changes, guys sitting on stools and some pretty terrible dance moves. That all changed when I moved cities and lived with 21 other people with completely different tastes and was forced to learn songs quickly or look completely clueless on an average night out. All of a sudden I had new favourite bands and without a doubt one of them had to be Mumford and Sons. I can't get enough of them! Last summer my friend Martha and I went to Optimus Alive in Portugal to watch them, amongst others, and it could not have been any more perfect. So, when Martha said they were playing in France I didn't hesitate to say yes and with a click of a mouse my flights were book to spend a week in Lyon and Toulouse.

I must admit I didn't see an awful lot of Lyon. We partied on a big, old, Australian themed boat with the other Erasmus students who only really spoke in French, ate far too much bad but delicious food, had a picnic on the steps by the river and went to a truly odd museum full of robots. All the while we patiently waited for our trip to Toulouse and played both albums on a continuous loop. 

Toulouse was a ridiculous amount of fun, we stayed with Martha's friend who gave us a space in his bed/on his giant pimp coat and showed us around. On the first night we had a pizza the size of a small child and went to an incredible bar filled with students all singing and dancing and throwing beer everywhere. It was insanity at its best.

After the giraffe filled antics of the night before we took a walk round the city and saw some of the sites. I have to admit I did fall a little bit in love with Toulouse because of the narrow streets and the amount of vintage shops it had. I could have easily walked around it for more than a day but, Mumford and Sons were waiting for us.

They played at a venue called Le Bikini which was a pretty big trek from the centre but a decent place all the same. There were light bulbs hanging from the ceiling and all over the stage which got Martha incredibly excited, as did the support act Deap Vally who played with each member of Mumford and Sons.

As soon as the band came on and blasted out 'Babel' the crowd (the English half at least) went crazy and pretty much stayed that way until the end. There were times when it was so emotional that I nearly cried and others when I was stupidly happy. They had some jokes with the crowd and pulled everything of with effortless style. Who knew playing the banjo could be so cool? 

These are possibly some of my favourite photos I have ever taken. Honestly, if you haven't seen them yet just go because you will more than likely leave with a massive smile on your face and want to see them all over again. Lyon and Toulouse were amazing places to see, I got to hang out with my ridiculous friend after eight months and I saw one of my favourite bands. What could be better? 

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