Friday, October 31, 2014

After-lunch stroll in Saint-Pastour

A window in the remains of the original wall in Saint-Pastour

Every so often I come upon a surprising site place purely by chance. It could be an unusual name on a sign at the side of the road, a Sunday vide greniers, or taking a wrong turn that brings me there. In the case of Saint-Pastour, it's my stomach. Specifically, some friends and I recently decide to have lunch at le Relais de Bastides, a nice little restaurant with a big valley view.

Lunch at le Relais de Bastides is best when the weather allows for eating outside.

View from Saint-Pastour
The mild day is perfect for eating outside on the terrace. The food is basic but tasty, and as always, the girls and I have plenty to talk about.
Afterwards, we walk off our lunch and I aim my camera toward some of Saint-Pastour's charming sites.

A site in Saint-Pastour

Church doors in Saint-Pastour

One of several wells in Saint-Pastour

A touch of color on a door in Saint-Pastour

This tiny bastide town (pop. 397) is located 15 miles northwest of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. The village was founded by Alphonse de Poitiers in 1272.

 
Joan of Arc atop a bastide gate in Saint-Pastour

A Saint-Pastour passageway

A doorway in Saint-Pastour

A chicken crosses the road in Saint-Pastour.

A nook makes a handy planter box in Saint-Pastour.



Monday, October 27, 2014

Exploring the gardens of Toulouse

My recent solo trip to Toulouse was splendid. I walked about 25 km — somewhat unintentionally since I couldn’t find the bus stops for the free shuttle. I took advantage of the sunshine and visited the city’s wonderful gardens.

Jardin Royal


Located just 1 km from the Capitole, Jardin Royal is a serene oasis containing old, exotic species of plants.

Jardin Royal, Toulouse

Jardin Royal, Toulouse
Jardin Royal, Toulouse

Jardin Royal, Toulouse

Jardin Royal, Toulouse

Jardin du Grand Rond

Jardin du Grand Rond is one of Toulouse’s most flowery gardens.

Jardin du Grand Rond, Toulouse

Jardin du Grand Rond, Toulouse


Jardin du Grand Rond, Toulouse
\
Jardin du Grand Rond, Toulouse

Jardin des Plantes

Unfortunately, my visit to Jardin des Plantes had to be quick or I would have been late meeting my cousin for lunch. This is the oldest public park in Toulouse dating back to the French Revolution. The garden has more than 100 species of trees and is located next door to the new Natural History Museum, which will be at the top of my to-do list the next time I visit.

Jardin des Plantes, Toulouse


A resident of Jardin des Plantes, Toulouse

Jardin Compans Caffarelli

This vast 25-acre garden is located adjacent to Universite Toulouse.

An inviting place to rest in Jardin Compans Caffarelli, Toulouse
Jardin Compans Caffarelli, Toulouse


Jardin Compans Caffarelli, Toulouse

Jardin Japonais


Located within Compans Caffarelli, this tranquil spot was the perfect finale for ma petite visite à la Ville Rose.

Jardin Japonais, Toulouse


Jardin Japonais, Toulouse

Jardin Japonais, Toulouse

Find out more about visiting the gardens and many other sites in Toulouse by visiting the city’s Tourisme website here.


Friday, October 24, 2014

Aiguillon: A tale of deux riviéres

The junction of the Lot and Garonne rivers seems to be a good place to begin a series about special places in my home department of Lot-et-Garonne.

Château Lunac in Aiguillon

Located roughly 30 km from Marmande, Agen, Villeneuve-sur-Lot and Nérac, the village of Aiguillon (pop. 4488) is worth a short visit. We stop here on a whim while on our way to Nérac recently. Unfortunately, the tourist office is closed on this particular Friday morning, so I have no map or guide. Hence, I miss some of the town’s more notable sites. (Attn. les syndicat d’initiatives: Post a village map in your window, SVP).

Musée Raoul Dastrac in Aiguillon
 
Aiguillon has a rich history dating from Gallo-Roman times. It is strategically positioned not only at the confluence of two rivers, but also at the crossroads of the great Roman roads of Ténarèze and Aginensis Burdigala, which ran between Agen and Bordeaux. The city was an important English stronghold during the Hundred Years Wars. In the 18th century, the Duke of Aiguillon, Emmanuel-Armand de Vignerod, planned a symmetrical city and cleared a large courtyard in front of his château. The French revolution halted construction, but the courtyard, or Esplanade, remains as Aiguillon’s town square.

Place Clemenceau with Parish church of Saint Felix in the
background and the war memorial in the foreground
Historical and cultural sites in Aiguillon include Église Saint-Felix, the Roman tower of Tourasse, la Fontaine des Trois Grâces, musée Raoul Dastrac, and the confluence of the Lot and Garonne just northwest of the town.

Église Saint-Felix in Aiguillon


A detailed history and sites to visit, can be found on the Ville d’Aiguillon website.




Friday, October 10, 2014

Stepping inside Toulouse’s Capitole

Every city has a heart, but there may be none so distinct as the Place du Capitole in Toulouse. Mayor Jean-Luc MOUDENC, in the informative tourism pamphlet, warns visitors: “… you musn’t call it the ‘Hôtel de Ville”… Toulousains call it ‘Capitole’!”

Place du Capitole encompases 5 acres and includes a vast, bustling plaza, city hall offices, and the city’s opera house. Toulouse’s Office de Tourisme is located just behind Capitole in the le donjon, which was built in 1525, so this is the logical starting point for visitors to La Ville Rose.

Exterior detail of Toulouse’s Place du Capitole

Marble statues and columns adorn the Capitole’s façade, which was designed by architect Guillaume Cammas in 1750-1760.  Pass through the portal designed in 1546 by Renaissance artist Nicolas Bachelier and enter through glass doors on your left. At the foot of the great stairway, which was installed in 1912, sits a bust of Jean Jaurès, leader of the French Socialist Party.

A bust of Jean Jaurès by sculptor Paul Ducuing sits at the base
of The Great Stairway in Toulouse’s Capitole.


Bust of Jean Jaurès by sculptor Paul Ducuing

Detail of the stairway at the Capitole in Toulouse

Ascending the stairway in Toulouse’s Capitole
The walls of the stairway were decorated by artists Jean-Paul Laurens and his sons Pierre and Paul-Albert. (With his affinity for history, J-P Laurens painted many public buildings including the steel vault of Paris’s Hôtel de Ville and a series of paintings on the life of Saint Genevieve in the apse of the Panthéon.)

Make your way through the Salle Gervais at the top of the stairs. On the day of my visit, an exhibition of the French Resistance is on display so I am unable to admire the allegores of love by the artist Paul-Jean Gervais. I slowly browse the exhibits and then enter the jaw-droppingly beautiful Salle des Illustres.

The vast Salle des Illustres in Toulouose’s Capitole

Detail of the Salle des Illustres ceiling at the Capitole in Toulouse

Originally conceived in 1674, the vast room was redesigned in the 1800s. The room contains 15 paintings including La Belle Paule at her balcony by Henri Rachou. I am drawn to this particular painting, even more so when I later come across a legend involving its subject.

La Belle Paule appears to be gazing out upon the
Place du Capitole in Toulouse.

When King Francis I came to Toulouse in 1533, a 15-year-old girl named Paule de Viguier was chosen to hand over the keys to th city to the king. She was so beautiful that she was nicknamed La Belle Paule. Even after the king left town, La Belle Paule was asked to appear at his window twice a week to appease the throng of admirers. Later, she married a magistrate. Her legendary beauty withstood time as she was still a celebrated attraction when King Charles visited Toulouse 31 years later. It is said that when she died in 1610, her body was preserved and displayed at L’église de Cordeliers de Toulouse (the Franciscan Church of Toulouse), where no women were allowed to visit and pay their respect.

A dozen busts of notable Toulouse citizens reside along the walls of the Salle des Illustres. One subject, Pierre-Paul Riquet, is notable for constructing the Canal de Midi.

Monument à Pierre de Fermat by Denis Trente-Huittessan
at the Capitole in Toulouse

Another piece of art that tickled me was a sculpture of Pierre de Fermat, who appears to being pretty tickled himself. Fermat was, among other things, an amateur mathematician whose work is credited with the development of infinitesimal calculus … something I note here because I know it would have made my dad proud.

The interior of Toulouse’s capital is free to visit and is open 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday and holidays. It is closed on December 25, January 1, and occasionally for private ceremonies. Visit the Toulouse Tourism website here for more information.

Friday, October 3, 2014

The art of the alphabet


“Alphabet” by artist Isabel Gueunet-Salvucci, on display at the
Abécédaire exhibit in Bergerac through Oct. 11, 2014


“W” by painter Catherine Alcaraz-Klein

An invitation from the organization Les Métiers d’Art en Pays de Bergerac entices me to take an afternoon drive to Bergerac to view an exhibition entitled “Abécédaire.”

“V” by sculptor Béatrice Bauchart


“M” by artist Marie-Lise Duédal


“À” by sculptor Kathy Garrigue

The “Abécédaire” project was conceived in 2010 when 45 artists from the Pays du Grand Bergeraçois region interpreted the letters of the alphabet in a variety of artistic mediums. More than 3,000 visitors visited the traveling exhibition in a half dozen Perigord venues in 2010 and 2011.

“Abécédaire” runs through Oct. 11 at la Médiathèque, specifically on the fourth floor inside Bergerac’s impressive public library on Place Bellegarde. Hours are Tuesday and Friday 2-6 p.m.; Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2-6 p.m.; and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2-5 p.m. For more information visit artisandart-perigord.com.


Exterior of the bibliothéque, located on the top floor of la Médiathèque de Bergerac
on Place Bellegarde