My entire impression of Toulouse was limited to the single block that I wandered the night that we were there, but I loved it anyway and want to go back properly and roll around in the cobbled streets and stay in a thatched house in the country for a summer. The venue was a killer combination of record store, wine/beer bar, and obscure magazine archive. I haven’t really seen anything like it in the States. Maybe the Cake Shop in NYC. Toulouse has such a small town feel, yet there were no less than three record stores on the block where Tom’s show was that night, and they were all lovely. We were served a crazy big feast, just the two of us, as in an entire quiche, a bucket of oranges, a baguette and platter of cured meats, and a beautifully dressed salad (healthy!) all to ourselves. Over a bottle of wine, I read back issues of SPIN from the early 90s and was super close to stealing an issue I browsed about Dirty-era Sonic Youth. The trip was worth it if only for the stunning train ride through the French countryside.