2012 Revel - Morlaàs Walking

For two days (40kms) the Via Tolosana follows the "Rigole de la plaine" a tributary of the Canal du Midi. This is not a natural stream, but a manmade structure feeding water from Montagne Noir into the canal. The construction of this meandering stream (it follows the contour lines) started in 1668. It is a nice, slightly descending walk under shady trees with much time to think about the genious ideas of Pierre-Paul Riquet.

Just a few kilometers west of Revel and futher on following the "Rigole de la plaine", I could see Saint-Félix Lauragais on the hill. Just like last year, we again spent a very pleasent evening, having dinner on the terasse of the a restaurant "La table de Marguerite" run by the Austrian family Kueng. The terasse borders on to the market square with it´s nice hall. Since some years, the Kuengs are trying to "revitalize" the former Hotel "La Cocagne" - but in summer 2012, the hotel was still "under construction". The large structure on the right is the "château", while the steeple on the left belongs to the "collégiale". There is a very informative website (in French) all around the history of Saint-Félix Lauragais. www.lauragais-patrimoine.fr/VILLES_ET_VILLAGES/SAINT-FELI...

Near Montferrand, after having passed the Minoterie de Naurouze, once a flour mill, this large obelisk dedicated to Pierre-Paul Riquet, the creator of the Canal du Midi, towers on a small hill. The obelisk was built by his heirs in 1827. Here is what Wikipedia has about this genious engineer en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Paul_Riquet fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Paul_Riquet de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Paul_Riquet

Walking this wonderful avenue, I could already hear the boats on the Canal du Midi. They were waiting in front of the lock.

After that pleasant walk down the Rigole, the Via Tolosana now for a while run parallel to the motorway A61 ("Autoroute des Deux Mers"), a very noisy experience. I stopped in Villefranche-de-Lauragais, a bastide once founded by Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint Louis. The fortified, gothic church "Notre-Dame de l'Assomption", seen here, was built after the cruisade against the Cathars.

At a self-service-lock of the Canal du Midi, I met these Kiwis, who cruise the French canals since a decade. They had sold their house in Kerikeri to buy the TIKI, seen here. Kerikeri is a rural town near New Zealand´s Bay of Islands, where, close to famous "stonehouse", I had spent some time about a "century" ago. What a wonderful surprise! What a mindblowing chat! World is such a small place! Pauly Fuemana sat in my ear singing the best known Kiwi-hit ever "How Bizarre". www.myvideo.de/watch/1397643/OMC_How_Bizarre

Houseboats of all shapes, colours and sizes line the Canal du Midi in Toulouse. Some of them have even gardens "on deck", where vegetables grow.

The Basilica of St. Sernin in Toulouse, built about 1080 - 1120, is the largest still existing Romanesque church in France. It was built, to accommodate the many pilgrims, as Toulouse has always been a very important stop on the way to Santiago de Compostella. It is said, that pilgrims, who, for what reasons ever, could not make it to Santiago, tried at least to reach St. Sernin in Toulouse. I had been here before, but this time I had reached the place by foot, what makes quite a difference. The church seemed larger than ever - and I decided to stay in Toulouse over the weekend.

As I spent the long weekend in Toulouse, I had time to visit the "Couvent Des Jacobins" again (as well as other churches). This is a large monastery, built for (and by) the Dominicans from 1230 on. Part of the monastery is the "Eglise des Jacobins". This church is for me one of the most outstanding, breathtaking gothic structures, I have ever been in. The 80 meters long church has one row of pillars in the center. Each pillar is 22 meters high, the "palmiers" even reach 28 meters. Since 1385 the church held a shrine, containing the relics of Thomas d'Aquin. These relics were transfered to Sant Sernin during the French Revolution. In 1974 the golden shrine, containing the relics, returned to the "Eglise des Jacobins" - and can be seen here.