This was the last Sunday in Toulouse for this trip. I am hoping it will not be my last Sunday in Toulouse overall.

I did my usual activities for a Sunday. I got up early and headed to the St. Aubin’s market. I wanted to buy some olive oil to bring back to Alexandria so needed to go to the olive vendor. I bought some fruit for my final breakfasts and lunches. I did not buy any cheese as I still had some from my last cheese purchase so I am good for lunches.

I had looked at the crafts and homemade items the other times that I had visited the market and I bought a few Christmas gifts. I am trying to get enough Christmas items off my Christmas list before I leave. I cannot buy anything really large as I have to fit them all in suitcases to get them home. I have found a number of things that I think people will like. It is fun to find some unusual gifts.

I came back and did laundry. One of the advantages of staying in an Airbnb with a washing machine is that I will not have too many clothes to wash when I get back to Alexandria. One of the painful things when traveling is getting home and unpacking with the immediate need to do laundry. With the Airbnb, I will only have a few clothes to clean when I get back.

I went to the Saint Sernin for church. Even though I am not Catholic, I have enjoyed going to service at Saint Sernin. There is a nice community of people who attend the English mass and have gotten to be nodding hello friends with a number as we all recognize each other. It is amazing to worship in an edifice that is so old. I think it was started in 1096 and completed around 1200. Reading up on it a little, it is one of the largest Romanesque churches in France. It was also a stop of part of the Camino de Santiago which ends in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was was patterned after the Basilica of Saint Sernin.

For the final activity of the day, I did a ten mile run along the Canal du Midi. I am definitely going to miss my runs in Toulouse but especially the runs on the Canal. The path is beautiful and mostly tranquil. Closer to the city itself there are generally walkers and bikers that you need to avoid but further out it mainly becomes uncrowded and you can get a nice pace going. The plane trees that flank the canal make it beautiful even though since I have been here they have lost a lot of their leaves. I am going to miss all my running in Toulouse. The Washington area had many great running trails and I enjoy them but there is something about the urban aspect of running on the Garonne and the Canal that is different than DC. When you run the C&O canal or the Mt. Vernon trail, you do not feel like you are in a city. They are definitely great to run on but there is something about the river and canal being part of the city that makes them beautiful to run along. I had a great run (good time and pace). Toulouse has brought back my love of running and I have definitely have improved while I was here. Not I need to keep it up when I return to DC. I am not looking forward to the cold weather running. It was 63 today when I ran.

Last activity was cooking my last dinner in the Airbnb. I am gotten used to cooking and am doing fairly well with making meals now. I had fresh salmon and sautéed spinach. I added a salad and, of course, some bread. Who would ever have thought I would consume so much bread in my life. I am definitely going to miss the fresh, tasty and cheap baguettes. I have not changed in that water is still not something I consume a great deal of so Toulouse has not affected that aspect of my life.

One more day left on this sojourn in Toulouse.