My host father is a member of a mountain biking team that once a year hosts a club dinner. Last night my host family took me to this dinner and I was introduced to a vast array of the local cuisine of Toulouse and some very French dishes. Among the many different foods served was Foie Gras (duck liver), which I had read about (its production is slightly controversial) but never tried. To be honest its not really my kind of dish, its amazingly rich and buttery but just a little too rich for my liking. I also ate smoked duck, duck neck, pork skin, many different cheeses and salads, Cassoulet and some fantastic cakes for desert. All in all it was a marathon of a meal and I don’t think I’ll be eating for a week or so.
Archive for January, 2008
Foie Gras
Sunday, January 27th, 2008School
Saturday, January 26th, 2008So I flew in on Monday the 21st of January. On Tuesday I visited my school, Victor Hugo. Here I filled in paperwork and was briefed on when to arrive and received my timetable. On Wednesday I started school, arriving at 8am. I was taken to my class only to find that they had a practice Bac exam (that went for 4 hours – school only goes for 4 hours on Wednesdays). On thursday there was a teacher strike, so I didn’t formally begin school until yesterday – Friday the 25th of January… (more…)
Life
Saturday, January 26th, 2008I’m staying in Pibrac, a small suburb/town that is outside of the heart of Toulouse. I’ve been exploring it on foot and I’ve found the main shops and Pibrac train station about 2km from where I live. Its a beautiful little suburb. To get into the centre of the city I have to get a metro from a suburb called Arènes (forgive me for the spelling), and to get here I get a train from Pibrac Station or 2 buses. Its a little bit of a mission to get into the city but it’s well worth it. The city is a beautiful mix between the streets of Sydney and small lanes of Italy – everything you need to live caught up in amazing architecture and ancient buildings. Fantastic cafe’s too. To see a picture > Toulouse
Exploring Toulouse (Abbey, Sarah, Nick, Liza)
Saturday, January 26th, 2008
I caught up with the other exchange students on Wednesday and we visited the centre of Toulouse. Among them was Abbey (far left), the other Australian. Thank you to Liz, the unseen Exchange Student, for taking this photo!
Welcome to Toulouse…
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008I left Sydney on Sunday evening at around 4 p.m and flew to K.L with the other French Students. Here I met Abbey who is also staying in Toulouse. We landed in K.L and navigated our way to our flight leader for the K.L Paris leg, meeting up with the other outbounds from all over Australia. Abbey and I met Kath from Adelaide who is staying just north of Toulouse (a different district but we will be seeing her often nonetheless)…. (more…)
