Generally, Wednesday is the day that I do not have any plans. Sometimes, I use it as my field trip day where I head out of Toulouse to visit other sites in France. Today, since it was the first Wednesday, I decided to stay in Toulouse and just use it as a relaxing day.

I did do some shopping in the morning as I need a protein for dinner. I went to the Marchè Victor Hugo and bought some seafood for dinner. In my attempt to use the French I worked hard to learn and use over the summer. I spoke to the man selling the seafood in French. I explained that I did not speak it all that well but was trying. He was very funny as he said he was Thai and did it speak it all that well or English that well. He does speak French well. It was a fun interaction. The older Frenchman who was next in line to buy seafood found the conversation amusing.

After shopping, I fixed my lunch which is the standard lunch for me when I am here. Jamon Serrano, cheese (Tomme this time), French radishes, olives, cherry tomatoes and a baguette. Since I was being bad, I used the small wine glasses, not the ones I bought, and had a glass of rosé. The proprietors of the Airbnb had left me a bottle of wine which was very nice.

I, also, had bought a bottle of red wine from a very nice local wine shop for dinner. I know red does not really go with seafood but I enjoy red more and knew I would be drinking bottle over several dinners so went with my favorite type. The proprietress at the wine store recommended it – Domaine Labrache Laffont – Christine Dupuy – Madrian. It is made not too far from Toulouse up in the Pyrenees. It is Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. I had a glass with dinner and it was very good. It is a nice strong red wine.

I did an afternoon walk which was nice. They are advertising the Côte du Midi, the middle coast of France, along the river and have these fun murals on the walls and ground. At each, there is a place where they show where to take a picture of the murals for each one. I did not realize the importance of taking the picture where they point out until I realized the murals were three dimensional. It was a revelation, or I was just not observant.

After the walk, I had a FaceTime call with Tom and caught up on the news from back in Alexandria. Tom and I do a FaceTime call once a week to help me stay connected to my life in Alexandria.

The rest of the day was dinner and reading. It was a nice relaxing day. Also, it was cooler and overcast so it was a day to just relax and not do too much. The weather had been unseasonably chilly and I had to wear a sweater when I went out. It is supposed to return to normal by the weekend.