Around Toulouse

Coming into any city one must acclimatize and figure out one's bearings. A month ago every street looked confusing and nothing seemed to end up where it ought. Somehow the brain eventually registers the big picture and now walking along tiny alleys or main thoroughfares a sense of direction allows me to find my way back through the maze of off shooting streets. Residential and commercial are packed together near our apartment and it’s always a surprise to find, for instance, a great butcher shop just around the corner from where we usually turn toward the bakery. French Pharmacies are prolific as are Salon de Coiffure and Opticians. Wearing glasses in France is very much about the style of frames, hence the proliferation of shops. Colouring and cutting is far cheaper than at home; another surprise. As for French Pharmacies, they are a delight to enter. Beautifully laid out, with products related to health and well-being the central focus and the Pharmacist the epicenter of advice and assistance. Most carry beauty related products and these too are handsomely and artfully displayed.

Just wandering about and checking what might be around the corner is a great way to find interesting people and places and things. Here is an assortment from this week.

Typical narrow street in the old city

A stunning planting of Chrysanthemums

Door with Design

Barge Viewing on Canal du Midi

Milton and Nadine: fellow Canadians from High River AB on their own canal adventure provided many tips. 

The Best Bronze Frog at the fountain on our street

Cloisters at  Musée des Augustins

Flower Shopping at the Market for a dinner party

Hard to see rower on Canal du Midi

Display of 12th Century Romanesque Capitals from the priory of Notre Dame de la Daurade, the basilica of Saint-Sernin and the cathedral of Saint-Etienne; considered to be the richest collection in the world

Extraordinary display of Gargoyles from the church in the Cordeliers' monastery (13th or 14th century)