It’s a travel day. We feel like we could spend several more days here, going wine tasting again and to the beach, but off we go to another great destination. The drive to Toulouse is only 2.5 hours, so we decided a couple days ago to add an extra hour of driving to visit St. Emilion on the way.

//Stefan Note: My new parenting technique is if you act like an animal then you are going outside.

It’s not a get up and go morning. We spend time exercising and hanging out with the kids before really making an effort to pack up. We don’t get on the road until around noon.

We arrive in St. Emilion and are immediately impressed by how old and beautiful everything is. All of the building are light sandstone, and the surrounding vineyards about the city’s edges. This place is so special that we feel like we may have stepped back in time.

We park and walk around the city, stopping at the tourist office (every town we’ve visited has had an impressive tourist office!) for a map of the must-sees. The city is small, but there is still significant topography. We walk down some seriously steep walkways/streets and find a beautiful place to eat. We find it because it was next to the place TripAdvisor recommends. We choose well.

Dues Wine something something is a restaurant on the edge of a hill, overlooking a cute street lined with wine shops. The server here is amazing. I can’t say enough about how welcoming, kind and funny he is. Just based on him, I’d recommend anyone to visit this place. He made the experience.

Luckily the food is also amazing. And the wine, of course. We order the menus of the day, which starts with a terrine that Oly loves. Then we have the best duck I’ve ever had in my life. I usually avoid the skin, but this time I have to eat it. It’s perfectly crispy. The meal ends with a freshly baked canneles on top of fresh vanilla ice cream. We let the kids eat most of the ice cream, but wow that canneles is amazing! Part of the reason I enjoy these treats so much is because Stefan and I used to get one every time we visited Boulangerie in San Francisco. They remind me of him and the sweet things we’ve shared over the years.

I think we will go back down the hill once we finish lunch, but Stefan and Lillian have concocted another plan. Lillian is becoming very excited by maps and planning where we will go. It’s a little scary how much she can be like me sometimes. To my surprise we head up a narrow, almost hidden, set of stairs next to the restaurant. There are two people waiting in a small room at the top to collect a small sum for letting us pass further. We now get to explore an old medieval keep. Apparently it’s he the one in the best condition in France. I’m impressed by how cold gets in the stone even while it is so warm outside.

We keep ascending to the top, where we enjoy a spectacular view of the city. Even with several others up there with us, there’s a sense that we’ve stumbled upon something special here and it’s our secret. Yes, it is on the map. For everyone to see and discover. But let me have this.

//Stefan Note: Young Oly has old Oly’s skin.  He is getting brown.  By the end of the summer he will be related to his new cousin by skin tone.

We really want to visit the old monastery in town, where they’ve been making sparkling wine for centuries, but we must get back on the road to meet our Airbnb host on time. Sad. We will have to return to St. Emilion. We loved it and would recommend it to anyone who is highly mobile. It would be near impossible to enjoy for anyone with mobility limitations (and forget the stroller).

Our drive from St. Emilion is beautiful. We are in the middle of vineyards for at least an hour. We get delayed at one point when a bridge across a river is closed. There is no clear sign for a detour route, so we have to use our GPS to figure out a new way. It costs us an hour. The rest of the drive is easy. I will say for anyone thinking of driving around France, there are a ton of toll roads. In fact, it seems like we are either on a cute little farm road or on a beautiful and painfully expensive toll road. At least it helps us see the significant infrastructure our tax dollars contribute to in the states.

//Stefan Note: Hot exit from the car.  Makes me miss the country

We finally arrive in Toulouse. Our street is a narrow old street on a hill. It’s very pretty, and the house is one block from a very old church. Our Airbnb host greets us at the car and escorts up up the two flights of stairs to the apartment. This is the first time since Lubeck (or first stop) that we’ve had to climb stairs with our luggage. It’s significant, but Stefan makes it seem like it’s nothing. The stairs are old with wooden banisters; it’s all very charming. The apartment is the old attic of the building, with slanted ceilings on both sides. The kitchen and living room is one big open area with a lovely little balcony. The view from the balcony is perfect–looking out on the old church. The shower is very unique because it is open to both bedrooms. You’d think this is a “jack-and-jill” bathroom, but no, you have to get into the shower to pass through to that other room. It’s cool.

The kids play for awhile, and Stefan and I get situated. Then despite the late hour, we go for a walk. It’s nice to get a little sense for the neighborhood before going to bed. There’s a little mom and pop store at the end of the street where our host said we could buy some grocery items. Unfortunately they don’t have milk, and we are all out. Oly has a bottle of milk before bed every night, and we are a little worried he won’t go for the little bit of soy milk we have. The owner of this shop is so charming. He is enchanted with the fact we are from New York, and thanks us for coming to visit his city and for visiting his store. It’s adorable. Then as we are walking down the block, he catches up with us and offers to take buy us “a drink that is special to the region” at the bar on the corner. We are so flattered but have to decline because we have to put the kids to bed. It sort of breaks my heart because he is so genuine and eager to show us his city. Needless to say we already love Toulouse.

While taking the kids’ shoes off after our walk, Stefan notices blood on the floor. Oliver’s toenail got caught in the rod iron entry mat downstairs, and his toe is now bleeding significantly. Like maybe the most blood I’ve ever seen. The kids are so sweet about it. As I carry Oliver to the shower to clean his foot, she says, “It’s okay. Sometimes dogs get old and die. Sometimes you just have to get a new dog.” While I find this amusing, it also breaks my heart. Oliver is 11.5 years old, and he had a lot of heart and lung trouble this past winter. We thought we might lose him. I guess she’s been preparing herself. This time, though, it’s just a toe. I’d packed a first aid kit (highly recommend for any trip!), so I play nurse and wrap his foot up. This keeps him from licking it constantly. He’s fine. We’re fine. But what a way to end a night.