Comfortable Routine

If there was one thing I was worried about before leaving on my trip, it was the feeling of being constantly unmoored. So, I felt that it was important to book a longer stay in Toulouse at first. As such, I was able to settle into a really comfortable routine this week. More or less, my days this past week have consisted of the following:

  1. Wake up early
  2. Walk to a rehearsal studio near Palais de Justice to play piano for 1-2 hours (more on that below)
  3. Have a coffee at La Belle Brune, my current favorite café
  4. Walk by La Basilique Saint-Sernin to the public library (see the photo for my vantage point from my favorite work spot)

Public Library

  1. Write puzzles, do work, plan travel at the library
  2. Long walk back to the Airbnb, stopping at a boulangerie for a baguette
  3. Late lunch, a baguette with chevre and vegetables
  4. Some down time to read and relax, either inside or at the local park
  5. Go out in the evening with new friends or on my own

I’ve also taken this week to go on a couple of short runs (I do have a half marathon in October to prepare for), write some postcards, and explore some of the other neighborhoods of Toulouse that I haven’t spent time in. I did some bouldering at a gym in Zénith, shaking off some well-formed rust and failing to grasp the color-coded difficulty scale (and thus trying some problems well beyond my severely reduced skill level).

Overall, it’s been slow-paced and has left me wanting a week with a bit more excitement, so I’m planning to do another hike next week, walkable from the end of the metro line. I also plan to try a longer run, though the weather will be the determining factor there.

The Library

I have a new travel rule. When traveling, always visit a public library. There is nothing like a library. They are places out of time - all different, yet somehow also all the same. They capture their city’s identity while also providing the same critical services worldwide - a quiet, safe place with internet access, knowledgable experts, and a welcoming attitude. I felt instantly at home in Toulouse’s gorgeous public library, so much so that I wrote all of Parrot’s Puzzles #7 in a single day even though I had no concept of what it would be when I entered. The only force driving me from that building was biological - after a while, I just got too hungry to stay (and of course, there’s no eating in a library).

It’s certainly one of the triumphs of humanity that regardless of where you go, there is likely a library waiting to welcome you. Our best idea.

Planning the Next Step

This week also afforded me time to start planning the next step in my journey: The Azores. This will be a very different experience, as I’ll be diving most days and structuring the visit around this one activity. It feels to me like the sabbatical actually begins with this flight. Before, it has been a pretty standard (albeit long) vacation in the south of France, but now, I’m not flying home, I’m flying on. It is also worth mentioning that I don’t presently have a flight off of the Azores, since I will have the option of extending my stay, going to another island, or returning to mainland Portugal early. I can say with confidence that I’ve never traveled anywhere without a return flight, so this will be a good change of pace - an opportunity for real improvisation.

The next time I write will likely be from Sao Miguel with reflections on my time in Toulouse, whether I will return, and highlights from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Until next time,

Ethan

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