Aisha Isabelle

Toulouse, France So I woke up very happy for some reason today, on this last day in Toulouse; maybe it was because the sun was shining and it’s been very grey all weekend. Marthe, Brandon, Stacia, Alex, and I took a guided tour of the city which I enjoyed then had lunch and went on a relaxing walk around town.

On the first day in Toulouse, it was grey and super cold and there was a demonstration/protest going on right near our hotel (the atmosphere in town was very charged due to a previous protest where a protester lost his life; there were crowds and police teams concentrated in certain parts of the city).

After checking in, we (Marthe, Brandon, Stacia, Alex, our professor, and I) went on a canal ride which was long and a bit boring. We amused ourselves by waving to people walking and biking along the water way and seeing how many would wave back.

 Then later that day, at night we got an exclusive tour of Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques. It has an extensive history and over the ages acted as a monastery/church/pilgrim-mage stop/hospital but in modern times it is currently acting as Toulouse’s regional health/medical administrative building/center.

Once the tour of Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques came to an end, we made our way to a restaurant for dinner and I had lamb and also a pear and ice cream dessert. I made sure to request that the lamb be well-cooked and the waiter looked at me like I was crazy and asked if I was sure. Much later that night Alex, Brandon, and I went out for a bit but there was really nothing that engaging.

The next morning we all took the train to Carcassonne and it was super cold and windy. We visited this medieval castle/fortress and did an audio tour. After the tour we walked around the area and I got a bag of assorted candies which I finished  before we got back on the train. That night we just stayed in and watched TV. I must have had a really good rest because I unexpectedly woke up with a sunny disposition on our last day in Toulouse as mentioned above. I have to say there’s no better way to close out a trip than by being surprised with feeling a deeper inner connection to your yourself.

November 2014