So, after my weeklong adventure, I decided that I must attend a few classes the following week; 3 to be exact. Well, actually, the professor didn’t show up on Thursday, so technically it was only two. Trust me, you do not have to remind me…I am cherishing these moments!
On Friday morning, my mom arrived in Toulouse and I met her at the airport. The fun was about to begin…after mom caught up on her sleep and rid herself of her jet lag. Friday night is a bit of blur, partly because of how tired we both were, partly because of the wine and cheese party-of-two we had in my room! For the next couple of days, this kind of eating and drinking was quite standard. Throughout the weekend, we toured Toulouse in small sections, with many many café, brasserie and restaurant stops along the way. I have never eaten this well here, and, not surprisingly, this much. We had everything from Italian to true French cuisine to simply cheese and paté for dinner. It was exquisite! We also walked quite a bit throughout the city. My mom was really excited to see it all – it has been about 30 years since she has been back to Europe, so I could tell she was just taking it all in. It almost made me feel as if I was taking it all for granted, which I NEVER want to do. But it is so interesting to see something, perhaps that you have walked by everyday, through different eyes than your own. It is really cool – and my mom is certainly the kind of person you would want to travel with you and point these things out. She is so well-read and well-travelled and has a never-ending knowledge of food that she could honestly get paid for. As a result, I ordered things at restaurants that I NEVER would have otherwise. I tried beef carpaccio, salmon carpaccio, foie gras (which is duck or goose liver pate) and other incredible dishes.
On Monday, we decided to travel to Carcassone. This is a medieval city, very touristy, about an hour south-east of Toulouse. After waiting for the fire department to clear out of the train station due to a bomb threat scare, we hopped on the train. The city is very small, and lovely. We stayed in a hotel that was absolutely wonderful, and about a two minute walk from the train station. We got a great room, with a balcony view showing the medieval castle in the distance. The weather wasn’t great during our trip, but that didn’t seem to matter. The medieval city is something I’ve been having a difficult time describing to others. As a result, I have recommended to anyone nearby to absolutely make a day trip and see it. You have to look at the pictures to understand, but it is this huge medieval castle. Well, it is actually a small city, enclosed within huge walls. The architecture reminds me these Lego castles my brother had as a kid with the princess with the pointy hats, and the dungeons and dragons. I loved it. So did my mom. I just tried to imagine who lived here, and how different a typical day of theirs differs from mine now. We stopped in one of the many restaurants there, and had fabulous French onion soup. As far as the rest of the city goes, there isn’t much to do or see, and the shopping is pretty bad. However, I still consider this a must-see; three hours is all you need though! My mom and I made great use of the bar and restaurant attached to our hotel. I think they knew us by name by the time we left! We arrived back on Tuesday evening and had a nice dinner close by. The next day, Valentine’s Day, we did a little bit a touring, and then decided to order in pizza for the night and have wine. This was a great idea, because I later heard that every restaurant in Toulouse was booked! My mom left crazy early the next morning. Where did the time go?
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