The Salon Vins & Terroirs is held every year in Toulouse. It is an expo of wineries, distilleries, chocolate and other foods from France and elsewhere. It is held at the MEET expo center. I went last year and decided to go again this year. It cost 5 euros and you get a glass so that you can try any and all the wines you want. There are hundreds of exhibitors so it is worth the 5 euros. You can also taste the chocolate, cheese, charcuterie and other products.

To get to the MEET, I needed to take the Tram. It is part of the public transport system in Toulouse. The MEET is the last stop on the Tram and is out in the far suburbs so it is an interesting ride as I get to see parts of Toulouse that I do not normally see. It goes out to the horse racing track (Hippodrome) and the Airbus museum. It is a good walk as the ticket cost 2 euros.

I went somewhat overboard at the Salon. I bought one regular bottle of champagne and two half bottles. Champagne is one, if not, my favorite beverage so I tasted many of the champagne options. All the champagne I tried is not available in the United States so it is fun to experience it. I bought three different types of champagne as well. The Marinette Raclot is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay. It is located in the south Marne region of the champagne region. The Robert Allait is 100% Pinot Meunier with no dosage (added sugar) and is located 14 kms west of Epernay. The Champagne Philbert is a blanc de blanc (100% Chardonnay) and is just south of Reims. All tasted good and I will be interested in drinking the bottles of all. I will not drink the regular bottle of Robert Allait as that would be too much to drink alone. I will consume the two half bottles.

For dinner I went as usual to Le Panache. It is always fun and an experience. Tonight, Enzo’s parents were there and remembered me from the last time we met. It was fun to chat with them. They treat me like an old friend. It was a Franglish conversation – me doing French, they doing English. We shared some wine and chatted. The food is always good. Erwin corrected me on how to pronounce his name which I was glad of so I can call him the correct way from now on.

Enzo and I discussed running the half marathon – our goal time. What we eat before a race. He does not drink alcohol for the week before the race and I cut down on my consumption as well.

All in all a fun night and one of the reasons I love living here in Toulouse and experiencing life. One has to be open to new adventures and experiences. It is what makes life worth living.

As just asides to the day, as I was walking to catch the tram which is about 20 minutes away, I saw a group of Viking re-creators or that is what I think they were. They had two long boats and tent set up. I did not stop but it looked like they might be recreating one of the Viking voyages.

Also, I always find it interesting to see the Airbus Beluga plane coming into Toulouse. It is a converted A380 used to fly in parts of the Airbus planes for final assembly in Toulouse. It looks like a Beluga whale and that is how it gets its name.

The video was what I saw on my walk home from Le Panache. I thought it was great to see the people dancing on the steps on the banks of the river. As I joke, just a typical Friday night in Toulouse.