It amazes me as many times as I wander the city, I always find something new to see and explore. Today, I did not have any required activities so I decided to explore the neighborhood that I am now staying. It is further from and much close to the river.

I wandered down one of the larger streets and found that there was a patisserie and a boulangerie (bread shop) on the street within a couple of blocks. I need a new baguette so will try the boulangerie tomorrow. There are a couple of restaurants and bistros that I should try as well. Along that street is the canal de Brienne, one of the two major canals in the city. I crossed over the canal and found a pocket park (there are many in Toulouse). There were flower beds that were just starting to bloom and art. Again, lots of random art in Toulouse.

There seem to be two ring roads that circle the city from the river to the river. I followed the closest road around the outside of the center of the city. Not much of the way of interest on the ring road. There are other patisseries and boulangeries. One thing I like about the city is that you cannot go very far without seeing a pastry shop or a place to buy bread.

I went past the plaza Jeanne d’Arc which is a major bus and metro location. At the front was a statue of Jeanne d’Arc. Not surprising and she is one of the major figures in French history and is officially one of the patron saints of France.

I headed back into the old part of the city from Jeanne d’Arc. I was looking for the section that has art galleries and antique shops as it is nice to browse the windows and see what is on offer. I need neither more art or antiques but it is fun to see what they are selling. The antiques are especially different than those I find in Alexandria and DC. Those generally favor English or American styles where here, of course, it is the French taste which can be more ornate.

While wandering I found a restaurant that I had not see down a small street (probably in the US, it would be considered an alley, Table de Deux. It is a very small restaurant and has various levels of tasting menus. I am going to have to try it one night. I looked it up online and the menu seems interesting. It is a little pricier than my normal dinner but will be good for a splurge.

After about 3 hours of wandering, I need some sustenance and a break from walking. (My step count is way up being back in Toulouse!). I had seen this restaurant that served tea on Sunday when I was walking back from church that I thought would be nice to try. It turns out that it is actually an upscale small hotel, Maison Soclo. I went in and there was a beautiful garden in the back of the building. So I had tea and lemon meringue tart in the garden.

I realized that I am not very good at documenting what I eat on IG or here as I always start eating as the food looks delicious before I remember to take a photo to post. I am trying to get bet and remember to take the photo before I eat. Notice the bite out of the pie. As you can see, I generally read while enjoying these activities.

As usual one gets a reality check when on these adventures and mine is when I have to do laundry! The washing machines in the Airbnbs are very small which is not a problem as travel fairly light and do not have that many clothes. It does mean I have to do laundry more often than at home. The more interesting thing is the length of time it takes for the washing machine to run its cycle and complete. I used the eco friendly setting and it takes about 3 hours for it to run. I started it right when I got back from my walk and afternoon snack and it was done around the time I finished dinner – 8ish. Also, there are not dryers so your clothes all have to air dry. The Airbnb supplies a nice drying rack so it is not a big issue. There just needs to be planning so that the clothes are dry when you need them.