Church-Going Sunday

Sunday, Apr. 23, 2017--Toulouse

Many places are closed on Sundays in France, so today was a day to visit lots of churches.  But the first church was the best:  Marché Victor Hugo--the church for gourmands which is the large indoor market of Toulouse.  It is only about 3 blocks from where I am living, and it was alive when I arrived there about 9:30.  The first thing I encountered upon entering was a bakery with stacks of rustic breads with thick, crunchy crusts like I used to buy regularly in Copenhagen.  But every vendor had wonderful items--dried hams, all kinds of seafood, wonderful cheeses, beautiful duck breasts, etc., with all of it set out in beautiful, artistic displays.  After wandering the aisles twice just looking at the food items, I wandered two more times watching the people--both the vendors and the customers:  Watching life!  You can "see" the personalities of everyone.

Observation on Trip:  Speaking of personalities, I have not encountered any Frenchmen with bad attitudes on this trip.  I've observed multiple times in Paris that people will get mad, fuss at each other, and then walk away with it apparently over since they had vented their frustrations.  And the French have an international reputation (maybe not deserved) of being rude, but I have not observed that either.  Maybe the fact that this is southern France makes a difference--warmer climate areas tend to be more friendly and to accept a slower, simpler pace of life.  People at the market waited in line for their turns, they laughed and interacted meaningfully with the vendors, and were just generally enjoying a morning of shopping at the market.

Leaving the market, I stopped at another church of pastries.  This time it was Pillon where I got a chocolate croissant which was labeled as "chocoline."  As soon as I said the word, the young lady helping me started speaking in English.  She seemed impressed that I already had the right about of change in coins ready for her.

Observation on Trip:  Lots more people in southern France speak English than I expected.  I'm constantly amazed at how many people I meet speak at least some limited English, and it isn't just young people.  I'm guessing the EU has had a big part in this, since the same currency is used throughout most of it and the borders are open for easy travel. Traveling to Spain, the U.K., Germany, Greece, and elsewhere has probably meant having to learn a bit of English as a form of common communication.

The next church stop was the church of politics--The Town Hall of Toulouse where people were entering to vote in the national elections to see if they will choose the far right candidate Madame Le Pen or someone more moderate.  Today is the first stage of the elections; the top two candidates will then run against each other in a runoff election on May 7.  Le Pen is expected to be in the top two this round, but most people are hoping she will not win in the end since she represents isolationism--no immigration, withdrawal from the EU, etc.  There was a steady stream of voters entering the building.  I just joined them because I wanted to see the Grand Stairwell with its paintings and ceiling mural.  Like I had gone as an observer in Copenhagen when I accompanied Arne to vote for the formation of the European Union out of the old European Community, whole families were arriving at the polls including their children too young to vote yet.

After that, the REAL business of visiting true churches began.  I visited Eglise Notre Dame de la Daurade which was having mass at the time.  The church has a wonderful organ from 1864 that has pipes in two parts and was being played regularly throughout the service, so I just sat and enjoyed the music.  

Leaving there, I explored the Daurade area which is along the Garonne River and is among the oldest parts of Toulouse.  My guidebook explains that the reason there is such a large old town in Toulouse is because it wasn't bombed during WWII.  Therefore, all those blocks of half-timbered buildings from hundreds of years ago and brick buildings from the 1200s through the 1800s are one of the best representations of Old Europe that exist today.   

Within the area, the next stop was the Convent des Jacobins.  It is both a church and a convent, although regular services are no longer held in the church.  It houses some old, original paintings, and it is one of the few churches with painted walls in southern France.  (Most churches I have seen have gray walls, but there is a repeated print pattern on the walls of this church.)  Most interesting about this church, however, is its palm-tree style columns and ceiling.  A central row of seven columns with each branching out like fronds of a palm tree to created a vaulted ceiling are beautiful to see with the very last one being a great example of the skill of craftsmen in those times (about 1300) because the vaulted branching goes into a multi-sided end of the church.  

Near there was one of the university areas of the city.  Toulouse is one of the largest university cities in Europe.  Just one, the Toulouse School of Economics has 120,000 students!!  As I went to my next stop, I saw some of the students looking a bit sleepy at 11:30 in the morning as they walked probably toward a place where they planned to eat breakfast.

I still had two churches to visit.  One was Eglise St-Pierre des Cuisines.  It has a beautiful interior with a nice choir and organ.  But the second and last was Basilique St.-Sernin, the primary church of the city.  It's the world's largest Romanesque church and is the primary tourist attraction in the city.  Unfortunately, the most interesting part of the church must be viewed from a far distance--the ceiling of the apse which has gilded frescoes.   I think I will appreciate it more when I look at close-up photos of it than I could in person.  

From there, I returned home to remove my pullover, to drink some cola, and to rest a bit before heading out again.  Almost all the days start with cool temperatures and end up with warm afternoons, so a pullover is needed until about noon and then short sleeves are fine until it gets dark.  

Around 14:00, I headed out again.  As I do in many cities on Sundays with good weather, I headed to the main park in the city--the Grand Rond/Jardin Royal (two adjacent sections that are really one park.  People were scattered on the lawns everywhere enjoying the nice weather and enjoying being with their friends and/or family members.  

From there, I followed the path along the Canal du Midi, a canal that covers 240 km (about 150 miles) across southern France (including Carcassonne where I also walked along it) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   I used that as my route to the bus and train station to check train schedules for the day trip I have planned for tomorrow and to make sure where my bus will be leaving on Tuesday as I depart Toulouse and France.  

Before returning to the room, I went to a nearby kebab shop.  It's been two weeks since I had one, and it just sounded good to me.  I got a chicken one with spicy sauce and with fries for an early dinner.