All France is shocked and in mourning. Here is the grand City Hall of Toulouse with its flags "en berne" - instead of half-mast, each flag is tied to the mast with a black ribbon.
Yes, I'm in France again - another cultural and language immersion program, this time in Toulouse, the heart of southwestern France. It is known as the "Ville Rose" - the pink city. There's no stone here for building, so they used, and use now, bricks. It's a material close to the Chicago part of my heart. The builders got very clever at making them look like stone.
On our orientation tour, we did get to see the interior of the City Hall, despite very tight security. The elegant hall below is used on formal occasions, and is also the Salle de Mariage - all marriages take place here. And I do mean all. To be legally married in France, a couple must have a civil ceremony at the town hall. Performed by the mayor in a fancy outfit. After, if they wish, they can go (sometimes by horse-drawn carriage) to a church, mosque, synagogue or oak tree for a religious ceremony. Then the party.
Our guide mentioned that sometimes there were quite a few weddings of a Saturday afternoon. I asked her if they were married en masse, an idea that she seemed to find quite amusing. No, but the record apparently was a September afternoon when the mayor had to perform 47 weddings.
Imagine a wedding under this fierce Marianne reaching for her sword! A harbinger of domestic battles to come?
Around the corner is the Tourist Information Office - another architectural wonder.
Toulouse is known as the most "Spanish" of French cities. Close to Spain, yes, and also a refuge for republican refugees of the Spanish Civil War in 1936-9. The next wave of refugees started in 1940 with waves of people fleeing Nazi occupation in eastern and northern Europe.
And now Toulouse is home to a very diverse population. Today was market day in the main square. What a riot of colors and sounds!
Included in the cultural mix was a group of women musicians, all medical students from the University of Coimbra, in Portugal. They were spending their summer traveling through Europe and singing for their supper. Yes, I gave.
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| Tuna Feminina de Medicnina - Universidade Coimbria, Portugal |
If any of you have an instragram account and want to see my photo-of-the-day (sent most days when I'm in the mood) during my month-long adventure, my account name is madamerandorf. I invite you to find me, as I sure as heck don't know how to find you. A big thank you to Alex for setting up the account and teaching me how to post.
Til next time….
