Aug 21, 2026 Toulouse city tour

Today we decided to stay in Toulouse and go downtown to see an old monastery and the Capitole part of town where the city government buildings are. But first we took the kids to the playground to pre-wear them out. Lots of other young kids were there so it was a nice family scene. And it is only a 5 minutes walk from their apartment.

After the playground, we took the Metro to the Capitole stop (we bought 10 trip tickets earlier this week). We can see why it is so easy to not own a car here since the transportation is easy and cheap.

We found the monastery which, like everything here, is centuries old. Its low point was the early 1800’s when it was used by the military and suffered a lot of damage, but during the late 1800’s people started to recognize it’s importance and it has been under restoration since then. Tourists make it worthwhile. 

One thing we notice is a lack of foreigners here. Not much English is spoken on the street. We think the French are the ones playing tourists in their own country. Most literature and signs are French first and usually a small description in English and Spanish (Spain is just down the street). And everyone we met spoke some English which we were thankful for when Jake and Nath were not around.

At mid-day we found a small coffee shop and the kids slept while Jake worked. Deb and I walked down to the riverfront park, which was saved in the 70’s from becoming a 4 lane turnpike. Now it’s a sandy beach with boat tours and a big ferris wheel. Deb and I got a couple of drinks and sat in the shade and enjoyed a nice breeze on a not too hot afternoon.

Jake & Nath and the kids took the metro home and we did the same after. It is wonderful to walk through the little streets on a busy Friday afternoon. All the stone buildings and old wooden doors and bikes and scooters and little tiny cars.

We found the subway and went back to our apartment, rested a bit and then walked over to Jake and Nath’s. Nath’s niece Claire was there visiting. We had not seen here since she came to Tijuana after the babies were born so it was nice to catch up.

We said our goodbyes and stopped at the Carre Four grocery store and picked up a couple of things to eat for dinner. Then home to shower and do laundry. Another great day in France.

August 20, 2026 Toulouse, France with a visit to Carcassonne for the day.

We met early at the Jolimont Metro stop behind our hotel. We only go one stop to get to the Toulouse Matabiau - SNCF stop which is where we catch the main train station to get on the TGV (fast train). Nathalie bought our tickets (cause she knows how to do it) and we took the very fast train (first class by the way for 6 euros more) for 45 minutes or so to get to Carcassonne. This is a very old, like before Christ old, walled city. All six of us walked the ramparts all the way around the wall (those kids have strong legs) and then made and bought lunch in the public square just inside the castle. The kids still had more juice so we went into the castle proper and walked its perimeter and inside the castle itself.

The kids' normal cycle is to run around all morning and then around 1-2 pm fall asleep in the stroller for an hour or two. This is when the adults can relax and enjoy a coffee. Pretty good schedule. We had to push the sleeping kids in their stroller down out of the castle and walk all the way through the newer part of town toward the train station and then had our relaxing drinks in the square. 

Then back on the medium speed train when we activated our Eurail passes. We got back to Toulouse and went back to our respective abodes. Deb and I got showers and then walked out to a nearby pizza place (no we did not get French Tacos since they seemed unrecognizable) then back to our place to crash.

August 19, 2026 Toulouse, France

Deb here. Another hot and sunny day, with temps forecast well into the 90’s once again. We enjoyed another hotel breakfast buffet (yogurts, scrambled eggs, mini fresh pastries, meats, cheeses, baguettes, fruit) and then walked over to Jake and Nath’s. Today’s plan was to take the metro downtown, walking through the historic area and ending up at Jardin des Plantes, a large urban park. What a lovely city Toulouse is, with gorgeous brick and stucco buildings with wrought iron balconies. We walked all through the narrow streets and Alex and Jessie are quite the walkers, choosing to walk more than ride in their stoller. We wandered through a cathedral and Place des Carmes, where we stopped to pick up a couple of mini-quiches and salads for lunch. Again, such good food here.

Eventually we made it to the gardens, where we had some lunch, coffees/teas and the kids fell asleep in their stroller. That’s the pattern here, wear them out in the morning through lunch and then they sleep in their stroller for a couple of hours. Not a bad set-up. Jacob manages to carve out some work time during their nap.

In mid-afternoon we walked back to the metro and back home, stopping at the Carre Four for Jake and Nath to shop. Managing the twins in the grocery store was quite the experience, but we made it through and walked back to their apartment. Jacob disappeared for his 4 p.m. meeting and we hung out with the kids and Nath watching The Sound of Music (good prep for our upcoming Salzburg visit). Nath served an early dinner for the kids and us and about 6 we wandered back to our place for the night. Another full day!

August 18, 2026 Toulouse, France

Deb here. We slept pretty well but our 6th floor room was hot. Apparently the limited air conditioning/cooling system isn’t working well, which from what we heard is par for the course in France. Southern France has been heating up every year but the French aren’t equipped with much in the way of cooling, so everywhere’s warm. We enjoyed the great hotel breakfast (15 euros/person but really good) and mainlined coffee and tea before walking to Jake and Nath’s. The plan for the day was a visit to Citi Espace Toulouse, a space center. Nath and the kids had been there but Jacob hadn’t, so we boarded a bus to take us there. The twins are loving public transportation and are pretty familiar with riding the bus, metro and train. Public transportation here is really good.

We toured the space center, first visiting all of the displays on the grounds outside before going into the kids’ area. Toulouse is a hub in France for the space industry, and the Airbus headquarters are here, meaning something on the order of 30,000 jobs locally tied into the space and flight business. Who knew? 

We stopped early on for coffee/tea, then had a great lunch later at one of the cafes on site. Each time we’ve been in Europe I’m struck by the amazing good, local food beautifully prepared. Here we were at a tourist attraction cafe and eating beautiful fresh salads, on real plates and real silverware and people are all enjoying their experience. No pre-made pre-wrapped nuggets and fries here! The American food industry could seriously learn a lot from the French.

The kids fell asleep in their stoller after lunch, so we toured a bit of another building for a while. Jacob’s work schedule allows him to spend mornings/early afternoons with the kids, then work late afternoon and evenings. Not ideal for his sleep, but he’s getting it done. We headed back to their apartment for dinner and then back to our place to crash once again, stopping at the beautiful Carre Four for some groceries along the way. Food prices here are much less than the U.S. and the quality is much better.

August 17, 2026 Toulouse, France

Deb here. Landed in Toulouse by 3:30 p.m., picked up our bags and scheduled an Uber to take us to our lodging for the next 9 days. We’re staying at Toulouse Jolimont Apart/Hotel, only about a half mile from where Jake, Nath and the twins are living for a couple of months. Toulouse has been in the midst of a major heatwave, and wow, was it hot and humid. We checked in, dropped our stuff, contacted Jake and Nath and headed over to their place. They wanted to put the kids to sleep before we showed up or they thought they’d never get them to bed! We had a nice visit with them and stumbled back to our place for a good night’s sleep.

August 16 to August 17, 2026 Bisbee, AZ to Toulouse, France

Deb here. After a long time in the works the day was finally here to begin our multi-part European adventure. Our American Airways flight didn’t leave Tucson until early afternoon, so we had a leisurely start to the day eating breakfast at home and preparing the house for our 5-week absence. By 8:45 a.m. we were ready to go, about half an hour before we needed to, but we made the wise decision to get on on the road. As it turned out this was a brilliant move on our part, since we made it to Benson only to learn the I-10 was closed due to a bad accident. This meant we had to turn around and go all the way through Sonoita, leading to a 45 minute or so detour that was a little nerve wracking. Anyway, made it to the airport an hour and a quarter before the flight so all was good to go.

From there it was a flight to Dallas, long layover in Dallas and dinner at TGI Friday’s (not bad for an airport) and finally the long 9 hour or so flight to London. All went incident free, and although we were in economy I’d managed to score 2 seats by ourselves so not all that bad. Once at Heathrow we had about a 2 hour layover and then boarded our final flight to Toulouse on British Airways. Another 2 hours and voila, we were in Toulouse! All flights on time, even a bit early and our luggage made it. No complaints!