It’s day 9 in France and I’m really enjoying Toulouse.

I ran out of clean clothes at the half-way point of this adventure and so I went to the nearby laverie this afternoon to wash and dry.

My primary host Jacques has been pretty busy with both his real, every-day job – and – La Chatte a la Voisine’s commitment to staff a buvette at a multi-day arts/music festival at the big art school in Toulouse. The drawings of Scottish artist David Shrigley make up the cornerstone of the art exhibit. Shrigley’s pencil art pieces (a couple hundred of them perhaps) are stitched together on three big walls.

They’re really funny observations about problems/situations in everyday life.

Shrigley has been omnipresent during the weekend; super-accessible and enthusiastic about the event and associated musical gigs. Dubbed “Problem in Toulouse,” Shrigley’s is one of many free exhibitions that comprise the city-wide Le Printemps de Septembre.

When the crowd reached its peak Friday evening, I tried to lend a hand at the buvette. I took drink orders and was reasonably successful at both comprehension and delivery. When the beer tap malfunctioned (too foamy) at the height of the audience’s demand, I had to step away. It was taking too much time to pour a full cup of beer. I could see the patrons starting to lose patience and I didn’t know well how to face the pressure given the additional layer of insecurity with my lack of fluency. It was funny. It was actually a cool feeling when the five or six of us were scrambling simultaneously to successfully handle the rush.

I’m usually on the other side of the bar. It was interesting to see the perspective of the other side.

On Monday, I explore the countryside a bit by car with Jean.

Tuesday is my last day here. I’ve been invited to dinner that evening by new friends Fabian and Sonia. On the menu is a very special dish comprised of a part of the stomach from a local cow. Not just any cow, says Sonia. It’s a special French cow.

Un peu plus tard.

Pure blue skies here in Toulouse.

I was greeted with a grand reception at the bar La Prextexte on arrival Wednesday night. It was a fantastic beer and shot-soaked gathering of the Toulouse crew. Great fun. I am excited to be back to see friends met here in each of the last two September’s.

On Thursday, I joined Jean at the great, homey bistro La Maison Drole on rue Joutx-Aigues.

Koy is the talented and creative chef/owner at Maison Drole. When we walked in at the noon open, she had done much of the prep work on the day’s dishes and desserts.

I had the salade de Cabelous, miel et lardons (pictured above). It was tremendous. A bed of lettuce topped with shredded bacon and a savory dressing. Along side were toasts crowned with a special, sweet French cheese drizzled with honey.

Jean had the lasagnes aux legumes d’ete.

You can’t go to La Maison Drole without trying the banoffee, a rich, banana-cream-like pie that is Koy’s speciality. While banoffee is served elsewhere, Koy’s is unique for its presentation and noticeably chunky and fresh banana slices. It’s served cold.

The weather is wonderful. Sunny, dry and upper 70’s by day and in the high 50’s at night. It’ll be like that pretty much the whole week I’m here.

The live-music organizing and support collective La Chatte a la Voisine (which includes many of the people I know here) will handle the hospitality table at a three-day music/art event at the institut superieur des arts de Toulouse starting tomorrow evening. I plan to attend – and hope to chip in when called upon to pour wine and beer. It is through these types of efforts that La Chatte bolsters its coffers so it can book and promote rock shows here in Toulouse, even if perhaps those gigs aren’t stand-alone profit-makers.