It was another fun and interesting day in Toulouse.

I headed out for my usual walk with the idea that I would pick some things up for the apartment that I needed so that I could cook dinners more easily and be more creative. The last time I was here, I cooked dinners but with limited cooking options. I went to Midica, the everything inexpensive home store and bought a measuring cup and spoons. I had eyeballed everything before and it was not as satisfying as I would have liked.

I went to the Epicerie and bought salt and spices. I have an addiction to different kinds of salts, not to the actual taste of salt. I read the book Salt by Mark Kurlansky and became fascinated with the history of salt. The book captivated me and started my obession of finding different salts and learning more about them. The Epicerie sells three types of salts from France so I stock up on salts.

While walking around, I saw a woman sitting in a window playing the violin with people of the street listening and taking pictures. I became one of those people. I am always amazed at what I find just walking around in Toulouse. I think there is a museum in the building and she must be part of their activities.

When I got here, a number of the streets had gold and silver streamers hanging above them. It was very enchanting as they fluttered in the wind and shone in the sunlight. Unfortunately, this is the last week that they will be up as from reading the signs they are being taken down this coming weekend. The sign said they were up for the summer for shade. I will miss them.

After I had finished my shopping and walking around. I stopped at a street fair that was not too far my the apartment where I am staying. It had street food, beverages, craft sellers and music. It was a nice was to spend an hour or so on a beautiful afternoon.

I went to Le Petit Marais for dinner. It is another of the restaurants on my rotation. Gabriel said that they were having a special given some reservation service they use and the restaurant was going to be packed. He was correct. He was working incredibly hard all evening. He basically is the only server. The fois gras was fantastic. It is the main reason I go to the restaurant as well as talking to Gabriel.

The river seems to becoming back to somewhat normal. It is still low but there seemed to be some water running over the little dam today. Even though the river is low, they have these new boat tours on the river. From what I can see, you can rent the boat and do a circuit of the river. I think they sell wine and food to eat while you are on the river. The boats seem to be driven by the group renting them and they go very slowly.