Today was mostly a waiting day as I have friends visiting and they were flying in today. Unfortunately, their flight from Washington to Paris was delayed so they missed their connection to Toulouse. It will be nice once the United Non-stop from Washington to Toulouse starts in the spring as missing connections will not be an issue.

Emily and Barbara were scheduled to arrive around 11:00 am so I did not plan anything in the morning so I would available to meet them when they arrived. I did go out and buy a bottle of wine so I would have it to entertain them later in the week at my apartment.

With the missed connection, they actually arrived around 3:30 pm so I told them I would meet them at the hotel at 6:00 pm so they would have time to relax and get situated. This gave me time to have my weekly FaceTime call with Tom. It is always great to catch up with him. I like hearing about the family and what all they are up to back in Alexandria.

I walked over to the Soclo Maison to meet Barbara and Emily. It is a very nice little boutique hotel not too far from my apartment. Kimberly and Pamela stayed there when they were visiting Toulouse as well. I had found it originally walking back from church at Saint Sernin one Sunday. I saw a sign that said the place was serving tea in the afternoon. I stopped and found out it was a hotel and had a lovely garden to sit in. I went back a couple times afterwards as it offered a quiet and lovely respite from the city. I think the first time I choose it was because I knew it was not crowded and I would not get flummoxed ordering and trying to do things in French.

We had a nice spritz in the garden and then walked over to Aux Pieds Sur La Table for dinner. This restaurant has become one of my go to places for dinner. It is basically farm to table. I did not realize it until dinner this time that they made their own bread and also purified their own water that they serve.

The meal was very good as usual. I had the duck appetizer to start and it had a nice Asian sauce with sesame seeds and pomegranate.

Barbara had the cabbage salad which looked very good as well.

For the main course, I had pork loin. It was slow cooked and very tender. There was grilled zucchini as the side. There was a blue cheese condiment as well.

For dessert, I had apple clafoutis. I had never heard of it until last spring but it has been served numerous times and at different places since the first time I had it.

We had a Chateau de Cèdre – Extra Libre Malbec as the wine with dinner. It is a super good Cahors Malbec. I did not take a picture of the bottle which I should have.

It was fun to have a dinner where I was not reading my Kindle but actually engaging in conversation with people I know well. I do not mind spending meals reading – I have done that quite a great deal as most of my jobs have required travel and so spent lots of time on the road for work on my own. Sometimes I think I like it too much – just siting and reading on my own when eating. The change was good and it was a very nice evening.