Up and over the Pyrenees

Wednesday 2^nd April

Just a day of driving today to get to the town of Albi which is where the Toulouse Lautrec museum is located. The day has been overcast with drizzle on and off as we drove up through the mountains to get here. We have driven through part of the Pyrenees Mountains – mostly a good road and not too much traffic until we got off the twisty stuff. Very different country to what we have experienced so far, but still scattered throughout are grape vines and wineries.

We found ourselves here by 1pm and headed for the tourist office. Dora does a good job of getting us there but you usually can’t park there and we find ourselves going around the block once or twice (not always easy as a lot of the streets are one way and very very narrow!) At one stage today she took us right through the centre of an old part of town and we decided there was no way we were taking that road thanks very much. Thankfully it doesn’t take her too long to get over us disobeying her and she finds us an alternate route.

Street of the old city

Anyway, 1pm at the tourist office – and closed for lunch. Oh well, let’s do the Toulouse Lautrec museum – also closed for lunch. OK. We'll take the hint - let’s do lunch.

Lunch en plein air - quiche and an eclair

Had a good browse around the museum eventually – they have at least 100 pieces of TLs work. Rob was glad we got to see them after the efforts re Van Gogh and Cezanne. I’m not a big fan of TL but there were a couple of portraits that I did like. They have these tourist places all worked out here – you head off on a circuitous route that eventually brings you back to the start and the exit is out through the souvenir shop!

 

The courtyard of the museum/palace

Beautiful manicured garden at the palace

The museum is housed in the old palace of the Archbishop – built in the 13^th century. It is made of red bricks so quite different to anything we have seen so far. In the same area id the cathedral of Saint Celice which is the largest red brick church in the world. It was built over a period of 400 years, 100 years just for the foundations. Two thirds of the way up there is a line which was the original height, and then for some reason they went higher. Penis envy we decided!

Main entrance to the cathedral

See the line about half way up the long windows?
Obviously not high enough.

The inside of the cathedral was just beautiful

 This city is located on the Tarn River and today it is cold and very windy. As we headed out of the museum you could hear the wind whistling around the palace. We are in our hotel nice and early today – back to cheap as chips variety. There is a restaurant next door so we will go there for dinner so we don’t have to take the car out. A long drive through the mountains south tomorrow, to Carcassone.

More signs of Spring - daffodils and tulips

Oldest bridge still in use in France - built around 1064

And the newer bridge built at the end of WWII