Day 9 - Wednesday, February 5 - We go to a cafe for co-working, pack for Montpellier, and attempt to find Cassolet but are stopped by the French Army. Sunny 57°F (14°C)

Another lazy morning (with pain au chocolat again never gets old). While lazing about, I took this video from our balcony. The south and east view looks out towards a residential part of the Capitol district.

Today we determined we were well and truly behind schedule on this blog, and rather than sit in our room on our laptops, we ventured out to a co-working cafe called Ras la Tasse

It was pretty busy, full of students from Toulouse's many universities and we were lucky to score what felt like the last two available seats by squeezing in at a shared table.

It was fun to be a part of the scene with folks studying for classes, working on blogs, or simply reading. The prices for our coffee and pastries were a little high, but while we stayed for almost two hours, it seemed like most folks that were there when we came were still there when we left.

We enjoyed our snacks, worked on the blog and other projects, then headed back home.

We spent the afternoon hanging out at the apartment, packing for tomorrow's trip to Montpellier, and researching some of what we might do there. We might have had naps.

When dinner rolled around, we wend looking for Cassoulet, a peasant bean and meat casserole for which Toulouse is famous. We had looked on the map and found a spot called Maison du Cassoulet. We showed up about 15 minutes after the restaurant opened, and saw it was completely empty, so we were prepared to enjoy ourselves at a long evening meal savoring this dish over a bottle of wine.

However, upon approaching the maître d', we were informed that the entire restaurant was reserved for forty members of the French army. Jamil tried to charm the maître d' and joked that we are friendly and could we make it 42? Lol. No. So we left, and wandered around through the old town for a while, attempting to locate another restaurant with cassoulet on the menu.

We perused a few menus as we walked, but did not find what we were looking for. Jamil finally located on his phone a place called Saint Jerome that promised the fabled dish. It was a little busy, but we were able to get a table near the back.

However, when we looked at the menu - no cassoulet. 😐 They did have some unique sounding cocktails, and a yummy charcuterie repertoire, so we went for it. Fun fact: apparently almost 70% of French people consume charcuterie at least once per week.

It turned into a great night anyway!