I was thinking about my life in Toulouse and tried to decide if I had a routine or was in a rut in some ways. I try to think of myself as spontaneous and open to change and doing new things regularly.
Yesterday, I was an out walking around and thinking about lunch. I was thinking about my regular places that I go for Tuesday lunches. My usual activity on Tuesday is to take a walk in the morning and then have lunch. In the afternoon, I read and relax and then head out to Run in Toulouse for a group run.
Tuesday is usually a day without a standard place to eat. I will get more into the routine/rut of the rest of the week in a moment. But I, generally, had a set of restaurants that I eat at on Tuesday – Chez Nico, a Vietnamese street food location, Yujo Ramen, or Restaurant Gascon. I looked at a few restaurants along my walk and ended up skipping those and going to Chez Nico. Does this mean I am in a rut which I need to break out and start trying different restaurants. I like the different restaurants I choose so is that just routine.
Thursday is definitely a routine day. I have lunch at Terra Tolosa and then do the Run in Toulouse group run. I like Terra Tolosa and the menu changes regularly so I can usually eat there three weeks in a row without having the same meal. Remi and Thomas, the servers, are great and it has become somewhat a home away from home for lunch.
Friday nights are always Le Panache, that might be a rut, but is the true home away from home for me so I will not change that part of the routine. Enzo and Evrim are friends as well as workers/owner of the restaurant. I have built up a community there so I do not look like that as a rut.
Saturday night is probably the night that I am most open. I do not have a standard place for Saturday dinner and rotate restaurants and try new ones that night. I found two new ones on my last trip – Faire Sens and Aux Pieds Sous La Table. I am trying to find a new restaurant for dinner this Saturday. I do have some that I like to eat at regularly La Braiserie and Reflets but am open to new options on Saturday.
I am determined to break out of the rut and find new restaurants for Tuesday and Saturday nights. There are lots of options to explore so I need to start exploring.
Run in Toulouse is my running routine. It is very meaningful to me as it has given me a community and friends. The people I know best are two runners from the group, Eliott and Marc. I have met others from the group who always have made me feel welcome – Hugo, Noam, and Nordin and others. Some of the best things I have done since being in Toulouse have been because of running – the Toulouse Urban Trail, the Toulouse Half Marathon and the trip to Andorra to see Marc run the trail races.
The whole running culture and Run in Toulouse are one of the main reasons I chose Toulouse. The second night I was sitting having a drink in the cafe that became La Reserve and saw this large group of runners running by and immediately google searched running groups in Toulouse and found Run in Toulouse. Seeing that there was a running club, I decided this was a good place to try living in France.
The first couple (maybe more) I did not interact with anyone, probably because I was worried about speaking French and communicating. I enjoyed the runs even without being able to talk to anyone. After a few runs, people started talking to me and asked me how I came to be in Toulouse. From there I began to feel a part of the group and things grew from there.
