Since it was Monday, it was cleaning and laundry day. It always feels good to get the tasks done.

After doing laundry and cleaning, I walked down to the local boulangerie as I needed a baguette. Emily and Barbara were coming over for wine, cheese and charcuterie so I needed bread. The French are not really into crackers so a sliced baguette is the best option serving.

In the evening, I walked over to the hotel where they were staying and walked them over to my apartment. This is the first time I really entertained guests. Last fall, Jesse and Jen came to visit but they stayed with me so the entertaining was different. It was not a formal – come over for wine, cheese and charcuterie. It was just we will grab something and have it in the evening.

Emily and Barbara seemed to like the apartment and we had a nice evening. After their visit, I walked them down and put them in an Uber to get them back tot the hotel. Barbara (who is 91) does not seem to be comfortable walking in the dark later at night which I can understand.

I had bought a nice bottle of Madiran wine for the evening. It is 100% Tannat and had a full body. It is one of the more local wines. It was very good. Also, it was fun to use the wine glasses that I had bought on the off chance I actually had guests over and, also, just because they were better than the ones that were here at the apartment originally. So can see the glasses in the picture.

The rest of the day was just resting and recharging the batteries. It has been nice to have Barbara and Emily visiting but a whole week is a little long to be on call and entertaining every day. I needed a slight break.

I find my personality always slight contradictory. I am definitely a people person but do like my alone time as well. It is especially true after being here in Toulouse for some time. Here I do not have that many friends and spend most of my time by myself. I do not have any problems just wandering around, sitting at cafes and reading, or going out to dinner by myself and reading while eating. I do enjoy seeing Elliot, Marc, Mireia and Hugo when I go to the running group. Also, chatting with people at La Panache is always good. But those are my only real interactions with people other than my weekly FaceTime with Tom. So spending time with Emily and Barbara every day for a week has been different and, at times, tiring. I have enjoyed having them here but definitely felt some need for alone time.