I showed Jesse and Jen around Toulouse some more. The highlights were the Basilica of Saint Sernin, the Basilica of Daurade, and the Japanese Gardens. We, also, walked along the Canal de Midi and the Garonne as is typical of Toulouse.

We stopped for lunch at the Magic Pumpkin in the plaza around the Basilica of Saint Sernin, I had my first quiche in Toulouse. The Magic Pumpkin called it a Tart. It was spinach, carrots and smoked salmon. It was good.

After the touring around we came back to the apartment for a little rest and then walked over to the cafe that is on the banks of the Garonne in the Saint Cyprien district and had a beer and enjoyed the nice weather. We learned about different beer drinks – a Monaco is like a shandy – beer and sparkling lemonade, a Picon has an orange syrup added to the beer and Panache has ginger beer added to the beer. I had never seen that really until today. Jen and a Picon and really enjoyed it.

After changing to go out to dinner, we went back to Hop and Scotch for another beer. I have consumed more beer today than in a long time but Jesse is a beer drinker so we were doing activities where he could try different French beers. Hop and Scotch is styled after an English pub.

For dinner we went to La Braiserie. It was a recommendation of Enzo and Erwin at Le Panache. It is a primarily a steak restaurant. When I checked in for the reservation, they were amusing and acted like I as Tony Blair. It was pretty amusing.

The food was fantastic. I started with house made Fois Gras and then had a steak with Morrell Sauce. Jesse had a stead with Madagascar Green Pepper Sauce and Jen had a hanger steak with shallot sauce. All of this came with salad and potatoes. The food was all fantastic!

We had two very good bottles of wine. They were similar but different. The first was Le Gres from Languedoc and was Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. It was great with the steaks and was bold.

The second was from the Terrasses du Lazare in Languedoc as well but its primary grape was Carnignan. It was somewhat lighter and more fruity in style which I think is caused by the Carnignan being primary and the Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre blend being less. It was very good as well but I preferred the Les Gres.

Jen had the Cafe Gourmand for dessert which is a small cup of coffee and then a variety of treats – she got a cookie, raspberry sorbet, a Floating Island, a small Madeleine and chocolate mousse. Jesse and I had the Dame Blanche which is basically a very upscale hot fudge sundae. The ice cream was house made vanilla bourbon.

Fabio did a fantastic job with serving us and giving up information on the wine. The atmosphere is great at La Braiserie. It was a fantastic dinner. I would highly recommend the restaurant.

Off to Barcelona next.