Villemur sur Tarn

One of the French teachers at the middle school where I'm going to teach very kindly offered to let me stay with her and her family, and it has been a pleasure to stay with them. Not only is the family absurdly kind to me, and the food they serve tasty and healthful, and their house spacious and comfortable; they live in a charming little village called Villemur-sur-Tarn about ten minutes outside of Fronton and even smaller. The literal translation of "Villemur" is "wall-town," and when you see it from across the river the name makes perfect sense, for it has been built atop a wall rising up from the river Tarn. It's a medieval village, built at a time when defense was a high priority. From that point of view, Villemur is in a very good location since it borders a river on one side and is protected by a ridge on the other. Geography prevented the town from spreading, so the medieval village is still visible. The most notable building is the Tour de la Defense, built in the 12th century and into the 13th. Right on the river and just next to the main bridge, the circular tower and attached rectangular building are the first things you see coming into town. Once across the river, looking back, the mill from the early 20th century is also visually striking, along with the columns in the park on the other side of the bridge.

As a woman from the West Coast of the U.S., where even the oldest buildings are from maybe the 19th century, I was enamored with the appearance of the town, but its charm does not stop there. The local Sunday market was filled with groups of women, families, and old couples chatting in the sun as well as local produce, dried fruits and meats, and flowers. When I opened a bank account the banker was extremely friendly: he was happy to explain things simply and repeatedly in his thick southern accent. I felt even more content when I heard from a friend of mine about her banking experience in Toulouse, where she found the banker abrupt and frankly rude. I am excited about the opportunities to socialize and go to museums in Toulouse, but I feel lucky to have happened across the anachronistic peace of Villemur first.