I am always surprised and pleased of what I find when I am out walking around Toulouse. Today being Monday was a slow day as most shops and restaurants are closed. I did my usual weekly laundry. This keeps me grounded in reality.

After laundry and lunch, I headed out to walk around the city which is my daily activity. I had no plan today – no grocery shopping, no activities that I had planned out – just a ramble. I walked down the main shopping street to the end. I had not walked the complete length of it before. I had always walked specific portions that allowed me to accomplish what I needed.

The road connects to the Garonne at the edge of the main part of the old town. I decided to walk over the bridge to see if I could see the Pyrenees in the distant. Unfortunately, the clouds blocked the view. The sun was shining and the day was beautiful but there were clouds around. As I approached the bridge I saw an outdoor modern sculpture. It is entitle the Tango Dancers.

I crossed the bridge and headed to a large park along the banks on the opposite side of the river from where I live. It is on the St. Cyprien side of the river. It was a marshy area that was used to filter water before it went into a medieval water tower for the city. I decided to enjoy the weather and read on a bench for a while. I looked around and saw a group of people practicing walking on tightropes. Not sure I would see that normally in Alexandria/DC area.

The pictures are not great but I did not want to the group to think I was so interested in them that I was talking pictures but I do not think they would have cared. The middle picture is them helping a woman walk across the tight rope. She and a friend approached them and asked them questions and then they were helping her try the tightrope.

After reading and enjoying the park, I kept walking. I grabbed a “petit” beer in the lovely weather at a local cafe. The sun does not set here until around 8:30 right now so the days are long and I enjoy the evening in the city. So the beer was at happy hour not midday.

I was still enjoying the warm weather and sun and walked over to the steps down to the river and sat down to read and just enjoy the city life. Next thing I know there were guys who were jumping from the bridge near the steps into the Garonne. I am guessing it was to post on the internet but am not really sure. They jumped twice about 30 minutes apart. The bridge is pretty high up and one was able to do a flip before landing in the water. The interesting part was no one really got excited about seeing this. A couple of girls gasped when they say it. There were a few claps but other than that no one even seemed interested or concerned about it.

They made it safely out of the river.

I watched the sunset after having fixed dinner. Another surprising and fun day in Toulouse.