Day 52: Tolosa: to market, to market, to buy ... ?

Disclaimer: All voyages in this blog are being taken safely in the comfort of our imaginations - based on our plans and intentions for travel in 2020. What is reality after all? 

Our last day in Spain for this trip!  Tomorrow, it's off to France.

This will be a quick account of the day in Tolosa - with lots of pictures and few words. What is there to say about famed farmers' markets after all?  Or maybe that's just me. (Pat may add some words of appreciation...)

The day started with breakfast in our hotel, looking out into the plaza's arcades:

where, since 5.30 am, one of the markets had been setting up:

We'd read about this town's fabled markets for many years - perhaps most recently in an article in The Age - and we made sure we were here on a Saturday when the whole town, it seems, becomes one huge produce market. It was our intention that we'd be immersed in this, with all these markets very close to us.

A short distance away, on the river back, was the main one: the Mercado del Tinglado. You can enter this from various points; we started at the nearer end, just near the bridge:

and proceeded to wander along it. Words fail us here, with the diversity of offerings - so some random images will have to do:

We're also reminded that we'd heard about produce from this area many years ago, when staying in the Basque country but on the French side of the border, and had a tea towel that we bought there with all the details:

So it was particularly significant to find the famed pimentos from Tolosa on sale here:

Apart from the produce, the visuals of the market are amazing, enhanced by its position, with large windows onto the river:

We exited on this side of the building and walked along the boardwalks that were constructed over the river:

until we came out at the far end and into the streets of Tolosa:

While looping round, we found another market - the smaller Berdura Plaza - that specialised in flowers and plants:

Near there, too, was a stone gateway - the Puerta de Castilla - that we initially glimpsed along a street:

This was one of the original gates in the defensive walls of the town (now long gone):

and it seemed to have some strange things hanging within the arch.  We never discovered what they were - perhaps an art work:

While several plazas were occupied by the markets, there were many others scattered around the city, which makes for nice open spaces within the intense building development:

 We crossed the river, looking back on the main market area:

and climbed the hill on the other side of the river:

from where we could get a great view over much of the town:

When we returned to our hotel for a rest, we found a small festival happening in one of the squares - but again couldn't find its significance:

That evening, we again ventured across the river (only a short distance away) to a recommended restaurant, Casa Julián, which was decidedly not a vegetarian or vegan place:

On the outside, it looked unpretentious, but inside it had a great set of open spaces of shared tables, even if people had called it 'rustic':

and a well-used oven for roasts and grills:

Apparently, this restaurant has been featured in a British television series on great places to eat, and is #1 in TripAdvisor, so we were lucky to stumble in and find a place.

We simply ordered one plate:

and some greens:

and that sufficed for both of us, and left space for dessert - Casa Julián is also reputed for its cheesecakes:

There's more to offer in this town than just the markets. I hope we can return at some stage, but for now, it's early to bed, as we have a long drive tomorrow.