Exploring Toulouse

Saturday, April 20th, 2019

Today I did some of the classic tourists things. There was a bit of disruption lurking in the background as the Gilet Jaunes protest on Saturdays. Transit was disrupted and a large but pleasant contingent of CRS riot police installed themselves right by my front door. That said I really didn’t see any signs of protest until I was looking for somewhere to have dinner and the restaurant I headed for was just on the edge of the action, I headed out and not a moment too soon as shortly thereafter, the teargas was fired and people started running. In the meantime, the rest of Toulouse was busy eating and drinking like normal. I headed for the Cathedral of St. Serin, and although the interior is not too impressive, the exterior is. I should digress here and explain that Toulouse is called the “rose” city because everything in Toulouse is made of brick rather than the white or grey stone that characterizes the rest of France. When people say that Toulouse is different, it really is! It is stunningly beautiful and the scale of the buildings made of brick are hard to believe. It is said that Carlos Gardel, the great Tango singer, is from Toulouse, so I went to find his statue, but due to the protests, the public garden was closed. Then the Metro wasn’t working quite right, although that may have not been connected. Anyway took the bus over to the Carmes market area and worked my way back. Great lunch at a restaurant, Cafe Chouchou, where the owner took me under his wing, told me what market to go to tomorrow, tasted wine and generally took great care of me. From there, headed to the Couvent Augustine, where Thomas Aquinas remains are on display, or at least a box alleged to contain them. Back for a break and then a stroll to find a suitable place for dinner. After being almost in the action, a nice creative salad at Florida on Pl. du Capitole in front of the apartment did the job.

This truck had water cannons on the roof.