Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above: Pont Vieux (1335) spanning the Tarn River
A short, half-hour train ride from Toulouse, the ancient city of Montauban was chartered in 1144. The population is more than 60,000, but the narrow streets in the historic center certainly contribute to its small-town feeling.
Continue reading “Postcard from Montauban, France: Day-trip to the birthplace of Ingres”
Above: Place de la Trinité
When I started sorting through our images of Toulouse, more shots seemed to be landing in the random file than normal. Part of that is the patterns of the city itself. The imaginative use of brick and stone, far more striking than the staid formal Williamsburg-look abundant in my original home state. And the way Toulouse tends to reuse not tear down the old, with an unbridled free-spirited approach to mixing centuries of architectural styles in the same block.
Continue reading “Postcard from Toulouse, France: Is there any logic to the wandering eye?”
Above: Vegetarian version of the generous planches found at Prosciutteria
When traveling and eating out every day, sometimes you crave breaking out of the regional mode. A wild abundance of vegetables was our goal when we ducked into Prosciutteria on Rue des Filatiers. We found ourselves well-rewarded with a vegetarian appetizer board, so abundant we shared and ordered nothing else. Well, aside from wine. Subsequently, we found their salads and bruschetone equally as fresh and good.
Rue des Filatiers was our neighborhood, so we tried several other casual spots there as well, all with fine street-side people-watching opportunities. We found ourselves grabbing amply filled empanadas to-go for cocktail-hour snacks from El Almacen – Empanadas. Miss Fish appeared to be brand new, or only recently reopened, and boasted a nice variety of seafood. It seems a place that should prove particularly popular with British travelers missing their fish and chips.
Continue reading “Postcard from Toulouse, France: Flavors with a different accent”
Postcards from Barton Springs 