By Ava, Tessa, & Olivia
Today was our last morning with our homestay families, with a quick goodbye after four refreshing mornings & relaxing dinners. We took a bus to Toulouse; on the way, we passed the Pyrenees, the snow-capped mountains creating the border between Spain and France. What a beautiful sight!
We arrived in Toulouse at around 10:15, meeting our cooking class instructor. Since the meal was a surprise, we walked in anticipating something delicious … and our expectations were met! Courteous of meal restrictions within the group, the plan lunch consisted of many veggies (peppers, pickled onions, cucumbers, and zucchini); fish (by choice); and dessert with strawberries, “Crème Chantilly” (whipped cream), and lemon balm leaves. We participated in making the dessert first, macerating the strawberries in order to soften and sweeten them & making the cookies by crushing nuts into dough. Then, we cut all of the vegetables using the “saw” method, ensuring safe and clean slices. Finally, we made our own dinner and dessert plates, adding our own creative styles to the presentation! What’s more delicious than a self-made meal?
After the cooking class, we took a short ride to our hotel in Toulouse, where we said goodbye to a classmate spending their spring break in France. We checked into the hotels relatively quickly, planning to independently travel in the next hour. After settling, we walked to the Place du Capitole, where we were given gelato by the Global Works supervisors. We relaxed and had ice cream for about an hour before being given free time to shop and pass by the Garonne River. As long as we were in groups of 3-4, we were given permission to visit familiar shops like Sephora, vintage shops like Jet-Rag, souvenir shops like Jolis Souvenirs, and more!
Afterwards we went to a nearby park where we had about one hour of reflecting on our trip. Some lows and highs that really stood out to our group were the unpredictable weather and the amazing impact that our homestead families had on us. Many of us also enjoyed practicing our French for the first time in a francophone country. After our closing remarks we walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner at 7:30. We enjoyed a savory and sweet crepe for dinner! After our final meal in France we settled in for the night around 9:45. It was an amazing last day!
