Sunday May 19, 2019

Breads R Us

This morning we start our day with a walk towards the church of St Albin where I read that they have a Sunday Market. It is not raining but there is rain in the forecast so we wear our rain jackets. When we get there, it is March larger than we thought with many food stalls mixed in with the usual bread sellers, fruit stands, cheese stalls, and then a flea market potpourri of items.

St Albin

We peek into St Albin but there is a mass going on so we do not linger. It has an interesting wooden ceiling and we also notice a side chapel to the Madonna of Perpetual Help that we discovered in Spain. We exit and walk some more around the market.

Can You Smell It?

There is one stand full of spices that fills the air with amazing fragrances. When we leave the market, we head towards the Cathedral of Saint Etienne ( St Stephens), a must when you have two sons named Steven. Along the way, we discover a memorial to those who died in WWI.

Inside St. Etienne

We reach the cathedral which was built from 1275 to 1609. As in most churches of the time, it was built on top of the site of a a paleo Christian church from 1075. It is gothic in style and features a nice altarpiece, organ, and stained glass. It is also interesting to us that the back of the cathedral is somewhat offset from the front, creating an interesting internal architectural look. We are not sure why, maybe it was not finished.

Happy Wife

The surrounding neighborhood is filled with interesting French architecture. We find a nearby patisserie that was on our list and Carol gets a cappuccino with a croissant while I have a brioche. We learn that the word chantilly means a thick fresh whipped cream as we said, oui, when asked if she wanted chantilly with her cappuccino. Then before we leave, we select four different desserts to bring with us and try later.

St Charles in St Jerome

We start to wander back toward the Capitole, which has free visits today and locate the Church of Saint Jerome which we did not find yesterday. We now know why we did not find it as the entrance is through a store front looking building that looks nothing like a church. It has an interesting interior and was the former chapel of the Penitents Bleus, a secular brotherhood set up as a reaction to Protestantism. There is another shrine to the Madonna of Perpetual Help here. Five minutes after we are there the lights go out and we are ushered out as they are closed now.

Capitole Love Room

We make it to the Capitole (city hall) and when I ask a policeman if we can enter here, he sternly says no, then breaks out with a big smile. Knowing no French rebuttal, I wag my finger at him, letting him know he got me.

Always Reading

The Capitole has been around since the 18th century and we get to do a self guided tour of several state rooms. One is dedicated to love, another to Toulouse life, and there is also the legislature room. It is lavishly decorated with paintings, statues, and ceiling art. It is very nice and each room has an description in French and English. We leave via the Place du Capitole and get a couple of pictures of the square.

Garonne River

Our Sunday walking tour continues as we head down toward the Garonne River and the Church of Notre Dame de la Daurade from the 6th century. Unfortunately, it is closed for renovation. We cross the river on the nearby Pont Neuf and walk along the river bank looking for the Toulouse Ferris wheel, which is nowhere to be found

From the Dam

Japanese Gardens

. Back across the river we go walking along it toward a Japanese Garden we had read about. We see a hydroelectric plant that says it is free to go in and tour so we do. The ulterior motive is to find a nice bathroom for Carol which is also in here. The tour is nice and we get some cool river views from an outside platform. Back to walking, we make it to the Japanese Gardens, take the obligatory red bridge picture, look at the goldfish, and head back the 1.5 miles to the hotel. It starts to rain but the street we are on has lots of large trees which mostly protect us. Besides, we have our rain coats on.

See Why We Walk

We make it back to the hotel just before it starts to pour. Carol gets really happy when she asks the clerk if she can make a cup of coffee from the breakfast room coffee maker and receives a oui as an answer. In the room, we have the pastries that we bought with the coffee as our afternoon meal/snack. Boy, do the French know how to make desserts. Incredibly good. We relax the rest of the afternoon watching the rain come and go.

At La Gouialle

At dinner time we head out toward La Gouialle, a locals type place we made reservations at. When we arrive, they say that there is a 2E charge if w want to stay for music a half hour from now or they can sit us in a different room. We agree to the charge and are seated.

Duck Cassoulet

CNC La Gouialle

There is a two course set menu with different options so we listen carefully to the attempted English translation of the chalkboard items. Carol gets the soup of the day to start while I go for the herring salad. Our meal choice is local specialties. Carol gets cassoulet, a stew made with duck, sausage, and beans while I go for the Camembert with bacon. Everything we have is good. The tables are very close together and we soon are joined by French people around us. We make friends with two college girls and a couple that are seated next to us. They all speak some English which helps as my French still sucks. Funny thing is the guy sitting next to me turns out to be a French air traffic controller. Small world indeed. Interestingly, he is in Toulouse for flight lessons that the job pays for. He can become a pilot for the French system and they pay for the training. We have a great conversation with all of them and sing along to some of the songs.

Yummy

It is a very enjoyable and local feeling evening. We stroll the mean streets of Toulouse back to our hotel having thoroughly enjoyed our stay here. So far France is surprising us with our enjoyment of it.

Expenses
Hotel D’Orsay 62.08E
Coffee, Croissant, Brioche and Desserts from Patisserie Conte 17.10E
Dinner at la Gouialle. 45E Cash
Walked 8.5 Miles