Stone-Faced in Toulouse

When walking around French cities, don’t forget to look up. Somebody might be looking down at you.

Oh, the things they’ve seen!

This one is wearing a lion skin. Look at that paw on the right.

And the next window seems similarly dressed, with the paws tied in front. Are those weapons on the left? Even then, women were smooth-faced, while men could have wrinkles.

This one seems happier, and with flowers, not animal skins. I also like the shutters, with that shade of almost-blue faded gray.

Sometimes you have to look way up.

This lady seems to be studiously ignoring the antics of the buffoons on either side of her.

There will be building after building with no more decoration than the character of their stones and bricks, which, truth be told, is mighty fine in itself. But then a building will have something–or someone–at every window.

Gorgeous railings, eh? They’re called garde-fous, which literally translates to crazy guards. 

The one above was a consulate, hence the barbed wire.

All the photos are from Toulouse.