Toulouse

On Sunday, in two cars, we headed for Saint Gaudens to pick up Francoise’ mother before going on to Toulouse. Her mom has a large apartment literally filled with stacks of books that she sells over the internet. How she is able to find a particular book in all those stacks boggles my mind.

In Toulouse we parked along the Garonne River and walked above a pleasant riverside park. Along the way I saw this rotating seesaw which reminded me of the balanced log my great uncle put together at the cottage when I was a youngster. It only lasted one summer, but it was super fun! This modern variety which has a similar motion, but looks like a triangle, is a lot tamer.

I liked this use of water in the garden. It may be hard to tell, but that's water between the row of smaller bushes and the border planting.

And there’s the Garonne. Unfortunately my view also included the porta-potties, but everyone was moving at a fast clip and I was already well behind so I didn’t pause to look for a nicer picture. 

We had been walking towards the “new” bridge which is actually the oldest of the bridges. 

My pace is a lot slower than than what this family is used to. The day before had been slow and relatively easy. For me, this was city sightseeing on the run. By the time we reached the end of the bridge I was beyond ready to just sit and look around, but that wasn’t the agenda.

I don’t remember the name of this building or what it is used for, but I sure did appreciate its existence because almost everyone stopped to look through its open door into the large courtyard. It was a pause I needed!

I liked the architecture almost as much as I was grateful for the stop.

I was fascinated when I realized that the large doors had a small door built into them. I stuck around long enough to get two quick pictures, but everyone else had already moved on.

Jean-Marie was looking for a place where we could have lunch. I kept telling myself to just hang in there, but it was obvious to me that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up. When the others realized I had reached my limit, they shifted the plans. After lunch Jean-Marie went back for a car. 

It was during his absence that we had an unusual experience. Our table was next to a window and glass door. Elisabeth was sitting closest to the glass and had seen a lady park her bicycle just outside. 

Later a man with a bag of tools had arrived and was cutting the bike cable. Elisabeth told her mother what was happening and Francoise stepped outside to quietly confront the man. She was marvelous. I don’t know what she said, but apparently he came up with some excuse about leaving the keys to the lock back at his apartment. Eventually he walked away. 

We stayed at our table, relaxing and chatting because Jean-Marie was still getting the car. Suddenly the man/thief walked by again. He saw us watching him and, with an angry face and words we couldn’t hear, he kept on going! 

Before we left Francoise spoke with the cafe owner and he brought the bicycle indoors. Someone else probably lost their bicycle that day, but it wasn’t going to be the one Elisabeth and her mother saved.

Mimi ended up with the walking group. I went with Jean-Marie and Guilhem in the car. We couldn’t stop for this picture so it includes half a family. His wife and another child had already walked past.

I tried to get a picture of this tower, but between the leaves and the sun I don’t know where the tower disappeared to.

I wondered about the netting which disappeared in the photo, but which hangs on the fence side of this tree. It’s a ginkgo tree and the fruit is so stinky that they don’t want it to fall into the street. It’s easier to get rid of it if the fruit falls into the courtyard. 

We then went into this church. By now you may have noticed that a lot of buildings use pink bricks. Toulouse is known as the pink city.

The church is known for its palm tree columns. 

Especially this column…

And Saint Thomas Aquinas rests here… 

It’s funny how we can go along and not really be conscious of something until some experience wakes us up. The rest of the day in Toulouse was wonderful, but between the morning and what happened next, I was starting to feel old. I'm terrible at keeping track of age, math isn't a strong point, and I even subtracted wrong and thought myself 2 years older than I am. After feeling like 80 was just around the corner, I have since gotten out paper and pencil, double-checked my math, had time to rest, and I'm young again. Now I need to begin changing my thoughts about that next decade, because attitude and expectations really do make a difference.  

I wanted to see the cloisters. Mimi didn’t want to spend the 4 euros, but I wanted to see the garden so I went up to the counter to get a ticket. The lady took one look at my walking sticks and said it was free for me and for my companion! I was a bit shocked. I hadn't thought of myself as disabled...only that I had a bad knee, a bad ankle, flat feet and a sore heel that put limits on walking. But "free" was nice and Mimi was delighted.

Jean-Marie then discovered that the children were also free. His mother-in-law had seen the cloisters and preferred to relax in the church, but the rest of us got in for the price of 2. Though the gardens weren’t spectacular and there wasn’t a flower in sight, it was well worth the 8 euros.

Jean-Marie grew up in Toulouse. The high school he attended has some classrooms that look down into the cloister area. I think physics was one of them.

This is one of the rooms off the cloister. Jean-Marie said it was used for piano recitals because of its acoustics.

The room below was where the monks would eat in silence. I looked at a couple of the maps and then went back outside to sit on the cloister wall, enjoying the peacefulness and people-watching.

Our next stop was the museum of modern art which was having an exhibition of Picasso’s work. Jean-Marie stood in line for the tickets and once again I was free and so was Mimi! 

The first exhibit we saw was a one-room wooden cabin complete with rustic furniture and dishes. It was raining inside. For another exhibit we walked into a totally black space where we couldn’t see a thing until there was a loud boom and lights flashed for a second. I’ve been more impressed by thunderstorms. Nature is far more awesome for me. 

Then we found Picasso. Interesting, but I find William Blake’s art weirder and more fascinating. Still, I could hang out in a garden with one of these silent characters.

This is one of Picasso’s paintings that he turned into a theatre curtain. It’s actually the picture that reminded me of Blake. 

The museum was closing, but we still had time for a little more sightseeing. Here is the center of Toulouse…no cars allowed, but Jean-Marie spoke into a little box and suddenly those cylindrical barriers melted into the pavement and our car was allowed to enter. That was a strange feeling…now we’re in, but do they let us out? Maybe I’m just easily amused. 

Time to head home. The highlight of the evening was watching the movie about the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History in NYC coming to life at night. That was fun, especially since I had just been there last winter with Mimi.

 The next morning Mimi and I were to begin our trek back to Blanot. 

World War I and II Memorial

Evening Near Saint Gaudens

Cathie’s home is a cozy stone cottage warmed by a wood stove. I knew Cathie had been a farmer before becoming an art teacher and that she and her Bear raised sheep. I had asked to see the sheep and so that became part of our visit. 

My camera battery quit so Mimi took pictures on her iPad which doesn’t zoom them for a blog…. We drove up another hill to a winter pasture. Bear unhooked the top wire so we could step safely into the field. Mimi didn’t realize it was an electric fence and stepped over where it wasn’t lowered! Her long legs managed to miss the wires anyway, thank goodness.

I was surprised to see small lambs. They arrive in the spring according to Mother Nature, but sheep farmers prefer to have them arrive in the fall. That way the sheep are eating well in summer pasture while they are pregnant. Some sheep hadn’t yet given birth.

I asked Cathie what they did with all the wool they shear. Usually they just throw it away, but this year a fellow who was building his house took it to use as insulation. That’s like having a house wrapped in a wool blanket!

We stepped back over the electric fence and suddenly I found myself sitting in Bear’s truck with a border collie at my feet. Bear doesn’t speak English. He does have a twinkle in his eye and an easy grin. He climbed into the driver’s seat and we were off. I had no idea where I was going as I waved goodbye to everyone else who were standing around, watching us disappear into the dusk.

We bounced up a narrow road that no one would ever drive over in a car. The road made impossible turns through a cluster of houses and kept on climbing. Bear was grinning. I was hanging on!

We reached a long shed-like building with a grassy hill beyond. Bear maneuvered the truck between two small trees and drove higher into the meadow. Then he turned the truck around and stopped. There was just enough light in the sky to see the outline of the mountains, but dark enough so that village lights twinkled in the night. It was awesome. 

Even now, that panorama is in my head and brings tears of awe to my eyes. It was powerful beyond words. Thank you, Bear.

Bear then drove down to the shed-like building, indicated that I should get out and should walk past all the bales of hay further into the barn. He turned on a noisy generator and I could see light in the direction I was headed. I reached a gate, and there were more sheep!

The sheep were curious, but not enough so to come close. Then the cat slipped under the gate and the sheep came within a few feet of me to greet the cat! 

I decided to walk back to the truck to see what was going on, but Bear and the truck were gone. It was dark outside. I figured someone would eventually come for me, and then the truck appeared again. Bear was bringing the others a few at a time. 

We wondered if he was always able to drive up that crazy road in the winter and learned that there were days he walked it through the snow or over ice for both morning and evening. Impressive.

Again Mimi took the pictures. Most of these sheep had been the Spring lambs. There was also a pen for mothers with twins. Cathie caught one of the lambs…not an easy task, even in a pen. They really aren’t as soft as they look, but they win on cuteness.

Then it was time to return to Cathie and Bear’s home for dinner. The entree of course was lamb. 

An Afternoon in the Pyrenees

After leaving the remains of the chateau of Bramevaque we headed for the mountains. Lots of open pastures for grazing animals throughout the spring and summer.  

It seemed that most of the road was travelling along the edge of the world. A lot of the time I couldn’t look down. At times I stuck the camera in front of my eyes and kept my mind busy thinking about possible pictures instead of how close the car was to a drop-off. The road was narrow and twisted around blind corners. The ride alone was an adventure!

We reached a herd of cows. One was wearing a bell, a rather plaintive, lonely sound. The cars were parked and out came baskets and coolers for a picnic lunch. Danielle’s salad was so good I ignored most of the other food, had seconds and considered thirds. The taste buds would have been happy, but the stomach was full.    

One cow decided to keep watch. It stood motionless, staring at us throughout most of our meal, and meals are never hurried affairs.

 Part way through our lunch most of the cow herd decided to leave. Those who had been lying down watched them go. We listened as the cow bell faded, but before it could no longer be heard the rest of the cows slowly rose to their feet and followed the others, except they decided to take the road. We laughed at an imagined conversation between the two groups.

Below is Cathie, Jean-Marie, Francoise, and Danielle

The ridge-line is the border between France and Spain. That’s Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees.  

It was time to find a cafe for a glass of wine so we could use their bathroom. We stopped at several places, but no cafe was open so 
we continued on to our next destination...a small church with frescoes. 

The frescoes were amazing. There was even the remains of one on the exterior of the church.

Then we discovered that though people weren't using the church, it did have occupants...

Those are a few of the bats that called this place home...and it was obvious that church services weren't being held here because the chairs and floor was covered with...

...bat poop!

We gathered again...that's Guilhem on the far left...and headed for the next church with frescoes.

The fall colors are nice, but soft, muted...almost like the frescoes. The next church was just up the road from these houses and it had an open chapel in the church yard that was also decorated.

Those frescoes above are on the ceiling and walls of this little room. Then there were frescoes on the outside of the church. Before entering you could choose heaven or hell....

Inside there was an automatic commentary, in French, where sections of the ceiling and walls would light up when being discussed. I didn't understand the words, but I did follow the lights. Mimi jokes that she got a picture of me praying...

...though I'm really just holding my walking sticks.

We still hadn't found a bathroom so it was time to head to Cathie's home for dinner...and that will be the next post.