Country French

Fleurs

Mariel and I flew through the night from NYC to Paris. I watched, jealously, as Mariel sat down and immediately went to sleep whereas I needed a little medical help to take a longish nap. Bleary-eyed, we arrived in Paris and took a bus to Gare du Nord where we meandered through the streets looking for a cafe where we could have lunch. We didn't have much time before we had to head back to the airport, but we wandered into a beautiful park outside a municipal building. On our way back to the bus, we did the obligatory stop at a cafe and for a much-needed libation. NB: a glass of red wine in Paris costs a lot less than a soft drink.

We arrived in Toulouse at 10:30 pm. Peter and Mecca picked us up at the airport and drove us to their house in the countryside. At this point, we were beyond exhaustion and happily fell into bed.

Over the next few days, we walked, talked, ate, drank, and tooled around the area. We went to a fair one evening where a traditionally-dressed dancing troupe from Gervais whirled around to the accompaniment of accordions, saxophone and guitar. We lunched one day in a quaint little village pictured in the collage below. You just don't get more French than this.

Photos by Mariel Feigen and Patricia Jempty

The photo of the swimming pool and long-distance view of the Pyrenees was taken at Chez Culbert-Ross. Mecca, who is an excellent cook, kept us well-fed with chicken and lamb during our relaxing stay. Peter, the host with the most, kept our glasses full and our minds humming with his encyclopedic knowledge.

Coming soon: Barcelona.