First, my apologies, I wrote a post for yesterday but did not actually publish it. So you will actually get two posts today.

Today was the first really full rainy day I have experienced since I arrived back in Toulouse. It has rained but more showers than continuous rain. The rain was heavier durning the night but it was more just drizzle during the day or cloudy and cool.

Even thought it as cool and rainy, I “had” to go to the street farmers market to get some strawberries. Since fruits are very seasonal and the strawberries are in season and delicious, I wanted to get some more to enjoy. I braved the rain and walked over. I was surprised to see the market still very busy and filled with people. I got my strawberries.

One aspect of Toulouse that I really like is the recycling situation. I think I have mentioned this before but it is very efficient for those who live in the center of the city. Not sure how it is in the suburbs but in the crowded city center there are recycling receptacles all over the city. They are built in the streets and people can just walk up to them and recycle all types of items. There is one for paper, plastics and other items. It seems that almost all packaging in France is recyclable. The other is for glass. In the apartment complex, they have recycling for everything except glass which is fairly similar to Alexandria. The street recycling has glass options. It is very easy to recycle. Even the small restaurants and bars use the street recycling options.

After my morning activities, I headed out to get lunch. It is my mission to break out of my normal Tuesday lunch options and find new restaurants to eat in. With all the good options, why would I keep being mundane and eating at the same place. Also, I have gotten more comfortable with my French so am willing to go places and not worry about whether they speak English for me. It was stupid to worry about that but I did.

I found a restaurant on a small alley (I had walked down the alley on a previous wander around the city) called La Mare aux Canards (The Duck Pond) and it looked like a very traditional local French bistro that specialized in duck. When I went it, it was just as I pictured it from the outside, very rustic but welcoming. It was very busy but luckily there was a table for me. As usual they had the midday Formule and it was quite reasonable. One of the appetizer options was onion soup. Surprisingly or maybe not, it is not found on lots of menus here in Toulouse. Since it was cool and rainy, it seemed like the perfect comfort food start. I had it and confit of duck (again a very traditional item here in Toulouse). They, featured, cassoulet which I definitely want to try but the portions are huge and usually shared with two so I have not had it.

Roast potatoes and carrots seem to be the vegetables of choice this time of year. The last three meals I have eaten out have all featured carrots and two have included potatoes. Neither are my favorite vegetable but they have all been done well so I cannot really complain. Two of the carrots had hits of green beans with them. I had two meals of duck this week. It is very standard here.

They are doing road work on one of the main streets and that has caused traffic jams around other parts of the city. I mention this often but it amazes me the way cars, motorcycles/motorbikes, bicycles and people share the narrow roads without accidents or injuries. I have had near run ins when running and also walking with bicyclists and sometimes pedestrians. But somehow every one adjusts and we do not run into each other. The running group is always fun as it is big and still runs all these roads with all the obstacles.

This traffic jam just amused me. This is one of the main streets that I walk regularly.

For the evening, I ran with the running group. People are starting to recognize me and interact more which is fun. It was drizzling but reasonable temperature for the run. The end was just various options of squats. I think that was because there ground was pretty wet so no one wanted to do exercises that required us to sit or lie down on the wet stones.