Toulouse, France
Wednesday, June 14th - Friday, June 16th
Day 1 - Wednesday, June 14th
Today was arrival day. I landed in Toulouse in the morning and went straight to the hotel, The Social Hub. I still had some time before I could check in, so I walked around the town and got some food. The Social Hub was near the Toulouse Business School. Most people arrived late in the afternoon. Later, we met as a group for a mini-orientation and ate on our own.
Day 2 - Thursday, June 15th
We started the day off with orientation for an hour. After, our CIEE guide, Lou, took us on a walking tour of the city. We stopped for lunch. Lunch was served family-style with a set menu. I had never been to a restaurant that functioned the same way. Servers put the entree, or as Americans call it, the appetizer, on the table, but we serve ourselves the main course, dessert, and any extra bread. We then continued walking around and went to some vintage shops. After, we had an hour of free time before our next event. Most of the group went shopping. I shopped a little, and then a few of the other girls, and I got a quick bite before we had to go back to the Social Hub. Back at the hotel, we had a wine and cheese tasting. All the wines were local. For dinner, a group of us went to a recommended restaurant, Le J’Go. We shared a meat plate and saw Brazilians perform a martial arts dance called Capoeira.
Day 3 - Friday, June 16th
On our second full and last day in Toulouse, we walked to the Garonne River to canoe. We paddled up and down the river for 2 hours. During our adventure, we came across a man that had gotten caught in the current, and our canoe guide helped him. We got to see more of Toulouse from a different perspective, along with spots Lou had pointed out earlier. Everyone was a bit tired after canoeing. A group of us went to La Esquina, a sandwich shop recommended by Lou. In the afternoon, we went to a Patisserie workshop on a boat. We divided into groups and made 4 different desserts. We were on our own for dinner again. A few of the other girls and I went to the plaza and ate at Grand Cafe Le Florida. I had the tagliatelle pesto with burrata. I had many kinds of pasta accompanied by burrata, which made the dish feel lighter; it was a perfect touch. This was my favorite meal in Toulouse.
