Toulouse is known as the pink city as most of the old and some new buildings are built out of red clay that looks pink at sunset. It was not really sunset but I got a feel of the reason it is called the pink city as the sun was starting to set. The main picture gives a hint of why it is called the pink city.

I realized that I really am beginning to feel like I live in Toulouse and am part of life here today. I needed to get some supplies, I will explain why a little later. I knew the two stores that I needed to go to in order to purchase what I needed. They were not stores that I go to regularly. I headed out without looking at my Google maps and found both stores without getting lost or having to look at a map. I took that as a win. Prior to this, many times I know where I want to go but end up getting lost in the winding streets and have to use Google maps or just wander until I find where I want to go. This realization that I actually am beginning to get an understanding of the city was great. Just to be clear, there is no grid in Toulouse, it is really a medieval city and has lots of winding streets that do not lead to another street easily.

The reason I had to go shopping today is that I am going to England tomorrow. I have only family friends who live there and am going to visit them. The occasion is both happy and sad. Diana, the mother of the family, died in early September. The children had let me know in the spring that Diana had cancer and the prognosis was not good. Unfortunately, they were correct. A memorial service is being held on Thursday for Diana and my being in Toulouse makes it easy for me to go and attend. I feel very fortunate that I am here in Europe as I am not sure I could have attended if I was still in DC.

I have know the Fields for almost 60 years. We met when I was in 4th grade. The Colonel Field was a military exchange officer at West Point and our families became friends. Even after the Fields returned to England, we stayed in touch. My parents regularly visited them in Europe. I have visited them 3 times as an adult and each trip has been meaningful and great. The last time I visited, I was with Margo Johnson (now Williams) and Lisa Underwood. We were visiting England and had been invited to Bower Chalke where the Fields lived. It was over the Thanksgiving holiday and it ended up that we would arrive in Bower Chalke on Thanksgiving Day. Diana, knowing the holiday from her time in the United States, had fixed a full Thanksgiving Dinner and invited the neighbors in for dinner. That was such a fantastic gesture and is one of my fondest memories in life. We, also, attended a lovely Advent service at Salisbury cathedral. The start of the service was in total darkness and as the choir processed up the aisle, candles were lit by the people in the congregation so the procession led to the cathedral completely illuminated by candle light.

The other exciting visit was in 1981, I had graduated from law school and two of my classmates were visiting Great Britain as our post Bar Exam trip. We stayed with Susan and her husband Nigel in London. While staying with them, we called Diana and Peter who were stationed in Northern Ireland at the time. It was a the height of the Troubles (the IRA period). Diana and Peter invited us to visit but we politely declined as it was not considered safe to go to Northern Ireland at the time. My friends and I kept traveling and we ended up in the Lake District. We were going to hike and see the scenery. Unfortunately, the weather was horrible and in the pub (probably influenced by alcohol) we decided we should go to visit Peter and Diana. We called (on a pay phone as there were no mobile phones at the time) and asked if the offer was still available. The Fields said yes, so we made the rush to Stranraer, Scotland to catch the ferry over to Larne, Northern Ireland. We spent a long weekend in Northern Ireland and had a fantastic time. We visited the Giant’s Causeway and spend a great day on a boat in Lock Erne. We did see some of the issues that afflicted the country and it was eye-opening. We had a great trip with some adventures. Peter and Diana could not have been better hosts.

I feel very lucky that my choice to spend time in France coincided with the memorial service and I will be able to pay my respects to Diana and reconnect with the family.

Now to the shopping, I had not really thought it through that I would be going to England when in France and did not bring a United Kingdom electrical charger. Being a person of my time, I could not spend 4 days with the possibility of not having charged electronic devices. How could I continue to blog! I had to go to a store to buy a United Kingdom converter plug. I get a kick out of it as I am going to use a United Kingdom charger with a French converter in between. So I am converting a United States plug to a French plug to a United Kingdom plug! Shows what poor planning leaves you doing.

The other stop was at a store called Normal, I am not sure how I can explain the store but it has all sorts of products for fairly inexpensive prices – you can buy cosmetics, tooth paste, candy, shampoo and other bath products, cleaning products, and other items. It is sort of like a drug store without the medicine part. I needed travel toiletries (under 3 ounces) and I had not brought any as I bought most of those things here as I was going to be here for two months. I needed the travel toiletries as I am flying back from England. I decided to take the train to England as I wanted to experience the TVG (fast trains for France) and the Eurostar that goes through the channel. I feel like Keirnan (a five year old son of a friend who is obsessed with trains) and want to experience the travel by train.

After all the shopping, I did my regular perambulation around Toulouse. I wanted to find the city walls that I had run past yesterday. I did find them and was somewhat surprised but on one side of the walls are super modern buildings owned by the University of Toulouse. In fact, the modern building that houses the School of Economics is built into the old city walls. The walls are interesting but you do not really get a sense of them with 10 story modern buildings backing up to them.

After wandering, I enjoyed the lovely weather and had a beer and read at a local cafe. I guess this is one of the advantages of retirement and living in a place that values just sitting at a cafe and enjoying life!

In my wandering, I found this wall mural. Not sure exactly what it represents but it is called the Les Symphone de Sangre (translations The Symphony of Blood). The wall is beside the entrance to a school. I am going to try to find out more about it.

Nest blog posts will be about getting to England and my time there.