Week 10: Getting Back into the Swing of Things

After some time, everyone was back into the swings of things in France. The holidays had passed, and we were all focussing on having the best winter, and enjoying the remaining time we had in France before heading back home for Christmas.

Week 10 coincided with a lot of birthdays, which meant we were constantly going for breakfasts, lunches and dinners - aka all you should be doing when you're living in Toulouse. 

We headed to Ksaro, a great Moroccan restaurant one evening, as we'd gotten a bit used to kebabs and falafel all the time, and thought it might be good to branch out from our favourite haunts (La Compagnie Francaise and Meet The Meat), and try foods from other cultures. Since France had hit wintertime, it also seemed that artichoke soup, steaks and salmon and potato dishes were the go-to, and this Moroccan restaurant gave us a little something different. The service was great, our servers for the evening were super friendly and the place itself was so cosy, it felt like a home environment, so I'd really recommend hitting it up if your family and friends ever come to stay.

We also went to Pizza Pino, in the main square of Toulouse, for two of our friend's birthdays, where we chatted, ate and drank the night away. If there's a big group of you, you should definitely try eating out in the main square, as the majority of these restaurants are a lot bigger and much more accommodating to large groups. It's best to start off here, then work your way to the bars in the surrounding area, and club around Jean Jaurès or head onto the tube line for bigger club nights, which are a little more far out. 

We also went shopping for the first time in ages. On the year abroad, you become accustomed to living with the bare minimum - you carry the toiletries that you deem as necessary, you wear the same outfit again and again, and quite a lot of what you purchase out there is disposable, or you pass on to your Erasmus group / uni. So, shopping is a rare occasion (especially given that you're broke if you're a student - you're not supposed to work, your student loan and Erasmus grant doesn't really stretch v far and you spend most of your time socialising, so it goes pretty quickly). The year abroad really teaches you to spend wisely - you spend more time out and about and doing things, so you don't really spend on luxuries. It's good for prepping for final year and life after uni!

Week 11 - Ice Skating, Discovering More Food Delights & More Dining Out