Toulouse: La Ville Rose

Ahh, Toulouse. The marvelous, oh-so-lively pink city, buzzing with bars, cafes, and gastronomic restaurants. (And let's not forget Airbus and all the high-tech industry.) Packed with cultural delights and historical treasures, Toulouse is architecturally exciting too, its ubiquitous red brick a seeming anomaly compared with the other regions of France I've explored. The fourth largest city in France retains a beautiful historical center. From the place du Capitole, the sprawling main square where the city hall stands proud, the Vieux Quartier lures with its narrow alleys lined with red brick buildings. I was mesmerized by the old, wooden doors-- some painted brightly, in vivid contrast with the rosy brick-- and couldn't stop taking pictures.


We explored the Sunday morning market, called Saint-Auben, near where the Canal du Midi snakes through the city. (Clothes, organic honey, jewelry, produce, wines, jars of confiture, ceramics...) Hadley and I guzzled perfect cups of cafe creme, while Pierre hurried off to find a bouche de Noel before all the patisseries closed for New Year's celebrations. (He prepared us a true Reveillon feast that evening.) Followed by another mandatory market stop at Les Halles Victor Hugo, where we gaped at the meat displays, indulged in some cheeses, and stopped for a pre-lunch break at a bar, where we stood with the regulars and sipped little glasses of white wine.


I was disturbed by the contemporary art at Les Abattoirs, the museum housed in a former slaughterhouse. The space is elegant, exhibiting no trace of its former life, but the installations were a bit odd: the legs of a horse (without the body) poised in mid stride, the tops painted in gorey red, upon which fake snow rained from the ceiling. Hmmmmm. I think I would've preferred a return to the Musee Des Augustins, the extraordinary collection of Roman statues and Rubens paintings, situated in a former Augustine monastery. (We visited it a few years ago.) But the walk along the River Garonne to get to the contemporary art museum was perfect. A beautiful day, the city's red brick aflame in the afternoon light.

Then we wandered the alleys some more. We stumbled upon the Hotel D'Assezat-- an enormous, private mansion dating from the 16th century, now converted into a museum. The courtyard is simply exquisite, with ornate columns and, of course, beautiful, big, wood doors.