Exploring Toulouse

 7/18: Out the door to explore the ‘pink city.’ We enjoyed the narrow streets and unique architecture.

Our first stop was the market (we always enjoy these in different cities). We bought a few pastries, a shrimp/rice dish that Simone loved, and some cheese to go with our white wine that our host had in the fridge for us. The kids were thoroughly grossed out by the chickens with heads still attached and the filleted rabbits. Ewww.

Ewww!

Next stop was the Japanese Garden - a lovely oasis in the city center with some shade for a break from the heat (90 degree day). Koi in the pond.

Off to explore the Cathedral.

Back to our apartment mid afternoon as we’d done lots of walking in the heat. Our AC sure felt good!

We played some hearts and started the laundry (every different machine is a little tricky!). We fed the kids more chicken and pasta and then Bob and I headed out to a crepe restaurant that got great reviews. It was about a mile walk, and it was still mighty toasty, so glad the kids stayed at home. We LOVED our meal, though! Best crepes we have ever had.

Our waiter fixing Bob’s dessert crepe.

The capitole square was beautiful at night.

7/19: Bob and I started the day with a 4 mile walk/run to a different part of the city. It was going to be another hot day, but the temp was lovely first thing in the morning. We came home, ate breakfast with the kids, and headed out for one more day of exploring.

A typical scene - Bob planning our day/future travels, me feeding the kids and packing the lunch. Quinn’s new fave - toast with butter/peanut butter and bananas.

We brought home breakfast treats after our run - the beignets filled with chocolate on the left were the favorite. Typical laundry drying!

Another beautiful cathedral

My dad would love this wood carving

Unfortunately the Irish Pub we wanted to grab a bite at and watch the Tour was closed, as was the Botanic Gardens. But not to worry - Daddy always finds a way to make it fun!

A drink and a snack at the Capitole square. The kids have discovered Coke Zero tastes ‘the same’ as regular Coke. A win for no sugar and no caffeine:-)

Home to clean up and HH with some cards before heading out to the Curry Cafe for dinner. It got great reviews and the kids were up for their first Indian food. We all loved it!

Last view of the Capitole at night. Off to Lisbon tomorrow!

To Toulouse!

 7/17: Bob and I started the day with a walk that ended with buying our last baguette and some additional ham to make sandwiches for the road. We cleaned up our place, packed the car, and started the 2ish hour drive to Toulouse. Once close to our new apartment for the next 3 nights, Bob dropped us off with all of our stuff. Our place was in a pedestrian only zone, so the kids and I walked the final stretch while Bob went to return our rental car.

We found the right place, the owner’s daughter buzzed us in, and then I had to move all our bags up a steep flight of stairs (a common theme of no lifts!) Once we got to the first floor, there was an elevator to take us to the 3rd floor, but it was literally only large enough for 1 of our bags (with no person). So…the kids ran up the 2 flights of stairs, and I put one bag at a time into the lift to shuttle it up to the 3rd floor!

Our unit was lovely, and thankfully had AC! We saw some little ants in the kitchen area, so made a mental note to grab some spray at the grocery store on our way home! Bob arrived and we settled in briefly before heading out for a walk around the ‘pink city.’ We found a lovely spot for a beverage and nachos, before heading to a tapas place for a few more snacks.

The tapas didn’t please the kids so much, so we picked up some pasta, chicken, and veggies at the grocery store and headed home to make some familiar food for them. We settled in, watched a Wonder Years episode (a tradition we started before we left the States - Bob has very fond memories watching this as a kid), and sprayed the little ants before heading to bed.

Our apartment location by the Capitole was phenomenal.

Lakes to Peaks St. Lary and Loudenvielle

 7/15: We drove to the top of the gondola of Saint Lary ski resort and looked around a bit - fun to explore a different resort during the off season

We drove back to Loudenvielle as the temps were warm and we spied a cool water park in a lake yesterday.

The drive was another stunner.

We just love these little towns.

 

Fun scene but COLD water! Kids said it was chillier than Åland! Good thing wetsuits were included!

Simone’s yoga pose in the middle :-)

Bob and I rented a paddle boat for 1 hr and toodled around the little lake while the kids played.

Happy hour lakeside

Dinner and laundry at home and getting ready for our last day in St. Lary tomorrow. Doing laundry in Norway, England, and France necessitates planning ahead - the humidity and lack of a drier means we need to do the wash with plenty of time to dry before moving to our next place!

7/16: Since we have fallen in love with the fresh baguettes, ham, cheese, and butter sandwiches, we sent Quinn and Simone out in the morning for the fresh baguettes. It has been really nice to stay put for these 5 nights in Saint Lary. We all have settled in a bit, and the familiarity has been a welcome change. It was fun for the kids to venture out together for the 5 minute walk to  the bread shop!

Success!

We set out for a mountain hike, and ended up driving through the clouds to find a clear blue day up above!

After the hike we enjoyed our picnic by the lake.

Our coveted sandwiches on display :-)

A short walk around Saint Lary while watching the paragliders, and home to pack up to leave tomorrow. We have LOVED this town, and our apartment has been wonderful.