Grand Rond

After a short rest I decided to head back out. Although I could not find Rue du jardin on the map, I did find a large park and figured I would head that way. It was pretty far away from my hotel, so I did not think that it was the same garden that I passed earlier. I arrived on the street and what do you know, it was the same park I came across the last time. This was definitely a more direct route than the one I took before and it took about 45-60 minutes to get there.

As I laid out my blanket, two girls, around my age sat nearby. They invited me over and we began to chat in front of the large fountain surrounded by flowers. They were both here to take French classes, one was from Australia and one was from Norway. They were friendly and offered me some of their lunch, which they too picked up from the market down the street. I still had my left over chicken dish but thanked them kindly.

Turns out I was right about the street that I am on. It is filled with hookers and prostitutes and that guy last night must have been trying to get himself a good deal. I am just surprised as it was not even eight o’clock when that went down. The one girl told me which street was better to walk down, although it would not be helpful for me since I will not be walking down my street in that direction again…ever.

The girl from Australia was 24 and has been dating a guy for 5 years and is thinking over their relationship. He wants to stay with her forever and she feels that is too long. He is an engineer that deals with helicopters. As many of you know, this is similar to my situation, the time dating and the job, that is about it. Apparently Toulouse is the aerospace capital of France.

We talked about the schools, how this is a college town that will have about 100-120,000 students coming back in September, our journeys, places in Toulouse to go, and all sorts of things. It would have been nice to be closer to this park so I could visit Prarie des Filtres, as it is like a beach and always has concerts and events going on. I am leaving tomorrow though and did not want to be out after 8 more than five steps from my hotel tonight. Luckily the bakery and a restaurant are both 5 steps away. I grabbed an ice cream cone and thought about how I enjoyed today’s excursion on the southeast part of the city.