Toulouse Part II

[bjd]

I went downtown yesterday afternoon with my camera. To a different part of the city than last year. I just had a look at those previous photos and see that vegetation is much further ahead this year.

I thought downloading would take a lot time if I continued the old thread, so here are some more pictures. These were taken on the left bank of the Garonne river -- the side that was systematically flooded until works were undertaken. So it was also the poorer side of the city. Nowadays, much has been fixed up, but it is still more cosmopolitan and less bourgeois than much of the rest of the city centre. And I noticed some changes since last time I went there.

These pictures were all taken within a very small area of the city -- a couple of blocks.

[bjd]

Entrance to a courtyard, just on the right of the guys with the car above.


And going straight ahead, the side wall and bricked in window of an old church


Around the corner, the front of the Church of St Nicholas. Started in the 12th c, rebuilt in the 14th-15, damaged in floods in the 18th.








I tried taking a picture of the inside, which is painted, but it's very dark.

[bjd]

The dome at the end of the street is that of La Grave, a hospital founded in the 17th century, lately a maternity hospital, but I was recently told that it was to be closed and made into a cultural centre or something.

[bjd]

As usual, as soon as the sun is out, there are people outside




A bakery


Heading back towards the river


Funny store name, meaning "my husband is capable"


This is the Galerie du Chateau d'Eau. A former water tower, now an exhibition centre for photography. The trees behind are in a park that runs along the river.

[thill25]

Very nice! Weather looked great. Did you go into the Galerie du Chateau d'Eau? Very interesting place to have a gallery.

[imec]

Terrific bjd! and lots of stuff here I don't believe I saw on my visit - maybe time for another!

[cheerypeabrain]

Very good pics bjd...I really love the carvings on the church...and the buildings are so picturesque! X

[bjd]

Thanks all. Imec, you stayed on the other side of the river last time. Indeed, time for another visit.

Thil, I have often visited that photo gallery. Each exhibition usually lasts several weeks. When you go downstairs, below street level, there are glass panels in the floors through which you can see the old machinery.

This is actually useful because it made me look up some information about the place. Completed in 1828 with money donated by Charles Laganne (who has the streeet on the picture named after him), to distribute clean water to the population of Toulouse. The bottom of the building contained the paddle-wheels, the top used as a reservoir and machinery. It supplied water for 60,000 people. No longer enough, by 1870, de-commissioned and used as a storage facility by the city.

Turned into an exhibition centre & photo gallery in 1974 by Jean Dieuzaide. Historical monument since 1987. Extended underground with bigger galleries and a museum area since the 1990s.

Cheery, those houses are typical of the "poorer" part of Toulouse. And the colours are the reason why the nickname of the city is "the pink city", la ville rose.

[Deleted]

Excellent glimpse of the city again, bjd, but it brought a question to mind. Everybody in France knows, as you pointed out, that Toulouse is "the pink city." But I am less familiar with the towns and villages nearby. So: is it a regional colour that dominates in the area, or is it really specific to Toulouse?

[bjd]

I'm not sure, but I think it's probably valid for a number of places in the area simply because of the use of brick in construction. All the small places nearby are "pink", but so are Gaillac, Albi, although only Toulouse has the "ville rose" title.

for example: Albi

and Gaillac:

But as you know, there are big regional differences in France, so if you go towards the Pyrenees, the towns are grayer and built with stone, towards the Gers, the stone is yellowish and the architecture changes completely.

[bixaorellana]

Ohhh, you live in a beautiful place, Bjd. And you know I'm a big fan of your photos. You got some great shots, all inspired by Spring, no doubt.

I wanna go in the Chateau d'Eau!!

[lagatta]

I'm jealous as it has been chilly here, though it is nice this afternoon so more flowers are emerging. However they are predicting hard, cold rain tonight, and snow in more hilly areas south of Montréal.

Beautiful photos, and looking forward to visiting Toulouse.

I forgot to mention the municipal rental bicycles, which are emerging everywhere!