Tuesday, December 30, 2008

to Toulouse

The next morning we traveled to Toulouse which turned out to be the disapointment of our trip.
The city at the Garonne river is located on the site of an ancient Roman settlement; even today many of the smaller streets follow their Roman counterparts and many of the red brick buildings are of a pseudo-Roman style. These buildings are also what gives Toulouse its nickname La ville rose (The pink city).
After hyping the kids about a pink city, we were disappointed to find that although there was a lot of red brick, the handle of "pink city" is a bit of a misnomer. In addition, the city was dirty and contained a high level of pan handlers and transients - not a comfortable environment. We quickly saw the sites the city had to offer - most were unimpressive, with the exception of the Capitole - this is an imposing and palatial townhall and theatre, its beautiful facade facing onto the grand Place du Capitole. We went inside the Capitole and upstairs found large halls with beautiful murals and paintings- very impressive. If it weren't for this trip inside the Capitole, we would have been really disappointed with Toulouse. We also gave the kids a few turns on the carousel, which was a ritual in all cities we visited on this trip since the Christmas markets are still in progress through the first week of January and the carousel is a standard element of all Christmas markets. Before going back to the hotel, we stopped off in the city center of Carcassonne. 

One of the many frescos in the town hall
One of the MANY rides

Town hall


Waitng patiently

Outside Town hall






We got to the cathedral 5 mins before they closed! Ufff! We were able to see the inside.



The Christmas market was in full force and there were rides and games for the kids at both ends of the main street in town. We walked end to end and then went back to the hotel to get a dinner recommendation. The hotel receptionist suggested a restaurant in the medieval city and it was a beautiful evening, so we made the 20 minute walk back up the hill. We ate at a restaurant called Bistro Fruits, and had the meal of our lives. Sandy had a local specialty called Cassoulet, which is basically pork meat in a bowl of beans - it does not sound like much, but the flavor is incredible. I had a 5 course menu starting off with escargot and foi gras, and then featuring duck in a red wine sauce. I am a huge fan of duck and this was the best I had ever had. The kids split a thin crust pizza, which was out of this world. The kids both fell asleep at the restaurant, so sandy and I each carried one back to the hotel. However, after such a great meal, we did not mind a bit.