France: Charming Toulouse
Lufthansa was having a sale on direct flights to Toulouse, so how could we resist going to meet up with our friends who have a house just outside the city? I only wish we had gone sooner, because as a vacation destination it was fabulous.
Toulouse itself is a wonderful city for wandering. One day we roughly followed a walking tour laid out in a guidebook, which took us from big market squares, past monuments and public art, to small, winding, gallery-filled streets.
For lunch we stopped at vegetarian cafe La Faim des Haricots. There you can choose a combination of salad bar, savory tarts, dish of the day, and/or dessert bar, and eat as much as you like. It was filling and yummy.
An item on my must-eat-whenever-in-France list is macarons (not to be confused with macaroons, those coconut cookies). These little mouthfuls of joy consist of two light, flavored cookies smooshed together around a flavored cream. We picked up some at Poussin Bleu (45 rue du Languedoc), and amazingly they survived the trip all the way home (but not much longer after that). The caramel and pistachio flavors were my favorite.
Toulouse was one of those cities where I found myself contemplating whether I’d want to live there. It had a good vibe. I’d at least like to go back for more wandering.
