Tag: toulouse

Basilica Saint Sernin

by ginnyinshanghai

While you might think this is just another church in Europe, it’s slightly different. This church was considered a major stopping place in a notable pilgrimage through France to Spain. The architecture and history of the basilica can be understood within the framework of two religious realities: pilgrimages and the cult of relics. Hence, the Basilica of St Sernin is one of the type of churches known as a ‘pilgrimage church’.

Medieval faith entailed a strong awareness of the reality of sin. Pilgrimages and veneration surrounding the relics was seen as a means of atonement. Relics were big business and trading & selling of relics was done amongst churches and principalities.

It was built in honor of martyr Saint Saturnin who was the first bishop of Toulouse living in the first half of the 3rd century. A modest basilica was built in the 5th century. Due to his exceptional popularity, the Toulouse martyr contributed to an influx of pilgrims. The building needed to be expanded. This doorway is the only thing that remains from the early building.

We entered the basilica through the doorway in the background of the above photo. The relief above that doorway celebrates the ascension of Christ in the midst of angels.

The nave or central body of the basilica is impressive and grand.

This next shot is a closer view of the tomb.

The area surrounding his tomb was adorned with baroque decor during the 18th century designed to glorify the saint.

Behind this area are five chapels that holds a collection of retables or structure, cabinets and reliquaries in painted and gilded wood. Also called “Tour of The Holy Bodies”. It presents some of the basilica’s numerous precious relics for veneration by the faithful. Relics can be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing or some object associated with them.

Underneath this all was the crypt which was open for visitors to walk through. A number of relics from saints are entombed for the faithful to pray over. This shrine had something a bit unusual. Notice the grate at the bottom of the photo? Individuals had dropped coins through the open squares, and it was being collected below.

There was an upper crypt and a lower crypt containing shrines of several apostles and saints.

Going outside of the basilica the bell tower remains striking and seen across the city.

The octagonal bell tower represents two stages f construction: a Romanesque stage, recognizable by its three levels of openings with semi-circular arches: and a Gothic stage with its two levels of mitered arch openings, surmounted by a spire with a cross at its summit.

As we were leaving the basilica the bell tower was chiming. Here is a short recording.

This church really stood out and we kept saying it was ‘pretty’. The detailing and the building materials were meshed together well. Initially the masons used brick and stone but the high price of stone forced them to only brick on the top sections of the building. While this was a necessity of the times, the end result was very striking. It definitely made an impression upon us.

Ginny

A few(more)Toulouse restaurants

by ginnyinshanghai

My first Toulouse post mentioned a reservation Eric had made at La Gourmandine which was a bit challenging for me. Our last night we had a reservation but in between we went to this bistro for a more casual lunch.

The Kanteen Restaurant.

No reservation needed and we walked right up and was seated. While given a menu, we all went with the Nos Plats du Jour.

Those two were in the mood for a salad (trying to ‘lighten’ the food intake I think).

I was in the mood for a burger, Adrienne got the local white fish with Eric’s selection being lamb.

Ginny’s meal
Adrienne’s meal

Eric’s meal

Desserts were a bust – only because they were out of our initial selections. We had these two choices, and the fruit choice literally only had one available.

The last night’s meal was something this area is known for le cassoulet – bean soup. S>T>O>P. Don’t implode. This really is much, much more. It is a meal in itself as you will see shortly. Eric read that Le Colombier made a traditional cassoulet. Dinner reservations booked before leaving the states – done.

Any good French meal needs to start with wine.

Only one photo was needed for this post, since we all ordered the same thing.

Now, you can finally see the masterpiece. So much tasty goodness in one bowl. Believe it or not, the salad was the perfect accompaniment.

So what exactly is Le Cassoulet? It is a rich, slow-cooked casserole containing meat, pork skin and white beans that originated in southern France. It is named after the traditional cooking vessel – a deep, round, earthenware pot with slanting sides. Our particular cassoulet recipe contained Toulouse pork sausage, goose confit and pork skin. There are regional differences, usually involving the meats that are included.

This is taken seriously. Organized competitions featuring cassoulet have occurred every year since 1999.

Didn’t want anyone to think we were letting Eric off the hook during our time in Toulouse. This spread was complements of our shopping at the Victor Hugo market. It was quite the feast: fresh fruit, olives, (some were stuffed), pate’, dried tomatoes, cheeses (3), lardo, dried meat (3) and smoked salmon. Oh and some bread and wine (I had cider for a change of pace).

Yes, definitely good eats in Toulouse!

Ginny

Food Markets! Oh MY!!!!!

by ginnyinshanghai

While we have a.l.w.a.y.s. loved food markets, we’re slowly bringing Adrienne over to our side. Especially when they are like this one.

From the outside, I was less than impressed. It looked like a concrete parking structure (which it is above) and we saw people walking into the few openings along the sides. But once you get inside…………………….

…………..OMG! So many vendors were present and so many options for purchasing. Our first stop was cheese, Betty’s cheese.

Then we saw the meats, and the Iberian ham – so expensive. Those piggies were fed a diet of acorns.

Ham wasn’t the only thing. There was a rotissarie and these looked great.

This did not look so great for me – tripe. Now that is a special niche.

There were also some veggies. Adrienne had been craving olives.

While I stopped at the vendor with honey………and came home with a sampler package. Hope it makes it in my luggage – boy would that be a mess if it broke. 😦

Let’s talk seafood, and seafood and more seafood. Everything was so artfully placed.

There were oysters most places and this one also sold wine. Okay, okay, I ate one. I loved the saltiness, but they were bigger than what I’m used to. Those two – love that. Me, I prefer them a bit smaller.

After walking the market, what was next on the agenda? Lunch. On the far side of the market, restaurants were lined up with tables outside for eating. Eric checked out menus, asked to be seated, was told no and then we went back to our first stop (not a single person was sitting there yet) for a seat outside. Here’s a shot of their menu.

OMG – best decision ever coming back to this place. I mentioned in an earlier post about some of the best chicken I had tasted? This topped that. We ultimately ordered the chicken for four (okay, I know, there’s only three or us) which had two sides (frites and salad) that was a better price than ordering three meals. Sold.

BTW – nothing was left on the plate when we were done.

OMG again. When the frites were dipped in the juices of the chicken – h.e.a.v.e.n. Notice the olives in the photo above? They added enough salty flavor without being over-powering.

We got a quick shot before food started arriving. Our waiter was in the background. He was a real character. Those two had red wine and I was ready for beer. When the waiter thought my beer was too warm (drinking it too slowly), he swapped out my glass for a colder beer. Really? Really!

Almost forgot, we had a starter – shrimp carpaccio. OMG once again. Didn’t look like much since the shrimp were sliced so thin, but we all contemplated licking the plate. Those little round-ish things – crackers.

What to do after this? Walk. We had read about their canal system and also that it was great for enjoying the outdoors. The weather has been so good (much better than the forecast prior to arriving) so googled our walking directions and headed out.

We came across the locks initially.

Which led to the Canal de Brienne.

Very scenic and peaceful. Joggers went past us as we walked past locals, sitting out enjoying the great weather. . Naturally I found a few flowers along the way.

We walked the entire mile length (we definitely needed it!) walking under several bridges like this. Our pathway originally was the towpath for animals to pull the boats.

Let me close this post with these doors. I found many more as we wandered the streets of Toulouse, but eventually paired it down to these six.

ornage woodwork and iron
very pretty and stately blue
loved the door knocker
very elegant and formal
rosette ironworks
door knocker was a hand

Ginny

No Americans in Toulouse

by ginnyinshanghai

That’s one of the reasons we made plans to stop there. Most everyone commented that Americans don’t visit. When they heard us speak English, assumption was British upbringing. So here we gooooooooooooo!

It was time to leave Bordeaux and once again, we’re going via train. Love the mass transit in Europe.

We’re staying at another AirBNB on the top floor, but this one has a (small) lift. The kitchen was well-appointed and the living space had plenty of room. Adrienne took the circular staircase to her loft bedroom. Eric was done with stairs if he could help it. And also, the suitcases would have to be brought up. 😦

First order of business was LUNCH. While not our original choice, this Italian restaurant had excellent options and was a nice change of pace.

You’ll never guess who ordered the duck lasagna? Me! I decided to jump in with both feet and truly try something different. It was very tasty. Adrienne enjoyed her salmon ravioli and Eric tolerated his 4 cheese pasta.

duck lasagna
4 cheese pasta
salmon ravioli

For our first night in Toulouse we had dinner reservations in a location near one of their historic churches. Walking there we continued to find monuments and landmarks. One of the first was this WW I tribute.

Down the street we spied this monument and walked to check it out.

It was a tribute to the brave men that took and held Egypt for Napoleon.

We finally got to Cathedral St. Etienne which was the intended destination.

Like a lot of things, there was ongoing construction and resoration. I tried to get a short without the orange construction fence, but just couldn’t.

The entrance doorway is always fascinating. It’s meant to be imposing and this one hits the mark

Imagine our surprise upon walking inside and a wedding was taking place.

The ceremony was almost over and we saw them walk down the aisle and be greeted outside as man & wife.

There was a huge plus………..we got to hear the church’s organ. And now, so do you.

There was a gentleman playing the organ and after the newly wed couple walked out, we were treated to several more minutes of playing.

I don’t want to be jaded, but visiting all of these churches, their beauty was starting to dull my senses. This was an odd mix of proportions and architectural styles. Renaissance tapestries sit along stained glass windows.

I read that it seems like there are two different churches in one building. Same church, different doorway around the corner from my first shot. The cathedral was built over 500 years and plans reconfigured several times and ultimately smaller than the original plan.

Two shots from inside this doorway and it was a different feel. The stained glass was the oldest in Toulouse, dating back to the 1200s.

Across the street was our restaurant that evening.

Their offerings were a little ‘more’. More interesting, more daring and more creative. First up hummus. Definitely a change from our most recent starter selections. Sorry for the blurry photo. We were hungry and I’m surprised I didn’t get a few fingers in my shot.

We made interesting choices. Adrienne had veal with mixed veggies topped with shaved parmeshan.

Eric chose the XXXXXX. Loved the edible flower (pansy) that complemented the sweet potato puree.

I had a hard time selecting. The waiter mentioned a special with beef and I said yes. Still not truly sure what I got, but the meat was cured – not cooked. Something got lost in the transation. The veggies were pickled and was a nice foil against the thinly sliced meat.

Desserts – fabulous and interesting presentation. Desserts came in a jar with a lid. Our choices had a biscuit (cookie) near the bottom, with creamy goodness layered with tangy fruit.

Fraise/strawberry – Eric, Citron/lime – Adrienne Framboise/raspberry – Ginny

This was a winner in Adrienne and Eric’s book, a little lower for me. To be honest, perusing the menu was a little harder for my selections – but I’m still smilng at the end.

Enjoyed the first night in Toulouse. More exciting things are coming.

Ginny