Lautrec
Capital of pink garlic (which keeps much longer than the other sorts)
Toulouse-Lautrec is now much more than a name or some paintings – he is a model in a room of models, in the little town of Lautrec
Capital of pink garlic (which keeps much longer than the other sorts)
Toulouse-Lautrec is now much more than a name or some paintings – he is a model in a room of models, in the little town of
From the top of the rocky spur, above the windmill, you can see La Montagne Noire, the valley of the Agout and the Pyrénées on a good day. The medieval nature of the town is still apparent in houses, the market, church, fortified gate, ramparts. 
There is also a restored lavoir, where laundry was done. Who actually did the laundry varied from place to place: in the country it may have been the women of the family but as soon as the town got any size at all there were washer-women, who were paid to do this. In Paris there were 400 washerwomen on the banks of the Seine near the Conciergerie. Lacaune also had washerwomen. The frequency with which people did the washing also varied – weekly, monthly or seasonally. In these days of pushing a button it is perhaps worth a moment’s reflection. In my childhood we used a copper to boil the water for the washing and sinks to rinse it in. A transitional phase, perhaps. Not so far away.
There is also a restored lavoir, where laundry was done. Who actually did the laundry varied from place to place: in the country it may have been the women of the family but as soon as the town got any size at all there were washer-women, who were paid to do this. In
We visited a sabotier, a clog-maker. There are a number of sabotiers around, especially in the towns which trade off their medieval nature. This one had a film running, which showed each process, with examples on the walls behind of the shoes at various stages. Interesting. A friend of Isa’s, in St Bertrand de Comminges, got her grandfather to show her the trade and now makes sabots in St Bertrand, in the shadow of the church which is on one of the routes to St Jacques de Compostelle.
This is also pastel country (the blue) and garlic country (pink). This pink garlic should last the whole year. The producers sell to the wholesalers on the lawns of Lautrec every Friday morning from July to April. I wonder if we can grow this variety! I have also included a photo of a tree, in French called tilleul, 
in English a Lime tree. The word tilleul is used for the colour lime, and I thought it would be interesting to see what the tree looked like. Not to be confused with the fruit, lime, which is citron vert.
in English a Lime tree. The word tilleul is used for the colour lime, and I thought it would be interesting to see what the tree looked like. Not to be confused with the fruit, lime, which is citron vert.
Photos at:
