GR653 Via Tolosana, last part: Day 1 Toulouse - Leguevin

You have feet, and if you don’t make use of them it’s a loss and a waste.

 ― Thích Nhất Hạnh, How to Walk

Today we finally started using our feet again!

We crossed the centre of Toulouse, very quiet early on a Saturday morning. 

Le Capitole

Adieu Toulouse ! 

Once out of the city centre we quickly found the "coquille St. Jacques" symbols posted by the local branch of the Amis de Saint Jacques, indicating a more direct route to Léguevin than the GR653, which takes a long and winding route around the city airport and through a forest. Much of today's route was on the sidewalks of paved roads, but it wasn't ugly! 

Natural beauty even amid the concrete

We stopped for a lunch break in Colomiers, home to the Airbus factory.  

Assorted bits of planes outside the Airbus factory

Then the trail took us to a book exchange in a former telephone booth, where we stocked up on reading material - my choice was Cours de Langue et de Civilisation Français, pour les étudiants de tous pays, ouvrage coronné pour l'Academie française, 1963 edition. After drinking all my water and eating an apple to make up for the weight of the book, we resumed our way and passed through the charming village of Pibrac, a pilgrimage destination in its own right with the Basilica of Sainte-Germaine.

From Pibrac we took a grassy path alongside the railroad tracks to Brax and then down the road to Léguevin, where we had read that the Maison Saint-Jacques offered pilgrims a particularly warm welcome. But when we arrived, tired out from a whole day of using our feet - which can be quite a shock to the system on the first day after a long winter of indoor life - we were surprised to find it shut and locked! 

Coming up with an alternative plan

Calling the number on the door, we were told it was closed because of a problem (the exact nature of which my limited French did not allow me to understand). A couple more phone calls revealed there were no alternative accommodations in the vicinity, so we took a bus back to Colomiers, the Airbus town, where we were able to find an inexpensive hotel next to the train and bus station, so we can easily get back to where we left the trail in the morning. 

Toulouse - Leguevin 24.5 km