Sunday has always been one of the busier days in my Toulouse life. It starts with going to the St. Aubin’s market to buy vegetables, fruits, olives and other fresh items for the week.

The St. Aubin’s market is open from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm on Sundays. I have to go early if I want to get it done, do more shopping at the Marché Victor Hugo and make it to church on time.

I was a little disappointed as the regular vegetable stand that I had used to go to in my previous trips was not there. I felt a little loss that they were not at the market anymore. I wandered a little and found one that seemed to have good prices and the items that I wanted. It was sort of the back of the market. The prices seemed to be cheaper than those at the front. It always surprises me that two stands close together have different prices as it is so easy to comparison shop.

I was excited as they had petit pois (peas in the shell). It is not something that you feel often in the United States. The peas in the shell remind me of my childhood when I would go to my grandparents. My grandfather was a big gardener and would grow all sorts of vegetables. I loved going out and picking the peas and then sitting shelling the peas. It was very calming and fun to pop them pods and then push the peas out into a bowl. For a big family dinner, it took a lot of pea pods to get enough peas.

I bought some other items for other dinners – salad ingredients and green beans for dinner Monday. I bought strawberries for breakfast as well. I did not buy the French strawberries as they have not come into full season yet and were more expensive than the Italian strawberries. I try to buy local but there is not much fresh fruit that I like for breakfast that is in season in France yet.

After the vegetable shopping, I stopped by the olive vendor. It was nice as he immediately said that he had not seen me in a while. I explained I had been back in the United States for winter. We both discussed the bad weather that both Toulouse and Alexandria this winter. I got my olives and some pistachios (they grow different nuts as well). I could not buy the small container of olive oil that I wanted as they did not have any. He told me there would be some in two weeks as it is being made from the new crop right now. It will be great to get such fresh olive oil.

I bought my usual chocolatine at Chez Pillon for breakfast. It is my tradition to have a chocolatine for breakfast on Sunday mornings.

I got guinea fowl and fish for dinner on Sunday and Monday night. I do two days of shopping as most places including the Marché is closed on Monday. I had come to appreciate guinea fowl when I was here in the fall. I was trying to try things I did not have access to in the U.S. and found guinea fowl. It is poultry that is more flavorful than chicken. It is a little more wild. I bought filet de Vive from the fish market. I really did not know what kind of fish it was but could see it was white fish and small filets so it was perfect for cooking for one. I did some research and found it is called weever fish in English and is a Mediterranean fish and used often in Mediterranean cooking.

After shopping and breakfast, I headed over to Saint Sernin for the English language mass. As I have mentioned before, getting to the Anglican Church is somewhat problematic from where. I live and it is only held every other week. I think it is even harder now as I read (in the French news) that the nearest metro stop is closed until May 5th. Since I still want to go to church, I just go to the English Mass at Saint Sernin. The location is beautiful and I can follow the service as it is very similar to the Anglican/Episcopal service. It is pretty well attended very week.

When I was here last time running the Toulouse half marathon, I had seen an open air market near the Jardin de Plantes and decided to go and try to check it out. I walked over to the area but the vendors were breaking down the market. I guess it is only open in the morning so I will have to go back next week after I do my shopping at St. Aubin’s as it is not far from that market.

I was thinking as I was walking, one of the main differences in my Toulouse life versus my Alexandria life is how much I walk and move. This is especially after the past winter. I probably walk at least an hour a day here if not more. This past winter in Alexandria I was basically a bump on a log and hermit. It was too cold and snowy to just wander and I drove almost everywhere even places that I would normally walk. I really like that I am much more active here and get out and walk every day. I probably spend three hours out walking today.

After all the activity of the day, I was glad to relax in the afternoon and then make dinner. I used the filet de Vive and the petit pois for dinner. It was supper simple to make and was very good. There is something great about fresh ingredients and all of them local.

I did have one experience today that amused me. I was at the Grand Rond (a park surrounded by a traffic circle). I had stopped at a crosswalk and was waiting for the light to change. I had pushed the button for the light to change and was waiting. Across the street, I saw three men with one looking at his iPhone and pointing in a direction. I heard him say in English (American) that he thought they should cross the street and go left. After a couple of minutes, I saw that there were no cars coming and began to cross the street against the light. As I got close, I heard one of the men say – let’s cross the street like the natives – referring to the fact that I was walking against the light. I let out a little chuckle which I do not think they heard. I was unusually pleased that they thought I was a native and did not want to disabuse them of the fact. I should probably have been nice and asked if they needed help with directions. This is what I was wearing.