These are some shots from a roll of film that I exposed back in November. Unfortunately the roll suffered a blow from the airport X-ray machine on my way home for the holidays, but here are the few shots that were salvaged.

The boulanger shows up at every market, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. His baguettes are 10¢ more expensive than those of brick-and-mortar bakeries, but they taste better for some reason.

Construction in Place de la Clautre has been ongoing since my arrival. The workers’ progress in retiling the plaza has become a way of marking the passing of time in this small city. Just as time seems to pass more slowly in the winter, so too has the pasting and laying of tiles slowed during the colder months.

I arrived in Toulouse at 4PM on a Friday. My train was delayed and when we finally pulled into the station I heaved my duffel bag onto my back and strolled into the street. It was warm but cloudy, and my lower back sweated under the heat of my pack. Walking in the direction of my hostel, I was stopped in my tracks by a crowd of people. They were standing in front of two massive mechanical beasts: a Minotaur and a scorpion-woman. The beasts were not moving but the crowd was agitated and soon the performing troupe clambered into position, prodding at the panel that controlled the machines. The musicians strummed into life, creating an epic soundscape that reverberated off of the nearby buildings. Lifting my gaze, I saw that I was standing at the end of a giant boulevard. What I had imagined to be a small crowd really numbered in the thousands, stretching like a river toward the center of the city. My hostel was in that direction, beyond the pulsating mass of people. As the machines roared, breathing fire and puffing smoke through their animatronic nostrils, I walked briskly alongside them. My large duffel bag made it difficult to keep from bumping into people. All eyes were on the machines. I snapped pictures as I walked. The monumental creations sent the city into wondrous exhilaration, and in that grand Toulousain introduction I was swept up in fanfare.