Blog #6: Wedding in Toulouse - August 29 - 31

We arrived in Toulouse via AirFrance and got settled into our Airbnb in the late afternoon. We quickly realized we had left the Spanish Olé environment and entered the more demurred, distant and impersonal French entourage. Luckily, our Airbnb was lovely, small, compact, clean and comfortable, almost like a dollhouse.

Our visit to Toulouse was solely motivated to attend Maja and Julien's wedding. At the planning stage travelling to Toulouse seemed simple. We really wanted to attend the wedding of a good friend, and given Toulouse's proximity to Barcelona we felt that it made sense to travel the extra miles. We really failed to foresee that this would imply crossing social, cultural, political and geographical boundaries, which in real life seemed like a lot to undertake given our extensive touring in Spain.

Our time in Toulouse was low key, as we needed to recover from the roller coaster of experiences in Spain. Nonetheless, we managed to walk around to explore the area. We crossed the New Bridge by foot, above La Garonne, and reached the Capitol or main plaza after zigzagging through the narrow, antique-looking streets that converged into the downtown core. We explored our surroundings at a distance, and laid low to ready ourselves for the big event ahead of us, Maja and Julian’s wedding!

   

Maja and Julian's Wedding, Les Mas de Cannelles (August 31)

On August 31^st we managed to get our nails done paying a fortune and receiving mediocre service. We assumed that we could call in a taxi before heading off to the ceremony, since in Spain the taxis were at the door step. Not in Toulouse. Getting to the wedding on time was some sort of miracle, because street taxis were nowhere to be found, and the taxi companies did not seem to have any taxis available at the time. Finding a cab was very stressful and costly, to say the least.

The wedding was idyllic. It took place in the outskirts of Toulouse, in an classy and sober facility, called Les Mas de Cannelles, a sort of mansion bordered by a garden. Its central patio led to the wedding hall and then a spacious high ceiling banquet room lined with textured, red brick walls that gave it a fortress personality.

The ceremony was memorable. We could sense the joy of the bride and groom and the two families that came together in a space and time to celebrate the union of their beloved. The Rabbi’s speech, while a bit too long, conveyed a marvellous message. He stated that the bride and groom’s union was a miracle comparable to the miracle of the Red Sea opening to let the People of Israel cross to the land of milk and honey. He explained that the chances for two people from two continents to meet were slim, yet the meeting happened. He added that in a holy union, G-d is rejoicing for He has brought two people together to become One.

As is customary at a Jewish wedding, we dined, wined and danced with the bride and groom and the family. We were moved to hear the bride sing to the groom as if she were a Hollywood star. They truly beamed with joy and pride assuring everyone that they were meant to be together. Amen!

We were lucky getting a ride to our Airbnb thanks to the kindness of a couple sitting at our table, who were actually the groom's uncle and aunt. Nonetheless, we got to bed at 2:00am and only rested for 3 hours given that our flight to Paris was at 8:00am the same day. That night, I beat myself up for planning such an early departure and allocating only one day to visit Paris. What was I thinking!