Arrive in Toulouse

Lucy met us at the airport in Toulouse around 5pm. Since our bags had originated from outside the EU, we had to go into the special baggage area to wait for them,

KLM's "Ingrid Bergman" at YVR

and then take them though customs - "If they're even there" as Lucy said, referring to the customs people. It took quite a while for the bags, Cheryl chatted with a woman from Morocco in French - their bags hadn't been on their plane with them, and they were checking every flight. Eventually our bags appeared, but the customs inspectors didn't, so we just walked on out. It was hot, low 30s, as we piled into the van and headed out for my first experience of French roads and traffic. Even though it was right in the middle of rush hour, there were few slowdowns and before long we were on the autoroute (A62) headed for Auvillar at 130 km/hr. No A/C in the van, so all the windows that worked were down, which made it hard for me to hear what Lucy and Cheryl were talking about - Lucy has been living here ever since her second term as Directrice at VCCA three years ago. She's been the Directrice again this year for the spring sessions and through the Yale stay, and is an amazing source of local customs and information. We stopped for gazoil (diesel) on the way, 1.05€ per litre, something like C$1.75 compared to C$0.95 in Vancouver the day before.

Lucy gave us a quick drive-by of Le Port, then up the hill, which she said was illegal, and into the village to Mme. Falc's Chambre d'hôte on Rue Saint Pierre, right between L"Eglise Saint Pierre and the square of La Halle. Mme. Falc is lovely, very animated and expressive, and her maison is tastefully stylish and impeccably clean. Our room on the second floor is the only one with it's own bath, and has a lovely view out the back over La Garonne toward Espalais and beyo

Le Sadoul de la Tour in Auvillar

nd. Lucy had said the local Casino (grocery chain with supermarkets and corner stores) closed at 7, so we had to get the bags up to the room quickly (hot work, lots of luggage) and walk to the store for some supplies. The Casino in Auvillar is the size of a small corner store in BC, but it had a nice selection of wines from 3€ to 8€, and a 5ltr box of the local Brulhois for 13.50€. We picked up a few things, back to the room for a much appreciated shower (we'd been traveling 20 hours or so at that point), then walk a block or two to Le Sadoul de la Tour for our first meal in France.