On the last day of the Irene & Katy SoFran Adventure, Irene had a flight from Toulouse, so we decided to profite and make a day of it! Toulouse is about an hour and a half from Narbonne by train.
7 days, 6 cities. We are pros.
Toulouse is a really cute city. It's one of the most populous in France, after Paris, Marseille, & Lyon. It's called la ville rose (the pink city) due to the color of the brick (which is actually just regular brick color, but brick is not typical of French architecture).
We stopped at this place to grab a couple of these little guys which looked like cinnamon rolls, but weren't.
Toulouse is the hub of the European space industry. It's where they shot off the Ariane rocket (which is replicated in chocolate right here).
Macarons are a French specialty that I like, but not as much as pain au chocolat. I'll go for a macaron every few months. But they are beautiful, I'll give 'em that.
flags at the Capitole, which houses the city hall
the Place du Capitole is the main square of the city
The French KNOW presentation. And desserts.
the flag of the Midi-Pyrénée region
Throughout southern France, a language called Occitan is spoken, though as a dying minority language. It's called langue d'oc (language of "oc") because "oc" is how you say "yes." This is the reason the region I live in is called Languedoc-Rousillon. These books are in Occitan. (Sidenote: Occitan is closely related to Catalan, which I've talked about in posts about Perpignan and Barcelona.)
street sign in French & Occitan
the Garonne river
Notre Dame de la Daurade on the banks of the Garonne
Pont Neuf
...and then Natalie Portman showed up
Basilique Saint Sernin
Basilique Saint Sernin
les épices... This place smelled amazing.
the "Quebec" table in the specialty food store (French people kind of ignore the rest of Canada sometimes.) Please note the jar of Jif on the left. They said all these products originated in Quebec... lies!
One last Irene & Katy picture from this trip!
Toulouse was such a cute city, and so different from anything else I've seen in France. The sprawling brick-lined streets almost seem a bit out of place in this country, but they give it a very warm cozy feeling. The shopping is fantastic; there are so many unique little stores full of everything from kitchen goods to stationery to, of course, SWEETS. (You know you're in France when...) It was a nice conclusion to our Irene & Katy week. It was so wonderful to be able to spend a week with Irene, just relaxing, drinking tea, watching movies, eating French things, and strolling around the south of France together. I have been so lucky to have a friend like her, especially this year. I can't believe we've gotten to see each other so much, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity. My experience this year would not have been remotely the same if it weren't for Irene. Merci mille fois de m'avoir rendu visite, Irene! :)
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