Yesterday we had a rare day free of guests, so road trip time it was! Peter, Orlando, Andrew, Laura and I headed into Toul
ouse for an overnight stay of sightseeing, shopping and 
fine dining. I had only flown in and out of the airport in Toulouse, so never really had the chance to explore the city, and was pleasantly surprised. It's bustling, but quaint in a mellow way, it's old dating back to the 3rd century, and architecturally prettier than I imagined. It is a city of 600,000+, the third largest city in France, and about an hour and half drive from where we are. Bathed in Mediterranean light, with most buildings made of brick, it can take on a variety of hues depending on the time of day, ranging from scorching red to dusky pink or even violet. Once the capital of all the regions united by the Occitanian dialects, it is now a famous centre of the French aeronautical construction industry, home of Airbus and high-tech firms, and a lively university town. The street signs are all in French, as well as Occitanian. The old facades and buildings we strolled by on the way to the old Capitole building and the Cathédrale of St. Étienne were striking. The city reminds me a bit of the Left Bank in Paris in the fact that it has windy, cobbled narrow streets full of small boutiques, high end shops, local patisseries, and lots of cafes. The mood is more mellow than Paris, there are certainly less people, and the locals are really friendly. Here in France, by law you can only work 35 hours a week, and everyone takes an hour and half - two hours for lunch. Lunch is at two, dinner at eight. So, the cafes are all crowded in the afternoon serving coffees to the locals, and it's a great place to people watch. Laura and I had beautiful salads at Cafe Koss in St. Georges Square, and stopped at a decadent patisserie for macaroons - of course, we had to taste one of each: chocolate, pistachio, salty caramel, vanilla, violet, coffee, passion fruit, raspberry and lemon. We stopped at two more cafes for afternoon coffees and walked the tiny narrow streets of Toulouse "window licking" for hours. It was humid, and sprinkled a bit. I bought a handbag, and a couple of pairs of shoes, while Orlando shopped like a mad man to fill Monique's shopping wish list at L'Occitane, and Peter & Andrew sipped a coffee at a cafe. We stopped for pre-dinner drinks at a local bar, El Abanico, where Orlando whipped out his treat for us - more macaroons! This time, savory macaroons.... (Roquefort, foie gras, truffle and olive oil flavours- Roquefort was my favorite), than we headed to Anges & Démons for dinner. The food was good, but fussy, the service slow (four hours from start to finish with the main course not being served until half past ten!), but the owners were friends of Orlando & Peter's who used to run a restaurant in Carmaux, so we stayed. My menu: Girolle creme with coffee foam, a tarte of sun-dried tomatoes, chorizo, and red mullet (heavenly!), St Jacques scallops with apple reduction, cheese, bread,and creme brulee with pineapple. Laura, Orlando and I headed back to the hotel at 12:30 a.m., while Peter & Andrew hit the bars till the wee hours. This morning, it was back to Raynaudes, after a brief stop for a sandwich in Cordes at the local patisserie in the lower square. It's quiet in Cordes, a local bastide medieval town, but come August, there will be large crowds of tourists here. It's dreary and rainy today, making us all feel lazy. Maybe it had to do with the rich dinner and all the wine. After lunch, it's time to get back and prepare, as we are cooking dinner tonight at 7pm for the local village of Raynaudes, all 12 of them! Once a year Peter & Orlando invite the village to dinner as a thank you for being so welcoming to their guests all year long- so I'm off now to set the tables- it's looking to rain tonight, so we are doing aperitifs in the hangar, and setting the tables inside- au revoir for now...... So I'm back now sitting in the office, having just cleared the after dinner drinks, the village dinner is finished, it's 11:30 p.m., and the evening was a huge success - Roquefort rarebits, fillet of boeuf with au jus, pommes dauphinoise, tomato confit, Xavier cheese course, gâteau (a layered strawberry tart with caramel creme, chocolate and hazelnuts), and coffee and macaroons. Great conversation and laughter all night, it was invigorating to be here, as some of these neighbors have known each other 50 years. And even though the entire evening was spoken in French, I will have fond memories. Highlights of our roadtrip were the cattle crossing the road in front of us as we headed towards Monestiés on our way to Toulouse, exploring the streets and cafes of Toulouse with Laura, the infamously long dinner, andthe architecture of the city. Highlight of the village dinner- the villagers of Raynaudes, the laughter and the great food.
ouse for an overnight stay of sightseeing, shopping and 
fine dining. I had only flown in and out of the airport in Toulouse, so never really had the chance to explore the city, and was pleasantly surprised. It's bustling, but quaint in a mellow way, it's old dating back to the 3rd century, and architecturally prettier than I imagined. It is a city of 600,000+, the third largest city in France, and about an hour and half drive from where we are. Bathed in Mediterranean light, with most buildings made of brick, it can take on a variety of hues depending on the time of day, ranging from scorching red to dusky pink or even violet. Once the capital of all the regions united by the Occitanian dialects, it is now a famous centre of the French aeronautical construction industry, home of Airbus and high-tech firms, and a lively university town. The street signs are all in French, as well as Occitanian. The old facades and buildings we strolled by on the way to the old Capitole building and the Cathédrale of St. Étienne were striking. The city reminds me a bit of the Left Bank in Paris in the fact that it has windy, cobbled narrow streets full of small boutiques, high end shops, local patisseries, and lots of cafes. The mood is more mellow than Paris, there are certainly less people, and the locals are really friendly. Here in France, by law you can only work 35 hours a week, and everyone takes an hour and half - two hours for lunch. Lunch is at two, dinner at eight. So, the cafes are all crowded in the afternoon serving coffees to the locals, and it's a great place to people watch. Laura and I had beautiful salads at Cafe Koss in St. Georges Square, and stopped at a decadent patisserie for macaroons - of course, we had to taste one of each: chocolate, pistachio, salty caramel, vanilla, violet, coffee, passion fruit, raspberry and lemon. We stopped at two more cafes for afternoon coffees and walked the tiny narrow streets of Toulouse "window licking" for hours. It was humid, and sprinkled a bit. I bought a handbag, and a couple of pairs of shoes, while Orlando shopped like a mad man to fill Monique's shopping wish list at L'Occitane, and Peter & Andrew sipped a coffee at a cafe. We stopped for pre-dinner drinks at a local bar, El Abanico, where Orlando whipped out his treat for us - more macaroons! This time, savory macaroons.... (Roquefort, foie gras, truffle and olive oil flavours- Roquefort was my favorite), than we headed to Anges & Démons for dinner. The food was good, but fussy, the service slow (four hours from start to finish with the main course not being served until half past ten!), but the owners were friends of Orlando & Peter's who used to run a restaurant in Carmaux, so we stayed. My menu: Girolle creme with coffee foam, a tarte of sun-dried tomatoes, chorizo, and red mullet (heavenly!), St Jacques scallops with apple reduction, cheese, bread,and creme brulee with pineapple. Laura, Orlando and I headed back to the hotel at 12:30 a.m., while Peter & Andrew hit the bars till the wee hours. This morning, it was back to Raynaudes, after a brief stop for a sandwich in Cordes at the local patisserie in the lower square. It's quiet in Cordes, a local bastide medieval town, but come August, there will be large crowds of tourists here. It's dreary and rainy today, making us all feel lazy. Maybe it had to do with the rich dinner and all the wine. After lunch, it's time to get back and prepare, as we are cooking dinner tonight at 7pm for the local village of Raynaudes, all 12 of them! Once a year Peter & Orlando invite the village to dinner as a thank you for being so welcoming to their guests all year long- so I'm off now to set the tables- it's looking to rain tonight, so we are doing aperitifs in the hangar, and setting the tables inside- au revoir for now...... So I'm back now sitting in the office, having just cleared the after dinner drinks, the village dinner is finished, it's 11:30 p.m., and the evening was a huge success - Roquefort rarebits, fillet of boeuf with au jus, pommes dauphinoise, tomato confit, Xavier cheese course, gâteau (a layered strawberry tart with caramel creme, chocolate and hazelnuts), and coffee and macaroons. Great conversation and laughter all night, it was invigorating to be here, as some of these neighbors have known each other 50 years. And even though the entire evening was spoken in French, I will have fond memories. Highlights of our roadtrip were the cattle crossing the road in front of us as we headed towards Monestiés on our way to Toulouse, exploring the streets and cafes of Toulouse with Laura, the infamously long dinner, andthe architecture of the city. Highlight of the village dinner- the villagers of Raynaudes, the laughter and the great food.
I'm so bloody jelous of you right now. What a fantastic place to be.
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