Another day that has made me happy that I have moved to Toulouse and makes me think that moving here for a year would work.

The day started out with my usual wandering around the city. I found the EDF plant, the first hydroelectricity plant in Toulouse built in 1888. They have made it into an arts and innovation center. It has a display of photographs for famous Americans showing now. I had run past the building but had never really explored it. I did not go into the exhibit as from what I could see I was familiar with many of the photos on display.

After looking around, I headed over to the St. Cyprien district in search of Cacaofages , a chocolatier that had been recommended. It is a fantastic chocolate maker that has these fantastic chocolate statutes and makes chocolate. I was in search of a cup of hot chocolate and found a really delicious one.

In the evening, I had signed up for the Taste of Toulouse wine bar tour. Ryan and Ellen had given me a gift certificate for the tour. Jessica who started Tastes of Toulouse was the tour guide. Jessica and her husband had moved to Toulouse seven years ago and Jessica decided to put her knowledge of food and wine and love of Toulouse to introduce others to the city. There were three other people on the tour. Lindsey and Marisa who are here from Canada for a wedding and Kristi who is living in Toulouse and studying French. It was a great group and very nice that it was small as we could interact as a group.

The first stop was Au Père Louis. It is one of the oldest bars in Toulouse. It serves local wine but we tried quinquina which is a fortified wine that was created to fight malaria in French troops that were stationed in tropical climates. The purpose was similar to the reason Brits drink Gin & Tonics. It is stored in wooden casks. It is mainly an aperitif. It was sweet and bitter at the same time. We sat on stools around old wine barrel tables.

We then moved on to a wine bar Maison Sarment near the Marché Carmes. We had to two nice wines from the area. Chateau Adelaïde Cuvée Tradition 2019 Gaillac AOC (50% Loin de l’Oeil/50% Muscadelle). It is a white wine that has some body and definite apple notes. Then we had Chateau Bouissell from the Fronton region. It was a blend of Syrah and Negrette. Negrette is the grape that is dominant in the Fronton AOC but this was just Vin de France as it was more Syrah and Negrette so could not be called Fronton because of the AOC rules. It was very good. We also had local charcuterie and cheese.

The last stop of the tour was le 5 Wine Bar, this bar was voted one of the best wine bars in the world for 3 years in a row by a British rating organization. It has the wine dispensers where you can buy a card and then try taste, half glass, or full glass of wine from about 40 different selections. I tried a local Cahors Malbec and one other that unfortunately, I do not remember what it was. I definitely will go back there as I can try a number of different wines.

After the tour, Marisa and Lindsey and I had dinner. We tried to go to Le Panache but they were full. They were very nice and definitely remembered me. They recommended Loge 24 l’Arpet. The restaurant is again near the Marché Carmes. I had the Steak Frites which as great. Dinner with Lindsey and Marisa was great. We had great conversation and just enjoined the evening which was lovely. We discussed my moving to Toulouse, their lives and what they are doing and want to do. It was a great time as we felt like we were friends not just people who had met randomly.

Kristi gave me her contact information and we are going to get together. It will be fun to have someone to do things with.

Thanks to Jessica for a great tour and making the introductions! Jessica also gave me some information on how to meet other people in Toulouse and possibly have a Thanksgiving dinner with the Friends of the Etats Unis.