la ville rose

I need to follow up on my last entry by saying that I did indeed go on a bike ride, and it was great. Brent and I rode bikes to what we call the "America" of Albi, meaning this weird shopping center on the edge of town with various bizarre discount stores. They were all closed when we got there because it was the lunch hour(s), so we decided to keep riding, and we soon found ourselves in the countryside. And it was lovely.

we made some new friends

On Thursday I had to go to Toulouse for a medical visit thing for my visa. Pretty much all they did was take an x-ray of my lungs and then stamp a bunch of papers. So now I am the proud owner of an x-ray of my lungs and a titre de sejour (a little sticker thing in my passeport), which means I'm finally legal! Hooray!!
Since Friday was a holiday, I decided to stay a bit in Toulouse and take advantage of my little trip. I met up with my friend Julia who is an assistant in Toulouse, and we hung out with her French friends and had a great time. It was really nice to be in a big city that has a lot going on. They have a bike rental thing that's part of the public transportation system (like a lot of big cities in Europe), so we rented bikes (which cost 1.50 euro for 24 hours) and rode around Toulouse. So great!

we went to a book market 

I'm kind of sad the weekend is over, but I seriously can't complain. Also, I can't believe this weather. I feel like I keep talking about it, but it's incredible. It's nearly mid-November, and southern France boasts 69 degrees and plenty of sunshine. Il faut en profiter !

I am on the hunt for a pottery studio here. I will not lose hope yet! I will have to look outside Albi, but it's not too hard to get around the Tarn (that's the name of the department). There are plenty of buses and things. Also, I would like to say that I love getting around by bike. This is something I have never done on a regular basis, since I have a car in the U.S. and it is too easy to hop in a car and drive somewhere. It is a wonderful and beautiful thing to ride a bike every day.