Toulouse!

My friend, Visylia, and I took a trip north and west to Toulouse. It was only a couple hours by train and there was someone I learned about in college with that name (Toulouse-Lautrec). So we went. 

First thing we did there was eat lunch.

It was epic.

The first course (l'entree) was a board of various, thin sliced meat products. A couple different, um, sausages? Like pepperoni in different flavors. All quite delicious and served with pickles and butter (I have no idea why. The water plopped down a jar of pickles and I was like, what am I supposed to do with this? So I ate a couple. I think that was right).  

The main course (le plat) was absolutely heavenly. Chicken (poulet) with a balsamic sauce that was quite sweet. Then a salad and some pumpkin puree. The puree was *ohmygoodness* so good. Creamy and buttery with delicate seasoning that enhanced its naturally nutty flavor.

Dessert was a raspberry tart. The crust was dense and crumbly pastry. The cream, delicious, and the raspberries (framboise) perfectly ripe.

Ahhhh....

Then we decided to visit the rest of Toulouse. 

Toulouse is known for its red brick. It is unique in all of France (all the French insist that it is indeed very different and original). It is called La Ville en Rose. 

After looking around a couple streets we stopped in a sweet shop.

Absolutely magnificent. Biscuits and marshmallows and jellies and nougat and violets. Ah, heaven.

Here is the Capital, the biggest red brick building and the center of the city. It was a nice warm weekend and a lot of people were getting married. We saw 4 brides I think while we were there, all getting married in the capital. 

Inside was an absolute stunning collection of murals. The artwork was fantastic and of the topmost quality. I had no idea it existed but we got to see it (and for free!)

Here is some ceiling. 

This is supposed to be Comedy and Tragedy, but I think it looks like John Lennon and a muppet. 

 

Me, there.

Sometimes French names don't translate.

Glorious center of the main hall.

Once we got out I ate one of the cookies from the sweet shop. Toulouse is also known for its violets, so everything is violet flavored. I got a violet flavored biscuit, and I will say violet is a decent but not preferable flavor in a baked good. 

On Saturday we went to the churches (because churches are closed to the public on Sundays)

Also a very decent mural job. This church (Basilique St. Sernin) was on the way to St. John's Basilica in Spain. So pilgrims would come and stay at the monasteries and churches in town and for payment they would leave a seashell--the symbol of St. John. 

The church is quite old (foundation laid in 1060 or something crazy) and the artwork is dazzling. So much detail!

Here is a miniature of the Basilica (a church for ants). It was just hanging from the ceiling. (The real church was 3x this size)

Afterwards we went to a tea shop that was darling.

They had a 7 page tea menu, but I just went with the hot chocolate. It was thick and cocoa-y and I got to use this darling tea cup.

Next we went to the Jacobins Convent. It is known for its "palm tree" ceiling. 

See? We didn't stay too long because there was a wedding going on. It was a little weird. They left the door open and everything and you walk in and there in the middle some lady is chanting Latin into a microphone and the wedding couple is up on a dais. It was like, whoa, are we allowed to be here? *look around nervously. Nobody stops us* Ok I guess we can, uh... look around. So we left pretty quick. Other tourists stayed, wandering around, with their camera around their neck and scooting around the wedding guests. Odd.

In honor of all the weddings I took a picture of this wedding dress store. Very beautiful, very expensive. 

The view from Pont Neuf. Voila, Toulouse. 

And of course we had to have dinner.

Walnut salad, veal, and a cantaloupe soup for dessert. We also had the region special, the cassoulet. Vis and I were a bit nervous to try it because we had some at Carcassonne and it was not good, just oily and heavy with waaaaay too many white beans. 

We almost went with something else and the waitress was like I don't think you want that. It is very good, but it is an acquired taste, and if you're not used to it... Turns out it was squid testicles or something. We told her why we were hesitant to eat the cassoulet but she assured us their cassoulet was very good, they took pride in it. Plus our teacher had told us we had to try, so we did it. We ordered the cassoulet.

During the meal the waitress stopped by, then the other waiter, and then the chef, all to see of we liked the food! It added pressure to the meal, definitely. Luckily their cassoulet was decidedly better than Carcassonne's. The entire staff rejoiced in the good news. The waiter (about 42 y. o.) did a victory dance and the waitress (about 55 y. o.) cheered. The chef (I think the husband of the waitress) came over and gave us a 101 on the cultural importance of the cassoulet. He also explained that it takes about 3 days to make because you season the duck for a day, smoke the sausage, and cook it in 4 hour increments. At least, that's what I got from it. 

And they all had very bad teeth. Yellow or missing. But the cassoulet was good.

Lunch the next day was brunch. Sunday was brunch day. Every restaurant only offered brunch. So we got brunch

It was the most random assortment of food. Quiche, salad, muffin, carrots, tomatoes, cous cous, hummus, smoked salmon, ham, and applesauce. All on the same plate. It was like someone was trying to clean out the fridge before Monday.

A portion of the tea selection.

This was the Bomberg Foundation. Lots and Lots of cool art.

Imposing figures like this trying to call people to repentance. 

And Mr. Darcy.

Baby Herculese killing snakes. That kid has the sweetest head of hair. 

 View from inside.

Epic painting of the conquerer of Jerusalem. 

Cupid, being creepy and shooting people to make them like each other.

 After a while I started mocking the artwork.

 This one's out of order, but it's a bunch of chubby cherubs fighting over apples.

 Wasn't sure if the one on the right is a dude wearing a dress or a lady with a beard.

Fig. 108: Greek youth displaying the preferred coiffure of his century. Such a sultry look made the gladiators kill each other in envy. The winner got a hair cut.

 Outside of the next museum was a flee market. We went and it was like DI on the streets. People's used stuff, but not even in good condition. Lots and lots of electronic cords, mostly for things from the 90's (walkmans--walkmen? Robo puppy, cassette recorders, and etc.) 

It was the Arab quarter, I believe, and a few random French natives and one American (me!) who wondered where they took the wrong turn because no one was speaking French anymore.

The smallest museum we went to has 2 rooms and 3 paintings. It was the Occitan Cultural museum.

Occitan in a language spoken in the south west of France and the north east of Spain. It's dying but some people try to keep it alive.

That book in the middle is The Little Prince in Occitan. If the store had been open I totally would have bought that shiz. 

 The next museum was a clock museum and it was crazy to see what people could make in the 1600's. Some truly ingenious and beautiful stuff. Coolest was this autamaton. When wound up the bird sings a rather complex song and the fancy person (man? woman? sultan? sultress?) looks at it and nods then looks to the parasol holder and nods. The parasol holder nods back (I think he's trying to convince the fancy person that that giant tassel is actually a parasol). It's crazy because it's like 500 years old, and still works.

Final stop: The boulangerie! It was full of rising bread, croissants, and these mini loaves of different flavors. Adorable.