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Showing posts with the label Toulouse

Toulouse - The Bull and the Martyr

Rue Saint Taur The history of Toulouse is deeply entwined with its patron saint, Saturnin (Sernin), who was martyred in the third century.  According to legend, Saturnin, the first bishop of Toulouse, was chained to a taur or bull that dragged him down Rue du Taur. The Church of Notre Dame du Taur is standing on the exact spot where the corpse of Saint Saturnin was detached from the bull as it rampaged down the street. Façade of Notre Dame du Taur The Church of Saint Saturnin was renamed Notre Dame du Taur after the Basilica of Saint Sernin was built to accommodate the vast numbers of pilgrims who stopped by Toulouse on their way to the Church of St. James in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.  The genealogy of Jacob, Notre Dame du Taur This 14th century fresco of the genealogy of Jacob was one of the highlights of my visit to Toulouse. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Sarah and the grandson of Abraham. The 12 Tribes of Israel traces its lineage to Jacob. Joseph, the foster father of

A patch of green

"God almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures." Francis Bacon  Jardins du Palais de la Berbie, Albi. "Bare feet on the grass comfort the spirit and connect the body to the earth all at once." Maximilian Degenerez Pont Vieux. Aude River, Carcassonne. "Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." Warren Buffett  Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, Nîmes. We need to take our children out more often to reconnect with nature. Place Wilson, Toulouse. In this medieval village, nature trails down the sides of stone houses and the scent of oranges permeate the air.  St. Paul de Vence, Provence Alpes-Maritimes. Metal goes well with a patch of green, n'est ce pas?  La Tour Eiffel, Paris. "I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree." Joyce Kilmer Place des Quinconces, Bordeaux. A patch of green will do a world of good