The trip from Washington to Toulouse was basically uneventful. Both my flights were somewhat delayed but the second delay helped so I cannot really complain.

I was flying Air France and I have to give them an A+ on food and service. I had the beef with Bourguignon sauce and it was excellent. It was a modern take on the regular Beef Bourguignon. They served it with the sauce in a little pitcher which was poured over slow cooked beef, carrots, potatoes and parsnips. The beef was incredibly tender. No pictures as European airlines discourage pictures on flights. The flight attendants were incredibly nice and service oriented. I spoke French for the whole flight which made me happy and, also, got me into speaking for when I arrived in Toulouse.

I do not understand Charles De Gaulle airport which is where my connecting flight from Paris to Toulouse originated. Even as large as the airport is, they do not have gates for all the flights that arrive and take-off. We landed at went to a remote parking station (French term for a remote destination for a plane gate) and had to take a bus to the terminal.

I was nervous about being at a remote parking station as I had a very short connection time for my second flight. The whole disembarking at the remote parking station takes longer as you deplane and then get on a bus which then goes to the terminal. The good thing about the different location was we were bused to terminal F where my connection was taking off from instead of terminal E so I did not have to change terminals.

I had been concerned about the new EES system (Entrance and Exit) that had been implemented within the Schengen Zone to handle Customs and Immigration. It is a new biometric system that is replacing stamping passports to track stays within the Schengen Zone. I had read stories of hour long waits as the system had glitches and people did not know how to navigate the system. For me, it was about a five minute process. The speed might have been because we did not arrive at the main international terminal so there were not that many people using the system. The system has a kiosk that you scan your passport, then go into an aisle where your photo is taken and then proceed to an immigration person who actually stamped my passport which surprised me. I did not have to have my fingerprints taken which might mean the system is not fully implemented. The photo is similar to the touchless system that TSA has implemented and the same as when you board an international flight.

Even with the long time from plane to immigration and then the walk to the gate, I was in time for my connection to Toulouse. It ended up being delayed anyway so I had more than enough time to make it.

One of the amusing parts of the trip was that I was in a window seat and the person in the aisle seat was the last person to board and he was disabled and could not stand or walk. He was brought onto the plane last and was lifted into his seat. When we arrived in Toulouse, he explained that I should climb over him as he would be the last person taken off the plane. I was somewhat reluctant to do this as even in business class on European planes there is not a lot of leg room. European business class is basically the same seats as regular class just with the middle seat blocked off. Finally, I agreed as he kept urging me to step over him. He was slightly larger so I was not sure how to do it but finally I stepped up onto the middle seat and then lifted one leg over the seats in front and stepped on the armrest and was able to get over him without inconveniencing him too much. The rest of the people around me were impressed with my monkey type climbing to do this. It is pretty good that I am somewhat flexible.

Once I collected my luggage, I took the Navette Airport shuttle to get into downtown Toulouse. The airport is very close to the city so it is easy to use. My stop is the first stop coming into town from the airport so the ride is about 10 minutes. I hopped off and then did the 10-15 minute walk to the apartment.

It is easy to get into the apartment complex as there is a call box and when I call the number given me by the landlord, the door automatically opens. He had left the key under the mat and so I got in easily. The apartment looked the same as the last time I stayed here. This is my third stay in the apartment so it is very familiar. I was glad to see the wine glasses I had bought on my first stay are still here.

This is the complex where the apartment is but, unfortunately, my apartment is on the back side so I do not have a river view. It is nice though to be able to walk out the front and be on the river.

After unpacking and taking a shower, I headed out to explore Toulouse and enjoy being here. I am a strong believer in powering through the first day in a new destination as I think it helps overcome jet lag. The weather was beautiful so I wandered to the Place de Capitole, along the banks of the Garonne and just a general wander.

As a break, I stopped at The Flowers cafe and had tea and a patisserie. It was nice to sit outside and enjoy the weather which was sunny and warm (high 60s/low 70s). It was a nice downtime.

As it was a lovely day, there were lots of people enjoying the sun and warmth along the banks of the Garonne. It is one of the things I like about Toulouse is that on nice days, there are lots of people out and about enjoying the city.

I did a couple hours of walking and enjoying the sun. Then came back to the apartment and relaxed before I headed out to La Panache for dinner. La Panache is my favorite place in Toulouse and is my home away from home.

Ervim, Enzo and Jean-Lou were glad to see me. They all did the faire le bissou which is the triple cheek kiss. They had lots of questions about my time in Alexandria. I was happy as my French conversation group and Karyne (French tutor) has paid off. I was able to hold more conversation in French with them. It was still somewhat mixed but that was part of being tired.

Jean-Lou, who is the chef/cook, brought me an amusèe buche of shrimp tartar in a crisp shell with a sauce. It was fantastic but I forgot to take a picture of it – jet lag!

Afterwards, I had shrimp gyozas which were great. Then I had the crispy maigret (duck). This has been on the menu for a while and it is very interesting – somewhat a a duck tempura. The gyozas were a new item on the menu.

Around 9:30, I began to fade and headed back to the apartment. I made it to about 10:00/10:30 before I crashed.

All in all, a good first day back in Toulouse. The primary post picture is sunset in Toulouse. They are almost always beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the experience.