First time I came to Toulouse was in 2015. I ended up in the “Pink City” completely by chance. And it was also in this little town that I had some of the best—perhaps THE best—experiences of my life. Sometimes happiness seems to only be possible when it happens by chance.

I didn’t know a word of French and had no intention of staying for more than three months. But thanks to the lack of plans, typical of youth (but also of my somewhat crazy life at the time), I ended up staying for about six months, trading work for hosting at a very fine English Inn. At the time I didn’t manage to learn a single word of French, but my English improved quite a bit. The inn was called La Maison and was located between the last subway station on the red line (Basso Cambo) and a suburb called Saint Simon. It was also close to a cool lake called La Ramée.

For the next two years after this experience, I would dream of returning to Toulouse. And it was this little dream that kept me going through all the difficulties that followed between my return to Rio and  then back to the Ville Rose.

Today my dreams have changed a little, they are more refined (or so I hope), and although Saint Simon is as charming as ever, for me it is enough to be back in town to feel that this is where I was supposed to be, indeed. This time I came back to stay. Maybe someday in the future I will feel differently and want to leave Toulouse. But for now, this is where I feel like my life should unfold.

Juliette is a very special person whom I met at the very beginning of my adventure in Toulouse. She helped me with numerous administrative procedures and even helped me with finding my first place to live in the city. As a way of showing my gratitude towards Juliette, I made this watercolor depicting her with her boyfriend, Peter. I hope this will be the first of many gifts that I be offering to my new friends in my new life in Toulouse.