Keith and Christine would love to hear from you with questions, comments, personal news and any news at all from Australia or wherever you are. We will reply to all emails! Please write to either windlechristine@gmail.com or windle.keith@gmail.com
Keith made good use of an early start with publishing blog pages, choosing more photos and reading emails. We wanted to be sure that we had all we needed to know and do for Tanzania so he also copied all our emails from Rosie and Joy onto our computer for easy reference. I slept on, lulled by the silent forest morning away from the traffic, and having my best sleep for ages. Breakfast was a leisurely affair on the terrace.
Michel went to pick up Maёlla, their daughter, who arrived fairly tired after having danced the Salsa nearly all night. Maёlla has decided to travel to Australia to have a gap between her studies and starting her career, in order to perfect her English. It was interesting to be considering Australia as a travel destination with someone who has not been there before. There was not a lot we could talk about from actual experience - we must do some more travelling in our homeland - but we did know that it would be best to travel with only one season’s worth of clothes if you might need room for some favourite party things, beauty requirements and at least a jumper.
After a long and very enjoyable lunch, the afternoon for sight seeing started very late.
That was fine, since the slow and relaxing day, had given us plenty of time to relax and to talk, time to discover that we have many things in common in life experiences and values, time for our friendship to develop.
As we drove into town, we passed the site of a chemical company where there had been an enormous explosion that had caused lots of destruction and injuries in areas quite distant from the plant. Windows had shattered and it took years for the insurance claims to be sorted, with some families spending the winter with no glass in their windows. We stopped to have a walk in the gardens beside the old town walls, beside the Garonne River in a part that is used for hydroelectricity and which is a surprise in the city, since it looks like an untamed part of the river.
The manicured lawn had a section of meadow flowers near the gates, making a lovely touch of nature at each end of the walk. The rose bricks of the walls provided a display space for photographs.
Once the car was parked we were all able to stroll along, beside the Garonne, where people threw a Frisbee, others played pétanque or relaxed. We checked out the bridges and narrow streets in daylight, this time noticing the touches of long ago building decorations, particularly around the windows. Like all the progressive cities, they encourage cycling by providing free or very cheap bike hire, with multiple stands for picking up and leaving the bikes.
The Jacobean Church was beautiful inside, with the vaulting looking like palm trees and creating a very decorative Moorish look.
A mirror around the largest and most impressive pillar allowed visitors to admire it fully. Two sets of stained glass windows up one end were patterns rather than pictures, with one set being predominantly in reds and the other predominantly in blues. We stepped out into some very peaceful cloisters, where there were elegant stone arcades and a parterre garden. What was particularly appealing about the church and cloisters were the proportions and the simplicity of the decorations, which produced a beautiful peaceful atmosphere.
A Roman doorway, another church and the museum building were all reminders that Toulouse was an important city throughout its history. Back in Capital Square, we gazed upwards at the striking paintings that depict that lengthy history and listened to Michel outlining the events. Raymond Rametti was commissioned to paint the works and completed them in 1997. Starting with a depiction of the sculpture, Venus De Espugues, which is 20,000 years old, it jumps to the third century when the Bishop of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin, was dragged through the streets behind a bull. 
The Visigoths were well established there in the sixth century and in 1096 Raymond de Saint Gilles, Count of Toulouse, was one of the leaders in the first crusade. In the twelfth century red and black were the colours of the community council, which was in charge of the affairs of the city. Following the crusade against the Cathares in 1209, Toulouse became part of the kingdom of France in 1271. The Cathares were Catholic but preached austerity, in contrast to the organised church and the French king, who amassed wealth. The popularity of the Cathares in the south was perceived as a threat which had to be stamped out and which conveniently provided the king with the opportunity to attack peaceful cities and claim the land and resources for himself, thus serving God and Mammon in one act. Saint Dominique took a different tack against the Cathares by using argument and his example within the Catholic Church, leading a life of poverty and charity and establishing the order of the Dominicans in 1215. The paintings continued to depict sieges, commerce, famous thinkers, the achievements of the Renaissance, architecture, the building of the canal, the characteristic rose coloured bricks that give Toulouse the name of the ‘Rose City’, music, composers and opera, and the aeronautics and space industries. Toulouse was the city where the Spanish Government was installed in 1939 during the Spanish Civil War and also the destination for a multitude of Spanish refugees. One painting celebrates liberation from German occupation on August 19, 1944, and honours the heroes of the Resistance. ‘Le Rugby’, an obsession of Toulousains, is portrayed of course, along with the intellectual life of the many universities and research facilities. The paintings are grand in scale and it is a fascinating and well thought out depiction of history.
Street names tell a lot about a city, if only you know their origin, with eighty of them being named after Resistance heroes. One was relevant to Michel, being named for Alsace-Lorraine, the region neighbouring Germany that he hails from. By the time we reached the Place St George, it was dinner time but we searched in vain for a regional speciality that Corine was recommending and in fact for any restaurant that was still open.
A diversion into the suburbs to drop a bag off for Maёlla enabled us to see that Toulouse is more than its ancient heart.
Dinner at home was delicious and we started to plan for our next day’s outing to Carcassonne, famous to us from the descriptions of Joel, Rohan and Holly, who have all been there. Michel had work the next day but the temptation to keep chatting was strong and it was late when we finally called it a day.
This busker, outside the Jacobean Church, played beautifully on an unusual string instrument. Does anyone know its name?
Some street signs and other signage are in two languages - French and the local language, Occidental, which resembles a cross between French and Catalan.
Michel went to pick up Maёlla, their daughter, who arrived fairly tired after having danced the Salsa nearly all night. Maёlla has decided to travel to Australia to have a gap between her studies and starting her career, in order to perfect her English. It was interesting to be considering Australia as a travel destination with someone who has not been there before. There was not a lot we could talk about from actual experience - we must do some more travelling in our homeland - but we did know that it would be best to travel with only one season’s worth of clothes if you might need room for some favourite party things, beauty requirements and at least a jumper.
After a long and very enjoyable lunch, the afternoon for sight seeing started very late.
That was fine, since the slow and relaxing day, had given us plenty of time to relax and to talk, time to discover that we have many things in common in life experiences and values, time for our friendship to develop.As we drove into town, we passed the site of a chemical company where there had been an enormous explosion that had caused lots of destruction and injuries in areas quite distant from the plant. Windows had shattered and it took years for the insurance claims to be sorted, with some families spending the winter with no glass in their windows. We stopped to have a walk in the gardens beside the old town walls, beside the Garonne River in a part that is used for hydroelectricity and which is a surprise in the city, since it looks like an untamed part of the river.
The manicured lawn had a section of meadow flowers near the gates, making a lovely touch of nature at each end of the walk. The rose bricks of the walls provided a display space for photographs.
Once the car was parked we were all able to stroll along, beside the Garonne, where people threw a Frisbee, others played pétanque or relaxed. We checked out the bridges and narrow streets in daylight, this time noticing the touches of long ago building decorations, particularly around the windows. Like all the progressive cities, they encourage cycling by providing free or very cheap bike hire, with multiple stands for picking up and leaving the bikes.
The Jacobean Church was beautiful inside, with the vaulting looking like palm trees and creating a very decorative Moorish look.
A mirror around the largest and most impressive pillar allowed visitors to admire it fully. Two sets of stained glass windows up one end were patterns rather than pictures, with one set being predominantly in reds and the other predominantly in blues. We stepped out into some very peaceful cloisters, where there were elegant stone arcades and a parterre garden. What was particularly appealing about the church and cloisters were the proportions and the simplicity of the decorations, which produced a beautiful peaceful atmosphere.
A Roman doorway, another church and the museum building were all reminders that Toulouse was an important city throughout its history. Back in Capital Square, we gazed upwards at the striking paintings that depict that lengthy history and listened to Michel outlining the events. Raymond Rametti was commissioned to paint the works and completed them in 1997. Starting with a depiction of the sculpture, Venus De Espugues, which is 20,000 years old, it jumps to the third century when the Bishop of Toulouse, Saint Saturnin, was dragged through the streets behind a bull. 
The Visigoths were well established there in the sixth century and in 1096 Raymond de Saint Gilles, Count of Toulouse, was one of the leaders in the first crusade. In the twelfth century red and black were the colours of the community council, which was in charge of the affairs of the city. Following the crusade against the Cathares in 1209, Toulouse became part of the kingdom of France in 1271. The Cathares were Catholic but preached austerity, in contrast to the organised church and the French king, who amassed wealth. The popularity of the Cathares in the south was perceived as a threat which had to be stamped out and which conveniently provided the king with the opportunity to attack peaceful cities and claim the land and resources for himself, thus serving God and Mammon in one act. Saint Dominique took a different tack against the Cathares by using argument and his example within the Catholic Church, leading a life of poverty and charity and establishing the order of the Dominicans in 1215. The paintings continued to depict sieges, commerce, famous thinkers, the achievements of the Renaissance, architecture, the building of the canal, the characteristic rose coloured bricks that give Toulouse the name of the ‘Rose City’, music, composers and opera, and the aeronautics and space industries. Toulouse was the city where the Spanish Government was installed in 1939 during the Spanish Civil War and also the destination for a multitude of Spanish refugees. One painting celebrates liberation from German occupation on August 19, 1944, and honours the heroes of the Resistance. ‘Le Rugby’, an obsession of Toulousains, is portrayed of course, along with the intellectual life of the many universities and research facilities. The paintings are grand in scale and it is a fascinating and well thought out depiction of history.Street names tell a lot about a city, if only you know their origin, with eighty of them being named after Resistance heroes. One was relevant to Michel, being named for Alsace-Lorraine, the region neighbouring Germany that he hails from. By the time we reached the Place St George, it was dinner time but we searched in vain for a regional speciality that Corine was recommending and in fact for any restaurant that was still open.
A diversion into the suburbs to drop a bag off for Maёlla enabled us to see that Toulouse is more than its ancient heart.
Dinner at home was delicious and we started to plan for our next day’s outing to Carcassonne, famous to us from the descriptions of Joel, Rohan and Holly, who have all been there. Michel had work the next day but the temptation to keep chatting was strong and it was late when we finally called it a day.
This busker, outside the Jacobean Church, played beautifully on an unusual string instrument. Does anyone know its name?
Some street signs and other signage are in two languages - French and the local language, Occidental, which resembles a cross between French and Catalan.
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