Basilique Notre-Dame de la Daurade

We continued to explore the lovely streets of Toulouse, admiring the wonderful architecture. Next stop was the Basilica of St. Sernin. Apart from the church, none of the abbey buildings remain. The current church is located on the site of a previous basilica of the 4th century which contained the body of Saint Saturnin or Sernin, the first bishop of Toulouse in c 250.

Constructed in the Romanesque style between about 1080 and 1120, Saint-Sernin is the largest remaining Romanesque building in Europe. The church is particularly noted for the quality and quantity of its Romanesque sculpture. In 1998 the Basilica was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the description: World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France.

We then headed off in search of a nice restaurant for lunch and we found one. Ian had spotted this place earlier and it looked good. It was called Gueuleton, Le Repaire des Bons Vivants. The name appealed. Great staff (the manager had lived in South Melbourne for 3 years pre-COVID) and great service, with quality wine and delicious food. We ordered a local variety we haven’t had before, an AOP Fronton, which is 100% négrette. We all thought it was excellent, a good lunchtime wine. Ian had wanted to try this wine, but most restaurants sold mainly Gaillac wines or wines from other regions of France. Our waiter explained that this was because many of the producers had moved into cheap bulk wine, and this has tarnished its reputation.

Brigitte and I had ceviche for entree and Ian had pork on a bed of hummus, and for mains Brigitte and I had steak and Ian had grilled pork loin. This was the first steak I have had this holiday and it was absolutely delicious. We also had fries and salad with the main. We could not consider dessert, but we did have a cortado with a bit of cream, which is very naughty but nice. The waiter was a bit cheeky and, because they didn’t have milk - which the French don’t have in their coffee - he loaded it up with clotted cream.

We then headed off to explore the old part of Toulouse, which is located just behind our apartment. This was our Airbnb host’s favourite area and it didn’t disappoint. Next instalment to follow.Read more