Toulouse 29th May 2013

Finally my allergies have subsided! Apart from the occasional debilitating sneeze it seems yesterday's rain and today's cloudiness have defeated southern France's considerable pollen level, meaning today was a great day to explore Toulouse.

I really like this city, though I have trouble comparing it to anywhere else I have been. It is no Paris, where thousands are on the street at any time. Neither is it Vienna, with its Imperial legacy. And it is unlike Amsterdam, too, that city is far too maritime in character. And Toulouse is sprawling and doesn't climb upward like any American city.

But the houses are colorful, the streets are narrow and lively, and I did not find a visibly impoverished area here like I did in the other cities I have visited on this trip (though I am sure it must exist somewhere).

It just seems like a city comfortable with its mixed French, North African, and even Spanish influences. None of the other cities seemed this cosmopolitan, which seems strange considering Toulouse is smaller than the others. This seems also to run counter to the American trend where smaller communities seem more insular.

That said, though, I did not wander upon any Jewish heritage in Toulouse like I did everywhere else. It is a big place and I cannot say that a Jewish quarter does not exist, but the other cities were bigger and I found theirs. Perhaps Toulouse is not so cosmopolitan, or has not been historically, at least, as it seems.

Tonight I pack again and tomorrow is spent on a train to Lyon. I am excited to go to Chalons sur Saone on the day after but I am having a very hard time finding any information on the camp there. I will have to "wing it" (like I have on most of this trip, honestly).

I also am very excited now to go home. This trip has been immensely rewarding but I am exhausted and long to be in Vermont. But, not much longer!

Until tomorrow!