Christophe and Jean-Claude laid out a spectacular breakfast in the garden early in the morning — so gracious. Then we set off for Toulouse. It was going to be a very hot day with 76 km and a gradual uphill the whole way, so we agreed to meet Norbert in Verdun-sur-Garonne and take the van for the final stretch into the city.
Just after setting out we crossed another pont-canal outside Moissac — impressive but becoming routine — and then discovered something genuinely remarkable: the Montech Water Slope. Instead of building several locks, the engineers built essentially a water elevator to lift floating boats up to the next canal level. It gets its own album below, since it’s mostly of interest to geeks like us.
We pressed on to Verdun-sur-Garonne and tried to locate a castle visible from the river side of town. Sadly it’s now a private estate, so we couldn’t get close. Later research showed it has a long and not terribly complimentary history.
We had Perriers on the main square while Norbert somehow fitted four eBikes into the van, and drove the rest of the way to Toulouse.
In Toulouse we checked into the Hôtel Albert 1er, admiring the gold streamers adorning the streets — a festival decoration. We got lunch at Barbaque Victor Hugo, a very satisfying air-conditioned refuge.
After lunch we walked through the heat to see the Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse, another UNESCO-recognized cathedral and impressively large. Then a brief look at the Église Notre-Dame-du-Taur, which has a very odd facade for a church. The story: Saint Sernin was martyred by being dragged through town behind a bull — hence du Taur (of the bull) in the name.
A quick look at the Place du Capitole and then back to the hotel. By that point it was 40° C. We’d eaten so well at lunch that dinner was a cheese platter and charcuterie in the hotel.
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