I decided to revisit one of the restaurants I had not been to on this trip so far and try a new pastry shop.

There is a restaurant Gascon which is a very good deal for lunch. I used to go to it more regularly because of the cost but had not gone there this time as I had been branching out for my Tuesday lunches. I had recommended it to the Phil and John (both met at running) had seconded my recommendation. John (an American) works here in Toulouse and has been here about six months. He said his office had gone there for an office event so that lent some local credibility to the restaurant.

I, always, joke that Gascon is the retirement lunch place. Whenever I am there, most of the customers look like they are over 60 and are not working. I understand it because the Menu de Jour is 14.50 euros and a 25 centiliter of wine is 2 euros. The food is what I would describe as working man – not fancy but big servings and filling. The wine is definitely local. It is one of the places that serves salad so it must be somewhat healthy as well. You can get a salad for a starter and then the main course has a small salad on the side.

Today I had the Salad paysenne, bavette (flank steak) in pepper sauce and the flan for dessert. The side I opted for was petit pois instead of frites. The peas were not as pleasant as I would liked, they were boiled rather than steamed but they were not mushy as the English make them. It was a good and hearty meal.

The new for the day was I went to a new pastry shop. I, usually, get my small pastries for Au Poussin Rose but had read about another pastry shop, Patisserie Conte, that was supposedly one of the best in Toulouse. When I walked by it I saw that it also had small pastries. I decide to try it. I felt as if I was committing pastry adultery but wanted to try the pastries as they looked really good.

It was the right decision as the chocolate eclair was fantastic. I have not eaten the chocolate cake or the raspberry tarts but they will be gone soon. The price is comparable at each shop so I will move back and forth between the two shops.

I know get excited by little things and today was one of those occasions. At the vegetable market this morning, I saw baby avocados. I had never seen such small avocados. I bought two of them to try and see how they were. It was a good decision as they tasted good and I could eat the whole one in one seating. Sometimes I can only eat half of the bigger ones and have to save the other half and then it is not as good when I eat it. This solved that problem. They will be on my regular purchase options moving forward. I did not see them at the other markets but will look for them.

The regular evening activity was running with Run in Toulouse. None of the English speaking group were at the run so I was on my own. It does not bother me so I was good. Nordine who I do know was the leader for the group I ran with so all was good.