Week 1

May 28/29

I arrived in Toulouse on May 28^th and it has been nothing but amazing. On day 1 we(my first group of friends) explored the city for 5 hours. We saw the river, the supermarket, the church, and we ate at the St. Pierre sandwich shop on the corner. We then came home and got ready to go out. The second we walked outside it down poured on us, but we still kept walking to the city soaking wet. The night was a blast and we met French friends names Alex, Max, and Andreas. Max taught me how to ask for water at the bar for a drunk girl I found in the bathroom and decided to take care of. Andreas taught us about an orange liquor shot that was famous in the area(although never saw anyone do it again after that day). Alex was from New York city and moved to Toulouse for school and to be with his family. (We ended up becoming and staying great friends with Alex and Andreas. The next day we went to the city and ate sausage, cheese and baguettes at the river. We also got gelato at Amorino and walked around a cultural festival in the capitole. Also found out very quickly that wine was 3$…and good.

End of week 1 evaluation: This was the most amazing week. I ate delicious food and drank great wine. I met friends that I know I will keep forever. I have already seen culture and history that is breathtaking. From churches(Lourdes), to the Pyrenees mountains, to castles. This experience was nothing less than breathtaking. This week was filled with friends, food, wine, and exploring Toulouse.  The people I have met are amazing and we are already so ridiculously close. It’s only been a week but so much has happened. On Friday we went to the medieval city of Carcassonne which was amazing and aweing. On Saturday we went to Lourdes, the holy land. I cried 5 times this day. I received communion at Lourdes, lit a candle, touched the gratte, and received holy water. The church looked like it was the Disney land of churches. I never felt more blessed than I did at this place. We then went to Gavarnie and slept in a refugee that was in the middle of the mountains. The location was incredible. The view was impeccable. We climbed through flower filled fields that belonged in the sound of music and climbed to the top of a statue where I cried again because I never in my life felt so grateful and appreciative for the experience that was taking place and with the people it was taking place with. The next day we climbed/hiked the mountain to the waterfall. We ate lunch at the top. This was so peaceful and the struggle to the top, through snow, rivers, and rocks was worth every second at the top. This trip already began to open my eyes at how wonderful and beautiful the world is. I feel so lucky and so blessed for the opportunity given to me.