Toulouse

 Thinking back to the unhoused with dogs in Toulouse - it seems that if you are unhoused, and you have a dog, then you cannot be arrested - Voila! It's the same in Italy, if you are a pickpocket (professional career) and you have a baby under one year, or you are pregnant, you cannot be arrested. Perhaps not as sustainable as a dog, but always an escape route!

Hanging around here makes me want to run away and live in France - there is a gentleness, and life is similar to the caricatures that we know from movies  (guess that's where caricatures come from, huh) - metal garden furniture a la the brochure for Jardin (check it out on line), the gorgeous Saturday markets with the fresh farm produce, cheeses, oils, Chinese Steamed Buns (what?), ladies with 'le chariot' (this is Josette on the way home from the market) 

soft voices and subtle movements of the face to convey the intent of what you are saying. I need to practice that. So much is conveyed with the face, the lips, the exhalation of breath...

The oleanders are blooming in the full palette of oleanders - pink, deeper pink, lighter pink, blush and white - quite the palette where nothing much else is growing,  including the grass.

The other colour that is particulaire here in Toulouse is the pastel blue. The pastel colour comes from a plant  in the cruciferous family, “ Isatis tinctoria ”, related to the family of cabbage, radish, rapeseed, etc… after extraction the leaves give a blue, pastel blue. It was introduced by the Moors in the time of the Egyptians.

During the 16th century, the region became the largest pastel trader on the whole continent and Toulouse and all of Occitane was  the hub for this trade. Nearly 40,000 tonnes per year were exported to London, Antwerp, Hamburg or even the Orient, via Marseille and Bordeaux. The merchants of Toulouse grew rich and had superb Renaissance-style mansions built, of which I took a lot of photos as I wandered around. 

The pastel colour is common on the balconies, doors and shutters

of these beautiful mansions. If you want to buy one, an apartment on the top floor in a good street is about 1million euro. Easy. I bought one (I wish). I'd fill it with elegant french furniture and subtlety. And marry a Frenchman with a sense of humour and a penchance for cooking - best way to improve my French language!

It is very hot and predicted to be 38 -39 over the next week - perfect for .... nothing except being inside away from the mosquitoes, but there it is, we will be on the canal on bikes in the sun. Best part (apart from the other best things) is the snack break where there are dried apricots, dried dates, and Bounty Bars (which are pronounced 'Boonty Bars', and leave coconut stuck in my teeth until I get to dental floss. We will need to drink plenty of water!