The morning was sunny and warm, so we decided to go for a walk across town. As we neared the Cathedral Saint-Etienne, I saw a feature of French architecture that has always fascinated me. While all the buildings look old (at least to me, as an Australian), the rooflines of adjacent buildings are all different. I don’t know whether they were all built in the same period, but it appears that no one has made any effort to blend in with the adjacent buildings that were already there. Must try to find out if there is a practical reason for this.

The Cathedral itself is a bit strange, with a very asymmetrical frontage to the west. The right side of the church is a classical symmetrical stone structure, but surrounding that and dominated by a tall belltower on the left is a larger brick structure. Looking inside, one sees that the south-west corner is an older, plainer building, whereas the newer part on the north-east side is much grander and more ornate, and looks to be the section that is now used more frequently.

We continued our walk and were soon lost in a maze of streets and laneways. However, we found a very detailed map on the side wall of a building, which we found useful for re-orienting ourselves. The only problems were that the map was oriented with north to the top (rather than ahead of you to the top), so you had to stand on your head to get your bearings. Also, there was no “You are here” (vous est ici) red dot on the map to show where you were. But apart from that, it was very interesting to get an overview of the area.

So with renewed confidence, we walked on and soon found ourselves at the River Garonne, this time on the other side of Pont Neuf, where we got a view of the tourist barge that plies the river.

As we walked along the river, I looked up and saw something I’d never seen before; something that looked like a flying dolphin, but is actually called the AirBus Beluga. It must have just taken off from the AirBus factory at nearby Blagnac Airport, carrying another shipment of airplane assemblies or other oversized components.

We then walked over the bridge and continued through the neighbourhood on that side of the river, with Rita in search of a music shop where she hoped to get some advice on repairing the seals on her flute. However, having found the shop, they could not fix it, so instead she bought a second-hand clarinet! The barge is getting quite a collection of musical instruments!

We then proceeded to stroll home, over the Pont St-Pierre. This is a narrow iron bridge that runs alongside the old Hospital (and next to the temporary ferris wheel), with very narrow street approaches at either end. Walking along those streets would never give you the idea that they are leading to such a grand bridge.

But this bridge led us across the river to very near the place where the Canal de Brienne connects to the river. The lock connecting the river and canal does not look like it has been used very often in the recent past.

As we walked back past the Capitole building, we saw a plaza area filled with restaurants, cafes and patrons. I don’t think I have seen a city with as many restaurants as Toulouse (not having been to Paris recently), and even here at Saturday lunch-time, they were all jam-packed with customers.

By the time we got back to the barge, it was now pretty hot. So I spent the afternoon lazing around on the boat, while Rita and Valerie (who arrived late afternoon) went up to the Rotunda in the Grand Rond to do a bit of unpaid busking. As evening approached, and the breeze died down, the canal became a millpond, giving some interesting reflections of the barge across the way.

Around 2000h, Rita and Valerie returned and we went across to the Le Bistro du Port for dinner. We were greeted by the same waiter as last night, who proceeded to give us complimentary apero drinks as a welcoming. We then enjoyed a very relaxed dinner once again.