After a number of not so lovely days in Toulouse, the sun came out again and it warmed up slightly. I think the warm feeling was due to the sun being out not necessarily the temperature. I took advantage of the day to do some more wandering, it is my usual activity.

Today, I realized that Toulouse has some really amazing architecture and buildings. You notice it from inside the buildings but you do not really notice it from outside as you wander. I think that is because so many of the buildings are closely surrounded by other buildings that you hardly ever get a good vista of the buildings by themselves. The two exceptions are Saint Sernin which has a nice plaza surrounding it and the Place de Capitole.

What made me think of this was the Dominican Priory, I was heading over to it again because I loved the inside and wanted to view it again but I realized I could not really see the structure until I was less than a block away from it on a narrow street. Once you see it there, you realize from the outside how large it is and how beautiful it is. Most of the times you can only see the tower at the very top when you wander around the city.

After enjoying the buildings, I walked along the banks of the Garonne and enjoyed the sights. There was a rower on the river and it was the first time I had seen that type of activity on the river. It was interesting to see them row down and back up the river. It seemed lonely but serene.

Another seen that you would not see in most US cities and possibly other cities in the world. Actually two that can be juxtaposed. A monk walking in his habit with a young lady along the river and an invitation to join the Communist Party.

After my wandering, I met Kristi for dinner at the Brasserie des Beaux Arts. I stupidly did not take pictures but it is a very traditional French brasserie. Lots of mirrors, dark wood, white table clothes and tradition. I had my first oysters of the trip at dinner. I definitely should have take a picture and they were presented in a large metal bowl filled with ice with a lemon on top and I had only ordered 3 oysters. I am going to have to go back for dinner and take some pictures.

Dinner with Kristi was nice. It was our fourth dinner together and our last as Kristi is heading back to Canada on Saturday. Getting to know Kristi has been very nice. It has also made my stay in Toulouse more enjoyable as it was someone to talk to and be social. We compared experiences and shared our views of being in a different country as single people. It has been great and I will miss our dinners.