This is the part of the trip that always makes things difficult. I feel that I am in two minds. I am here in Toulouse and trying to make the most of my last days and at the same time my mind is jumping forward to being back in Alexandria. I am making plans to see friends and do my usual Christmas entertaining. I keep jumping between the two in my mind and that makes me stressed. I will figure this all out one day.

I went out yesterday to do some more last minute Christmas shopping. I was amazed at how packed the city was. I guess it is the same here as in the U.S. about shopping the first weekend of the holiday period. I did not go into the Christmas market as it was especially crowded since it was the weekend. The main shopping street (Rue Alsace Lorraine) which is a walking street was like being in a big mall in the United States with all the people and packages. As I pointed out in an earlier post, the concept of Black Friday has been embraced by France so most stores were having big sales. The Nespresso store had a lien to get in it and so did one of the perfume stores.

I did get a little frustrated as I was trying to find a place to have a pastry and hot chocolate but they were all packed so I did not end up stopping anywhere. I ended up buying a chocolate eclair and bringing it back to the apartment and having it with tea.

I bought some tea at a Salon de Thè and was amazed at the offerings and complications. I had asked for a specific tea type and I was asked if I wanted this year or last year’s harvest. I had to smell two different options before I could buy the tea. It was a very impressive process but I am not sure I am knowledgeable enough about the intricacies of tea to know that I made the right choice. It is probably the most expensive tea I have ever bought.

In the evening, I went to Terra Tolosa for my last dinner there. I love the restaurant and food is fantastic. The staff is great as well. As usual, I sat near the kitchen and talked with the kitchen staff as I ate. I had the degustation menu and was replete when I finished.

Dinner started with a Amuse-Bouche which was a refined chicken nugget with butternut squash purée. It was very tasty. As you can see, I started eating it before I took the picture.

The first appetizer was Cod Gravlax on a beet purée with lemon gel. I love Gravlax and this was excellent. Yorcon, the chef, said he thought Salmon Gravlax was heavier so liked using the cod. It add apple slices and chantilly cream with it.

The second appetizer which the chef said was one of his specialities and he really wanted me to try it was beef tongue (cold) with pickles topped with sliced pears, slow cooked egg yolk and served on a pear purée. Not having eaten a great deal of tongue, I was not sure what to expect but it was fantastic. He also made pickle gel which he served with it. The pickle really enhanced the flavor. I was super surprised by the dish.

The fish course was trout served in a fish and grapefruit broth. Again, I was not sure how I would like the broth but the grapefruit gave it a nice acidity and the fish broth gave it a hearty taste. It had chopped celeriac root in the broth and on top of the fish. Again, a surprise but incredibly good.

The meat course was a nice veal with roasted vegetables. I was served with an onion/bacon crumble and had bacon foam on the top. There was off course a just made of the veal stock. It was served on sweet potato purée.

Dessert was squash and orange cake – similar to carrot cake with orange marmalade ice cream, hazelnut cream and then orange, hazelnut and squash gels as garnish. Again super good. I forgot to take a picture of it but I think it was because I was overwhelmed with the amount of food and how good it all was!

The chef discussed how it was hard to keep coming up with new and good menu options. He certainly does a good job of it. He said that there were some standards that he repeats over the years. I was amused how he said he had certain month staples that he used each year in that month. We, also, discussed how it was hard to cook well for one and the amount of time it takes and how little time it takes to eat it if you are eating alone.

I will miss my meals at Terra Tolosa.