The flights were good on the trip to Toulouse. I flew from Dulles to Frankfurt. I was somewhat surprised as the flight was fairly full which I did not expect as it is fall and high tourist season is over. I had a long layover in Frankfurt before my flight to Toulouse but I was able to take a shower and get some food so it was not too bad. After landing in Toulouse, I was able to get my checked bag fairly quickly – Toulouse airport is somewhat like Washington Reagan as it is not too big is very easy to navigate.

The nice thing about returning to Toulouse after my short stay this summer is that I know how to get around. I got my bag and headed to the stop for the Tisseo Airport Shuttle and hopped the bus into the city. The Airport shuttle takes about 15 minutes and my Airbnb is near the third stop from the airport.

I easily found the keys to the Airbnb and found the apartment. The apartment is a garret which I figured out from the description. It is on the third floor at the top so I am going to get lots of excerise. It has wood rafters for the ceiling and is a-frame. I am not sure someone is over 6 feet would be able to stand-up straight in some places. What I like about it is the light. Every room has a skylight so it is very light even on a raining day which it is today. I spent time exploring and getting familiar with the apartment, finding cups, figuring out the Internet and other activities. I put out the photographs that I brought with me so I could make the apartment feel like home. I, also, put the drawings that Natasha’ children and Sonia’s child gave me before I left DC on the refrigerator so the apartment feels like mine rather than impersonal. Last thing I did was get unpacked. So I am settled in the apartment.

After getting organized, I headed out in search of my first glass of wine in Toulouse. It was around 5:45 and even with the drizzle there were lots of people walking around but not crowded. I found an open air market in the Place de Capitole which I had not seen when I was in Toulouse this summer. I do not know if it is new or is just open on Wednesday (I was not in Toulouse on Wednesday this summer). It sells clothes, jewelry, and other household items. I will have to check it out more next week as it was wrapping up when I was walking by it.

I found a nice wine bar, Hear, My Place. It looks like it is very new and had just opened. I chose it because it listed the wine options on a chalk board out front and the board said it was wine that was curated not just generic. I had a glass of Côte du Rhône – Espigouette Vieilles Vignes. I am determined to find wines that I know nothing about and learn more about them. The best part was the glass of wine was. 4.5 euros. You could not find a glass of wine at any bar in DC for that price.

On the way back to the Airbnb, I stopped at Carrefour City (a grocery store near the apartment) to get some food for breakfast. I thought Carrefour City was the small downtown grocery store option but it ended up being three floors and had much more of selection than I thought. My previous stops there in the summer, I only needed things that were on the first floor so never really explored more to see there were more floors. I bought orange juice, milk (for tea) and a small cantaloupe. I was pretty happy and amazed at the whole thing cost just over $7.

The final activity for the first day was getting dinner. There is a nice bistro (Cafe Marco) at the corner of the street where the apartment is. I had eaten there while here this summer so choose it for dinner as it was easy. Being tired, I did not want to have to wander far for dinner. I had a great dinner of Demi-Margret of Canard (grilled duck breast) and tomato salad. To top it off, I had a glass of the house Pinot Noir. Even being tired, I was able to do 90% of the ordering and interaction with the server in French. The only issue came when paying and the server said to pay at the front counter. His statement came out too fast and I looked confused so he said it in English.

Still a little nervous about my French but the only way I am going to get better is to keep trying and go for total immersion.