Toulouse 3

Thursday 1 August

Toulouse 3

So much to see, so little time.  We took the bus into Toulouse for the third time and then caught the Metro to Marche des Cames, one of the oldest areas of Toulouse, we were heading for Place de la Trinite which Rachel had recommended as one of her favourite places to sit and have a coffee while life passes by.  Armed with our trusty street map David guided us along the back roads and it was just the best, really old old buildings tucked away from the beaten track, felt I should be bumping into someone from a Shakespearean play around every corner.  

Down one street there were some very interestingly decorated balconies, I can't be sure, but it struck me as being a bit 'Amsterdam-ish', only instead of being in a window these ladies must sell their wares from their balconies!

Anyway we arrived at the Fontaine de la Trinité, and were ready for our coffee.  

When we sat down we noticed a few people gathered around a lady who was sitting on the ground holding her ankle, she had obviously tripped up, and it was good to see the concern people felt for her, someone fetched her a drink of water from one of the cafes, another gave her some ice to put on her ankle, and we could see a third on the phone presumably ringing for an ambulance.  It took quite a while for the ambulance to come, we had ordered and finished our coffee by the time it came. 

We then walked back to the Place de la Capitale as David went to the information centre again to get another street map, ours had just about worn out, and I took the opportunity to browse through the items on display at the market in the square.  There are many people of different races in Toulouse which makes it such an interesting place to experience, and there were some really interesting ethnic African  stalls, quite  a lot of leather goods, jewellery, kaftans, and always there are hats, so it was nice to have a bit of time before David came back armed with yet more maps!

As we walked back along these old narrow streets we came across a Roman entrance arch which had lost its centre, there was a tall tower behind it.  

Apparently this was College de Foix, there was a map on the wall showing it as being part of a much bigger complex.

The next place of interest was the old monastery called Convent des Jacobins, again down a sort of side street off the beaten track, built hundreds of years ago and it's main featured was the nine huge columns down the centre.  

We walked around admiring the many pictures and stained glass windows and then out again into the searing heat.

We were heading for the Basilica which was built around the 12th century, and walked down a busy street full of cafes and interesting shops, it was lunch time so we picked out a restaurant which had tables under umbrellas and checked out the menu.

 

We were lucky enough to have a waiter who spoke English so made having something different a bit easier. We both chose 'Galletes' which is essentially a pancake made out of maize and is  folded in a sort of square over a choice of fillings, delicious. I chose 'jambon, champignons et fromage' and David had 'trios fromage', all washed down with a pitcher of cider. 

And so on to Basilique St Sernin.  

These awe inspiring buildings would take hundreds of years to build, and probably bits are still being added today.  What is wonderful is that it has been so well preserved for future generations to use and enjoy.  We walked around trying to take it all in and also went down to the crypt which contains the shrines of several apostles and some of the most popular saints.  I guess you just have to be there!

And so back on the bus and our journey home took only 25 mins, our bus driver must have had an important date - he swung that long-jointed bus around narrow corners and around roundabouts like he was driving a mini!