Toulouse (mostly) through Slovene eyes
One of the HC members in Toulouse that I had contacted wasn’t able to host me but he said he knows a Slovene student who would be very pleased to meet me, so when I arrived to Toulouse I called M. and after I took a shower we met at the central square called Place du Capitole and had a drink right there. He told me that Salamanca’s main square looks just the same; I didn’t get such impression later in Salamanca but it’s true that the Place du Capitole looks like a typical Spanish Plaza Mayor – a big rectangular open space, the focal point for all the main roads, surrounded by arcades and of course including the town hall and usually several other important buildings.
It’s M.’s 4th year as a post-graduate student in Toulouse but I’m the first Slovene he met here apart from family and friends. We talked a bit about our studies and comparison between studying in France (or many other countries) and Slovenia but quickly switched to gossip about the locals.
Local passions
As I could tell from the profiles of the HC members in Toulouse and what I read about the city (4th biggest in France), almost everyone is doing something in connection with aeroplanes or rockets. Airbuses are built here and it’s their greatest passion besides rugby (not football): when the new Airbus A380 went on the first flight on 27th April 2005, the airport was as full of people as a rugby stadium and for those who couldn’t come it was shown live on a big screen at the Place du Capitole – while on the ground there was a shape of the aeroplane in natural size. This is probably what he had in mind; I think the screen is in the top right corner. At the moment the people are not so excited due to delivery delays of A380.
Main sights
Later M. took me on a short night-tour of the main sights in the city centre: we saw St Stephen’s cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne), the Romanesque Saint-Sernin basilica, a result of Toulouse’s important position on the way to Santiago de Compostela, enjoyed a nice view on the bridges (photo stolen from la mairie de Toulouse):
and some other places that may or may not be described later.
Local transport
Yet another city I visited with only one metro line (after Sofia, Bulgaria and Genova, Italy), but there are plans of expansion, with line B under construction (obstructing the stroll around certain parts of the city at the moment) and scheduled to open on 30th June 2007. It’s quite unimportant for tourists, as you can get anywhere around the centre on foot; I guess it’s a different story if you’re into rockets and might enjoy Cité de l’espace.
Local food
Supposedly, when you come to Toulouse you have to try the fantastic very special and expensive local specialty called cassoulet, but I didn’t have time and probably I wouldn’t try it anyway, as M. said (and a Serb living in Toulouse agrees) that it’s pretty much like pasulj, a ubiquitous Serbian dish that is sooo “complicated” to make that it’s used in the saying “simple as pasulj“.
Local customs
I stayed in Toulouse for a very short time, so I didn’t have the opportunity to see it for myself, but comparing what M. told me and what I later saw in Spain, Toulousains and probably southern France in general have more of a South European character than (northern) Spaniards. If you’re walking around, you should wait until the red light is on, and then jump across the road. It actually makes sense, as while the green light is on for pedestrians, it’s also green light for drivers turning right across the road crossing – and there’s no way they will stop for anyone!
Local lingo
There are plenty of Spaniards and Portuguese working and living in Toulouse, so even during my short stay there I heard Spanish a few times on the streets. More interesting though is Occitan, a language spoken in southern France, though French is nowadays prevalent of course. It’s nowhere near official and it’s unlikely to be heard on the streets, but at least in downtown Toulouse, or Tolosa in Occitan, there are plenty of streets with signs in both languages, like this one (again, not mine):
more to come:
Studying in Toulouse
Local host
Local violence
Local shop (it’s not Royston Vasey after all…)
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