I felt a little under the weather yesterday so did not roam around Toulouse. I used the day to read and just relax. I am not sure if it is a cold or my allergies reacting to being in a new location. But today it seems all under control and good again.

I got up and went to the open air market at St. Aubin. It is one of my favorite activities as there is so much going on there. There are book stands, shoe stands, jewelry, honey for sale, wine for sale, street food and produce vendors. I have wanted to try the paella that is being cooked in pans that are probably four feet round but I go early in the morning so am not really hungry for paella. I, also, want to buy some of the oysters but do not have a knife to open them when I get back to the apartment so have resisted so far. I do buy cheese, olives and produce. It seems to be cheaper than the Victor Hugo Marche so I like that aspect as well.

After the morning outing for shopping, I had found that the Basilica of Saint Sernin had an English Mass at 12:00 pm so I came home changed clothes and then headed out to the mass. I was pleasantly surprised as it was very well attended. The congregation was friendly as one of them handed me the program of the service when they noticed I was slightly confused as how to find it. It was announced that the hymns could be found by using a QR code but I could not find it so the woman handed me the program. The congregation must be pretty steady as they had lay readers for the readings and the prayers. Saint Sernin is a beautiful church, very ornate and Romanesque. It was a lovely service and I am glad that I went. The Anglican Church only has services twice a month so I needed somewhere else to go this week.

In my wandering today, I found a crafts fair, an antique outdoor market, a festival of sustainable products and gardens and the Fete de Canal, a party along the Canal de Midi. There is obviously always something going on in Toulouse.

The Fete de Canal had music, ability to kayak on an offshoot of the main canal, food and other activities. It was well attended. I stopped and listened to some of the music.

I found the fete on my run. I was running along the canal in the opposite direction than I ran last week. The running got somewhat complicated as there were lots of people along the banks of the canal. I just followed a runner who was running in front of me as we bobbed and weaved around people. One thing I have found from the runs with the group and my own runs, the French are not interested in moving out of the way for anything, pedestrians, bikers, cars, motorbikes or runners. You really have to bob and weave around the whole lot to actually run. Nobody seems to care that nobody moves, they just hold ground and make the other object move around them. I am getting used to it but it has taken some time. I am learning to be brazen. It does make for interesting minute per mile times as I will be going at a pretty good clip and then will have to come to a walk to try to get around people and then speed up again.

All in all a nice Sunday in Toulouse.