Since I only brought a limited amount of clothes, I have to do laundry every Monday which is not a hardship. Since the washing machine is small, it actually makes a great deal of sense to do laundry once a week. Also, since there is no dryer and everything has to air dry, I have to make sure that I start early so everything can be dry when I need it.

I went to the supermarket, not the regular market for staples. I need some milk and cereal for my breakfasts. I have fallen back into my routine breakfast (even though my friend Tom harasses me about eating the same breakfast every day) which is fresh fruit and cereal. I do change the fruit and brand of cereal. I had gotten better in DC of varying my breakfast with waffles and other options but here it is back to the routine.

I needed a lemon for a marinade I was making for chicken for my dinner. I got to the check out (self check out) and could not figure out how to ring up my lemon. There is someone who helps those at self check out who are having trouble. I asked her for help and she explained that you have to weigh your fruit and vegetables in the produce section and get a barcode to ring up at check out. Very different than in the US. I said that I would pay for what I had already rung up and then get the lemon. The helper said just to go back to the produce section and get the barcode and come back and finish. I was surprised that they did not care that I was holding up one of the stands. I ran back and got the barcode and finished the transaction. The discussion on all of this was done half French and half English. I was happy I could do any of it in French. I cannot see the average American consumer being patient with someone holding up a checkout line in this manner. One of the nice things in France.

The day was beautiful and I walked around. It was very nice as I could see the snow capped Pyrenees in the distance. I always forget how close the mountains are to Toulouse. You cannot see them every day as there are often clouds obscuring them.

We moved to European Summer Time on Saturday/Sunday and the sunsets are now after 8:00 pm here so the evenings are quite lovely. Toulouse has lots of bars and cafes that have outside seating and being a fantastic spring day, I went to Grave (a cafe/bar) close to where I am living and had a glass of wine while I waited for the sunset. The cafe is on street overlooking the river so it was a good place to sit.

Each day, the trees turner greener as the leaves sprout and blooms come out. The city is getting very beautiful.