Toulouse, January 2020

Toulouse, aptly named the Pink City, is gorgeous. I landed at the Toulouse/Blagnac Airport on the first of the year on my way to Lourdes, but barely had enough time to rent a car and drive through the mountains to arrive for the last services of the evening. The A-64 freeway from the airport to Lourdes skirts the center of Toulouse and does not afford much opportunity to see and experience the city. On the third of January, I left Lourdes early to see for myself up close the pink terracotta buildings that lend Toulouse its surname.

I was not disappointed. After stopping at a gas station to fill up my rental on the way to the airport, I realized that I had approximately a couple of hours that could be well spent visiting the city. I followed the directions provided by the station owner, the tree lined Canal du Midi and the local streets until I reached the City’s main square, La Place du Capitole. I was fortunate enough to find a parking in its underground garage and proceeded on foot to visit the Old Town.

Toulouse is gloriously and beautifully pink. Add to her breathtaking beauty and walkable Old Town, a treasure trove of historical museums, old churches and squares and you find yourself in a destination City. The spirit of the holidays was everywhere. The city was bustling with shoppers and its bistros and brasseries were full of visitors. I eagerly set out to join their ranks, picked up a map, and proceeded to explore what I could in the limited time I possessed.

Toulouse has a rich history dating from the Middle Ages and its religious edifices reflect a rich and diverse architecture. The basilicas and cathedrals of Toulouse are magnificent and must be on your bucket list if you visit the city. The only place of worship I was able to visit was one of its most unique for it is strangely asymmetrical. I speak of the Cathedral of Toulouse also called the Cathedral of St Etienne, a national monument believed to have been completed in the 12th or 13th century. When my curiosity pushed me to do more research, I learned that the Cathedral owes its eccentricity and uniqueness to the fact that it is an assembly of multiple distinct parts that somehow were tied together during its construction. The result is an odd-looking edifice that is quite warm and welcoming when one enters it and surrenders to its peaceful atmosphere.

Lots of chocolate stores, bakeries and patisseries in Toulouse. I splurged, convincing myself that I walked long enough to burn these extra calories. I was on vacation and the last thing I needed to do was stress over the intake of calories. Plus, the warm pink color surrounding me made me want to love myself and the degustation of French patisserie was one good way to achieve this. Before long, it was time to walk back to my car and drive to the airport and fly to Mallorca. My real vacation was about to start.

I love learning about the history of a place, its culture, its economy and its inhabitants. When I visit a place, I do my homework and plenty of research well in advance, but Toulouse was totally unexpected. Upon my return to the States, I wanted a more in-depth knowledge of the City. My research taught me that Toulouse is the fourth largest City in France and its metropolitan area boasts a population of 1, 200,000 inhabitants. It is a center of intense economic activity as the center of the aeronautic and aerospace industry in France and of Europe since World War I. The air corridor between Paris and Toulouse is the busiest of France and its location close to the Spanish border and on the Garonne River and the Canal du Midi renders the City accessible by land and water from both the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas. Toulouse hosts a museum of aeronautics that offers unique theme visits of its Airbus plant that makes it a favorite of families.

A bike trip from Toulouse to the City of Sete along the Canal du Midi has been on my bucket list since 2015. It is one of my biggest motivations in keeping active. And in shape. This and my dream of walking from the South of France to Santiago de Compostela through northern Spain and recreate the pilgrimage that dates from the Middle Ages and that Paulo Coelho describes in its first book, “The Pilgrimage”. But I digress….

Which I often do when I write about traveling. My imagination runs wild, and before I know it, I start dreaming of my next trip. And since dreams more than often come true, I am a firm believer in their power to transform our realities.

Please, dream and dream big and bold. Even though, it might seem harder to do so these days, please continue to dream. Don’t let the present hold you back and keep you from defining a better future.