An excellent kind of market......

the market you stumble across when doing something unrelated..... 

Coat shopping for Mr L was proving to be harder than we thought. 

We had wandered though back streets, main esplanades and in & out of heaps of shops. 

No luck.

Until we came to this square.

The children & i had discovered it, by accident exploring one day. 

People eating lunch in the cafes lining the square had autumn leaves twirling down on them. 

Gorgeous.

And here we were again.

There was music, crowds and white tents.

Then i saw the sign....

Which insisted we enter...

There were craftsmen, putting together all kinds of creations...

Ah, the rainbow colours, even the variety of shades of brown....

Oh, sorbet, i love you too....

The boy had white.

Guess what colour the girl had.

But, of course....

rainbow boxes....

slabs.....

then the little buttons of colour. 

and finally, little squares...

brown & black...

Yes, it was a chocolate market. 

 There were artisans of many tastes and styles of presenting chocolate.

I was in sensory heaven. 

 There were even shutters....

once the ice creams were done, so were they.

Please stop taking photos, they begged.

Ok, until tomorrow.....

sparkle & twirl*

The town where we live...

I was told i hadn't really showed you much of where we live.

So this is a tiny sample. Call it part one.

 Walk along the old wall, near the river.

The old river wall. Hundreds of years old, eroded by centuries of flooding.

A photographic exhibition along the walls of the river. 

Excellent way  of using public space.

These photos are on massive banners 5meters high.

Visible from 2bridges.

 They have great walking track along both sides of the Garonne. 

Bit like our Linear Park, in Adelaide.

Used by families, joggers, cyclists, dog walkers, 

people with strollers, retired people, students, basically everyone.

Along side the Garonne are the ancient canals. 

The boats use this for transporting stuff, people live on them and cruise around.

 The city centre has a lot of the lot buildings, some are restored.

Some are really old.

 The water on the river is controlled by pumping stations on either side.

The flow is really regulated. The  high walls on each side still act as a levy.

Children love this place. 

 One of the many churches.

 This is half a hotel and half an administration building.

This is the name of a local hospital. 

In English it is not the one you would want to go to.

But i understand it is just serious not deadly. 

 Cute fire hydrant.

 Church spires when you look up.

 The Botanic Gardens has a little waterfall. 

In  predominantly flat city it is sweet people build hills for water to flow.

 Artists everywhere, painting. Mmmmmm....

Bendy streets. Which seem to curve and stretch out of ages....

Wonderful squares & gardens around many corners. 

Such a pleasant surprise to find these oasis.

The fashion is artwork.

The doorways captivate my imagination. 

I love the curvy building. 

Streets are not straight or linear here. 

Old sundial or clock.

Lost its arms.

H-armless time keeper. 

Shopping day.

I want to go in there.

My favourite .... shutters....

Rainbow coloured buildings, line narrow streets.

Doorways to apartments, which look more like old prisons.

Old & the new together along the shopping strip.

Just ...for you....

My feet hurt.

Off to explore some sunday markets.

sparkle & twirl*