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Article: Toulouse; Toulouse & Beyond: Artistic Havens in Southern France
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 22, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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When Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, the city of Toulouse already was
an established trading crossroads midway between the Mediterranean
and the Atlantic with a flourishing community of artisans working in
pottery and stone. Nearly 20 centuries later, Toulouse still
radiates an aura of artistic magic.
On summer nights the city's cobblestone plazas are transformed
into massive outdoor cafe's, and musicians carry on the medieval
tradition of the troubadours by singing to the crowd and passing the
hat. Come winter, students from the University of Toulouse and
cabaret philosophers-who look like time travelers from the Paris of
the 1930s-move indoors to Cafe' le Pere Bacchus to sip grand cups of ...