Day 26 - Toulouse, France

July 28, 2018

We arrived last night by bus at 10:00 pm and we were happy to hear that there is Uber! The driver got out of his car and came to look for us because we didn't see him. I love to hear French, it sounds like music to my ears! We made it to our destination and a very nice lady, the host's neighbor, was waiting outside for us! The moment we got out of the car, she welcomed us like old friends. We felt welcome right away. She spoke very fast but I could understand most of what she was saying. She showed us the apartment which is lovely but the heat was unbearable. I thought to myself, “and this is where we plan to stay for a week, without air conditioning?!" I made a promise not to judge when we get to a new place at night but to wait until after I eat. We made the beds and opened all the windows and doors to get a breeze. Daniel wasn’t happy but I have noticed that he gets homesick at night. I don’t blame him. When you are tired, you want your own bed and your own house.

Next morning we got up late, or at least I did. Gregory showered and walked to a nearby grocery store to buy breakfast. When he came back, he informed us that the metro and the store are a 10-minute walk. No problem, I thought. But what you don’t think about is walking in the sun in muggy weather. We had a nice breakfast with a warm baguette and camembert which by the way is cheaper than butter! I love it!

We promised to take it easy today, explore the city, and decide if we wanted to stay in this suburban house or move closer to the city of Toulouse.

We walked to the metro and bought a card for the whole day. It was 8 euros, which is cheaper than Uber to go back and forth. I didn’t know what to expect. When we got out and started to walk to the historic downtown, it was beautiful. We saw the Garonne River, the Palais de justice and the couvent des Jacobins (Jacobin convent) which was started in 1229. Dominic of Osma, who founded the order of preachers that bear his name,the Dominican order, started his persecution of the Cathars here. While the Church declared a crusade to exterminate the Cathars, the rulers of Toulouse placed dialogue and discussion at the heart of its way of life and its teachings. As such, it played a major role in the creation of the first university of Toulouse in 1229. For many years classes were held in the city's monasteries and convents, in particular at the Jacobins, where the bell was used to signal the times for class. The head of Thomas Aquinas (after his death) was also kept here until it was finally returned to the rest of his body.

After that, we sat in the Square Charles de Gaulle in front of a fountain, watching children play in the water until the police came to stop them. It made me upset, they were having such a wonderful time and everyone was enjoying watching them. Around the time the police left, some street people came to bathe in the fountain, shampoo and all.

We left and started to look for some food. Did I tell you that I can't think nor make any decisions when I'm hungry? I become a savage and I just want to kill and eat so luckily, Gregory found a Carrefour market where we all got what we wanted, including my Diet Coke (I have been really good about not buying soda). Gregory pointed out, once again, that his beer was cheaper and held more than my drink.

We went outside to sit in the Place Dupuy in front of [yet another] fountain to eat our lunch. After that everything seemed better. By then, Sunshine and Daniel were ready to go back home but now that the heat of midday had passed, Gregory and I decided to walk some more because we know that once we make it home, it's hard to get out of the house again. We walked outside the historic downtown, which is nothing special, just a big city. We took a street to a beautiful and big park, le Grand Rond, where we sat for a while to rest. We wet our feet, I love all the small fountains that you can find in the streets and parks of Europe. We took the metro back home and on our way, we stopped to get some food. I wanted to bring more for the whole week, but Gregory reminded me that we still had to carry it back home by foot. That didn't stop Sunshine from buying and carrying her watermelon! We made it home, took a shower, opened all the windows and then each of us settled down with our own electronics. I was thrilled to sit and watch an Almodovar movie. Did I mention that our new home is full of books and movies? We are in heaven, we are only missing the air conditioning, but this will be a perfect home for a week!

Sunshine made the observation that this is our 7th home in less than a month! No wonder we are tired of moving around. I think tomorrow will be a stay home day!