7: Discovering Toulouse

Our first stop on leaving the hotel was the beautiful Cathedral of St. Etienne, located just a few blocks from our hotel. It’s a late gothic structure made even more interesting because of the juxtaposition of sections of the building that were completed in different centuries. Definitely not symmetrical. We paused for a moment of silence at the grave of Pierre Paul de Riquet, the architect of the Canal du Midi.

After out cathedral visit we walked through the pedestrian areas in the center of town, stopping to enjoy a cool drink at a cafe on a lively and lovely small plaza. Shortly after midday, we split up for a while and Vera went to visit the botanic gardens while I checked out the other main church, St. Sernin. By about 4pm I was pooped and made my way back to the hotel for a couple of hours of quiet time.

In the early evening I went to buy bike tube, found exquisite gourmet ice cream (cones shape of flowers) and then we met and found dinner. Excellent restaurant, interesting serving ideas Cabillaud with steamed vegetables, Languedoc white wine. Yum.

Bed at 11:30