I had wanted to have oysters in the market before I left but I got to the market a little too late on a weekday to have the oysters. Luckily, there is a seafood restaurant that does seafood platters right next to the market (Victor Hugo) so I went there instead. I had wanted to eat at La Cabanon since my first visit to Toulouse but it was always very busy when I passed it. Yesterday it was not busy so I had lunch there. I had a nice oyster, shrimp and bulots (small conch like shellfish) and a nice glass of white wine. I have checked off another item on my bucket list for Toulouse.

I had done some shopping at the Victor Hugo market before lunch as I had one more home cooked meal to make. I opted for lamb chops as I had been eating a lot of seafood and Pintade (guinea fowl) over the last couple of weeks. The lamb here is very good so I always enjoy it. I made it a French dinner with haricot verts (green beans) and roasted potatoes. It was good and an easy meal to cook.

I bought a bottle of Fronton wine to have with dinner. It is the wine region closest to Toulouse and is not found very often in Washington so I wanted one more bottle before I left. It was 9.80 euros or about $11.00 in the U.S. It was a very good accompaniment for dinner.

After buying wine, I had chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) at Mow’s cafe. It was one of the first places I went in Toulouse over a year ago when I was checking out the city. I had hot chocolate then even though it was the summer as French hot chocolate is not the same as American. I have a thing for hot chocolate.

Also, just as an aside, I had a chocolatine for breakfast as well. Doing all the fun things I can. Also had a croissant but I saved that for tomorrow’s breakfast.

I know I post too many sunset pictures but the colors of the sky here are just amazing. I saw the sky this afternoon and thought of Renaissance paintings and those of Turner. I am always enthralled by the colors. The river also fascinates me. Not sure what it is but I walk by it at least twice a day if not more and always like looking at it.

I had a nice chat with my friends Liam and Sarah on FaceTime this evening. It was nice to catch up with them. Liam is originally from Alexandria and lives in Berkeley, CA now with Sarah. They are two of my favorite people. Not sure this was a good thing but the FaceTime was while they were driving. Sarah was holding the phone so it was ok I think. The interesting part is they drove two blocks from my apartment in Alexandria which was pretty fun.