I wanted to give every detail of having Ross here in Toulouse after we visited Italy, but between my awful memory, exams, and his busy schedule we never quite figured out how all the time was spent. So here are the highlights that I can remember apart from being in class or studying for exams.
Tuesday, after classes, I showed Ross around a few of the major Toulouse tourist spots. Churches, places, etc. before it got to dark to sight see. That night we wanted to dine at the Point d'Ogre based off of rave reviews on the Internet. Unfortunately, since ALL OF EUROPE SEEMS TO SHUT DOWN FROM BEFORE CHRISTMAS TILL THE 15TH OF JANUARY (so so frustrating!!!!) the restaurant was closed. Up the street, back toward the metro, we found a yummy Italian menu set outside of what seemed to be a closed art gallery. With curiosity and caution, and a good bit of hunger, Ross and I entered the gallery. I called, but no one appeared. After we'd waited for a minute or two we decided to try the stairs to our right leading down into the basement. Voila we entered the restaurant Sazio (an Italian restaurant in Toulouse) just by descending the stairs. We were led into an old brick arched cave and seated. The cave only held maybe 100 people so it was small, but the ambiance was elegant and relaxed. Ross and I figured out the menu enough to order, and we enjoyed our pasta (he has a spicier dish while I opted for a thick four cheese casserole) . To top off the night, and the lovely meal we'd had at Sazio, we opted for delicious, decadent crepes from place Capitol.
Wednesday I finally let Ross introduce me to Kebabs for lunch at place Capitol. I'm not sure what I expected, but what a real Turkish Kebab looks like a hamburger with roast beef instead of a hamburger patty. Two buns, lettuce, cheese, tomato and meat. The meet is lamb or veal or...whatever the restaurant owners want it to be, but it's always tasty. I'm sure I was very rude when devouring my double cheese kebab sandwich with less than my usual amount of grace as Ross and I perched on a park bench in the sun. In my defense it was DELICIOUS! After classes were done for the day, we did more sight seeing. I think Ross really got to see the whole of Toulouse between going out for lunch and dinners, sight seeing, and general walking about to get to different places. For dinner, we decided on Entrecote. The menu was fixed on fries and steak at 25 euros. Reservations weren't taken and standing in line was inevitable. Some lauded it online while others called it Toulouse fast food. I just didn't know what we'd be getting, but we decided to take a risk. When we arrived at the restaurant it was completely full and we saw a line of people outside almost reaching the curb. We hopped in line and crossed our fingers. After quite a while we finally ended up inside and seated elbow to elbow with the other patrons. Taking our order wasn' t necessary since the menu was fixed. Our job was simply to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. It didn't take long to get our food. Ross and I each took a bite.....IT WAS THE BEST FOOD I'VE HAD IN TOULOUSE!!!! The steak was perfectly cooked and covered in a mysterious brownish green thick sauce that tasted like heaven. The fries were thin, admittedly just a bit greasy, but all the better for it. We gobbled up our food, exclaiming over and over in between mouthfuls how amazing it was and wondering what spices were in the fantastic sauce. They offered us more fries, but Ross and I weren't interested. We both wanted more steak! Full from our steak, french fries, and chocolate-something or other-powdered sugar-ice cream dessert we stepped back out into the cold. ENTRECOTE was AMAZING!!! We walked along the Barcelona Canal for a long time after dinner, chatting and talking about different things, my mittened hand in Ross'. The night was perfect.
Thursday was Ross' last day in Toulouse. I wanted to rebel somehow. I seriously considered not attending any of my classes. Then again, I only had one 8 am class. The downside was forcing myself out of bed at the crack of dawn. The upside was knowing I could return to my apartment and nap until a more reasonable hour afterward. That's just what I did too. Class then more sleep. One I was awake for the day Ross and I went to Delices de Toulouse. We picked up a few goodies for his Mom and some for ourselves as well. From there we walked toward place Capitol for smoothies down rue Taur. It was that awkward few hours between lunch and dinner but we needed something to tide us over till a real meal later. Smoothies, wonderful smoothies make from fresh ingredients, in hand I dragged Ross into a gourmet chocolate shop back up Taur toward Capitol. After looking at absolutely everything I settled on a small baggie of individual hand made chocolates filled with caramel, coffee, cherry, and anything else that sounded heavenly. Back to the apartment to drop of my chocolates and for me to grab a warmer jacket, then it was out for the last dinner in Toulouse. I had to get Ross to try the dish of Toulouse, or at least of south-western France, Cassoulet.
We found 'the' cassoulet restaurant of Toulouse, Le Colombier (which honestly looked a bit overpriced and stuffy to me) but boasted fantastic reviews and awards for their cassoulet. Ross and I both ordered, then waited impatiently but nervously for our dishes. I knew that cassoulet was a meat and bean stew. Ross, wanted to know specifically what it was, which unfortunately I couldn't precisely say since I didn't know either. The actual stew surpassed anything we were expecting. It was full of white beans and full of various meats. Ross and I agreed that we both had pork, fish, and a small leg of something. So what if we couldn't exactly say what we were eating, it was the perfect amount of heartiness, spiciness, and plain yumminess. I don't know if either of us would say it trumped Entrecote, but that's our American palate preference for steak and fries, but I think we both agreed it was our second best meal in Toulouse. From our late dinner it was time for the early to bed, obscenely early to rise routine because I was accompanying Ross to the airport the next morning to see him off.
The time in Toulouse was....perfection.
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