St. Bertrand Des Comminges, Interior

More of the cathedral St. Bertrand des Comminges...

Interior, nave, ceiling, part of screen

The organ; we enjoyed a bit of a rehearsal
before being hustled out for noon closing

Stuffed crocodile on the wall, one of nine in
France (many more in Spain); remnant of
Crusades, pilgrimages; it's a long story

Choir exterior

In the Gothic part, assorted bays and chapels

Altar, above it the tomb of St. Bertrand (Bernard)

Tomb of St. Bernard; OK, I am presently not clear on which
St. B this was...the one with the dog, the one with the pass,
the one who preached the Crusades, the one whose niece
was Heloise...; ANSWER: none of the above

Interesting graffiti in the passage-way for us pilgrims to
admire St. B

Inside the choir, looking east toward the bow

Looking west toward the stern

Up closer of the nice locally-done carving

Ditto

Misericord

St. Bertrand Des Comminges, Exterior

Our next stop, March 25th-26^th, was St. Bertrand des Comminges and its cathedral. The cathedral is of interest largely for its age, founded in the 11^th century, the usual ramshackle Romanesque-then Gothic affair. But old, with recycling of earlier Medieval pieces and also some Roman. The organ is one of the best such in France, renovated to 17^th century standards, and we enjoyed a rehearsal as we toured. The choir carvings are not in a class with, e.g., Auch, but they are still nice, especially for being locally done. The choir and rood screen carvings were not completed until 1535, and, understandably, they were not taken down as ordered by the Council of Trent. It is truly an out-of-the-way place, a cathedral in a village of 250.

Cathedral on a hill, above the Gallo-Roman town of
Lugdunum Convenarum (more later)

Recycled 11th-12th century puppy dog outside one of
Comminges' portals; we've seen this style before...secular
Norman, near Hereford, England

And this guy too, other side of the structure

Some beautiful restoration in the village

Interesting: flying buttresses on the
Romanesque part of  the cathedral...

Integral on the Gothic

Tympanum: adoration of the Magi

Recycled from the Roman town below

Ditto

And more in the little cloister; it all started
out as an abbey

Cloister

Rail-fanning the SNCF's Conseil General Midi-Pyrenees For Penelope

We couldn't ride a train and not take a few pix for Penelope. A small train, to be sure, but very quiet, comfortable, and quick.

The little station at Grimont

Our steed; one car long

Welcome to Toulouse

Returning to the station after a day in Toulouse...crossing
over the Canal du Midi, down there under the concrete

Crossing the Canal again, en train

And again

And the Garonne

And suburban Toulouse

The choo-choo ride is done, back in Grimont

Austerity Is Really Tough In Europe

Just be glad the austerians are not winning in the US...

Loose In Toulouse, 2

After lunch we walked more of the old town, mainly to see the Capitolium and the Jacobins church...

Another street scene

The Capitolium, traditional offices of government

West end of one of the weirdest chburches
yet, the Jacobins, in Toulouse

Weird especially because of its structure, interior lay-out...
a single file of thins columns; sort of like a circus tent

The vaulting increased in complexity as we headed east,
finally, here, in the chancel; one of the guide books explained
that the structure was dictated by 13th century property and
traffic circulation problems

Of primary interest, however, is the shrine
of St. Thomas Aquinas, the major theologian/
philosopher of the Catholic Middle Ages; it's
a Dominican church, and it got his bones

Grimont's nice little aire de camping-cars

Loose In Toulouse, 1

We have been near Toulouse several times but never made it to France's 6^th largest city, once the stronghold of the Visigoths, now the stronghold of France's formidable aerospace industry, makers, among other things, of the Airbus that got us across the Atlantic yet another time. We had reached our limit at Auch's aire, so we drove the 15 or 20 miles to Grimont and its larger aire, on a pretty lake, only a few hundred yards from the SNCF station and an hour's ride to Toulouse. FWIW, most of the campgrounds we have seen are still closed; not that we'd stay at them as long as there is room at the aire. Apart from the aerospace industry museum and various expositions—Antoine de Saint-Exupery got his wings here—most of Toulouse's sights are in the old city.

Great octagonal tower St. Sernin's Basilica

Inside, pretty stark, but some interesting
frescoes remain; the whole thing dates from
1080, France's largest strictly Romansque
church (so they say)

A bit of the nave and chancel

Another day, another Pantokrator (running gag)

Street scene; we had lunch along here at Attila, in the
Halles Victor Hugo, or somesuch, a market with restaurants
on the 2nd floor; not the greatest French fare, although
Vicki said the steak and frites were good

In a central square and park, the obligatory double-decker
merry-go-round

We theorize that Thomas is the French translation of
Woodrow

Auch Again

After a few pleasant days with Jane and Gordon we departed, first for Fleurance and then to Auch. Vicki wanted to see the great windows of the cathedral in Auch again, and its nearby, free aire de camping cars afforded us at least a short term base for further provisioning, washing, cleaning, repairs, replacements, reorganization, etc. It's a 15 minute walk to the cathedral. Well, 20, including the Escalier Monumentale. I've learned to use the medieval alleys instead.

Jane and Gordon's, from the barn/garage/workshop where
our camper spent the fall and winter

Auch cathedral, again; restoration
continues, now onto the west side; not much
seems to have changed on the Escalier
Monumentale, still passable, but with a huge
crain behind D'Artagnan (see August 2012
posts from Auch)

I vowed not to take any pix, but couldn't
help myself; just one here, the Delphic
Oracle window; still cracks me up that the
counter-reformation church would grasp
even the sybils to prop up The Faith

New store in town, the Tesla of tobacco?

Old store in town; not sure what the thumb-up is about...

Not quite spring here yet, but they're working on it, and
there have been a few nice days so far

Vernal Update

On March 13th we closed out our abodes in Menlo Park, bid fond farewells to Penelope, Rebecca, and Jeremy, and jetted to DC for a 4-day visit with Rachel and Will and their new home on notorious Hanover Place, NW. They've done a great job with the remodeling. After repacking, etc., we bid them fond farewells, and jetted first to Munich and then Toulouse, where we picked up our camper and enjoyed the fine hospitality of Jane and Gordon for a few more days. Presently, we are in Auch, picking up where we left off last August. We'll spend a few more days in France, repairing, refitting, readjusting, and then will head down to Spain, Barcelona, Madrid, then the north coast and more tapas. Then back through France to Cherbourg or Calais and the boat ride to the UK of GB and 3 Schengen-free months there. Including the Edinburgh Festival, High Claire castle, and a visit from Rebecca and Penelope. Then back through France and the Alps to Italy, a couple months there, closing out and returning to the US of A on or about November 19. The camper will be available for sale/delivery then. That's the detailed plan, anyhow. We hope all is well with family and friends.

Pix and further posts to follow, wifi permitting...

Penelope at her day-care school; we miss her so...

Rachel and Will of Hanover Place...