My Sunday Adventure to Toulouse (my first day in France)

I know this post is super late, but with my technological issues and busy schedule I am posting this just now.  Sorry!!

On the first day I was in France my family took me to the city of Toulouse.  It is where the airport is located and is about an hour away from our home in Moissac.  We met up with some of their friends and went to a famous monastery called Les Jacobins Monastery.  The monastery was built in 1229 and shows the exceptional southern gothic architecture.  This monastery was a powerful symbol by Pope Urban V showing that he supported the community of preachers and their role as teachers and educators.

My host sister and I taking a selfie from a mirror in the monastery.  It shows the beautiful ceiling!

Here is another picture of the intricate ceiling.

Here you can see the side panels and design of the church.  It had colored tiles, as you can see,  which was rare during this time period.

The beautiful main part of the church.

A lighting candle area in the church.

Another stunning picture of the beautiful monastery.

As you continue walking through the monastery, there was a garden area called the Cloister.  It was stunning to walk through the area and see the tower bell which now houses the university bell that sets the rhythm of the city.

The garden area with the tower bell in the background.

A panorama of the beautiful area.

My host sister and I with the tower bell in the background.

Loved exploring Toulouse with my host sister!!!

Another stunning shot of the octagonal tower bell.

After we finished exploring Toulouse, (we went to a lot of shops and places but I didn't get pictures) we had lunch at a street cafe with their family friends.  I had duck for the first time which is a specialty in the south of France.  I really like it, tasted a lot like chicken!!  The street cafe we ate at was in the center of Toulouse where the political buildings were located.  There was a huge plaza area where a giant cross like symbol was on the ground. Each point represented a different astrology symbol.

My host sister and I are both Libras, so we are standing on our symbol in from of the capitol building of Toulouse.

To end up our very fun and eventful day, we watched the finals of the Toulouse Tennis Tournament.  The player from Toulouse lost, but it was still a lot of fun.  My host sisters father is president of tennis in Toulouse (there is someone who is president over each sport in France as I understand) so my family loves tennis.

Me in front of the award ceremony for the tournament.

A close-up of the awards ceremony from the tournament.

I had a wonderful first day in France!!  More posts to come!!

<never stop wondering, never stop wandering>
Marian