Brené Brown defines self-security is “the open and nonjudgmental acceptance of one’s own weaknesses”. In beautiful Toulouse, we experienced anything but self-security! Instead, we all slipped into the very uncomfortable suit of insecurity. We felt like the ostracized kids on the playground: we were underdressed, unable to communicate, and frankly, uncool. We couldn’t even conduct an interview because no one would talk to us!

Humor was the antidote and we eventually navigated our way through the city. One night, while finishing dinner on the plaza, we tried to do the right thing and tell our server he accidently charged us for two glasses of wine instead of three. Instead of a revised bill, a server appeared with three additional glasses of wine! Mon Dieu! As we were awkwardly walking away, the waiter came up to us and said, in perfect English, “GOODBYE!” while closing his open hand in front of our faces as though he was mimicking a jellyfish.

And then there was the very embarrassing moment when Daniela got in trouble with the security guards at a fancy department store for attempting to shoplift boy’s boxer shorts.

The labyrinth of shop-lined lanes in the famous pink city of Toulouse was honesty breathtaking. The pastries are mouth-watering. It could be the perfect backdrop for a truly romantic getaway or a splurgy vacay of shopping. But family flow? We couldn’t find it there.

We left our cloaks of insecurity in our odd Toulouse apartment (the toilet closet was also a library, kinda genius, kinda disgusting). Within days we were in peak flow as we happily trekked familiar mountainous territory in the high French Pyrenees.

Our Patagonia jackets were definitely in vogue.