Travels

Carcassonne Day 1 Saturday 30 September Travelled to Carcassonne by train from Albi via Toulouse on Friday. As always, Saturday is market day. It’s the best time to arrive into a new town and this was no exception. We were able to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables. This

Albi Day 7 Friday 29th September Today is farewell to Albi, but there are still a few things to share. Our apartment, located in a 12th century private mansion was originally the home of a wealthy Albi businessman who was condemned for Catharism (considered to be a form of heresy

Albi Day 6 Thursday 28th September After traveling as a band of 3 for the last 3 weeks, it changed today as we farewelled Sue. She caught the train to Paris then onto Prague to meet up with her daughter to travel for another month on the continent. Being our

Albi Day 5 & Musee de la Mode Wednesday 27th September Albi has a fashion museum.  It’s a private collection with a wide range of fashion and clothing collected from the 1700’s through to the present day. It is housed in a former monastery. A feather jacket with the close

Albi Day 5 – Cordes-sur-Ciel – Albi Wednesday 27th September It was an early start this morning to catch a local bus to Cordes-sur-Ciel, the village above the clouds, although there were no clouds today. It was another perfectly fine day. The village dates back to 1222, built to resettle

Albi Day 4 Tuesday 25th September A day to take things easy. I did a little bit of local exploring, popped into the other church, Saint Salvi which is even closer to our apartment than the Cathedral. It was built in the 11th century and is an interesting mix of

Midnight in Albi

Albi Day 3 Monday 25th September Today is all about Albi. I took a short tour to learn a little of the history. There is SO much history that it’s difficult to take in. The first civilization recorded for this area stretches back thousands of years to the Bronze Age.

Albi Day 2 & the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia Sunday 24th September Although construction of the Cathedral commenced at a similar time to the adjacent Berbie Palace, it took more than 200 years to complete.  Its exterior resembles that of a fortress, possibly influenced by the bishops who oversaw the

Albi Day 2 & The Berbie Palace Sunday 24th September The Berbie Palace or Bishop’s Palace dates back to 1228 with three major construction phases during that century. They were dominated by three bishops, who had variously obtained wealth and power in the region whilst in direct conflict with the

As in the movie, but I just couldn’t find Owen Wilson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Gertrude Stein, Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec or T.S. Eliot!!

Albi, Occitanie Saturday 23rd September Our apartment is opposite the covered market, which operates every day of the week. In addition a large produce market sets up every Saturday. So we went shopping for supplies.

Paris – Toulouse – Albi Friday 22 September A travel day today. Taxi from the Marais district to the train station at Paris Montparnasse. It’s about a 4-1/2 hour journey to Toulouse, before catching a local train across to Albi. We have travelled through some very fertile agricultural areas today.

Our Paris apartment

Paris & the Royal Visit Friday 22nd September The presence of the emergency services is evident all day and night long. After describing Singapore as such a quiet city, by comparison Paris is very noisy with the constant scream of sirens.  Add to this there is also the visit to

Paris Day 6 Thursday 21st September It’s a rainy day today and umbrellas were necessary during the morning. Being our last full day in Paris we went our separate ways to explore before meeting up again in the early afternoon for another adventure. I crossed the river and visited my

Paris Day 5 Wednesday 20th September Our outing today was up to Montmartre. It’s a large hill on the northern side of Paris and historically home to artists, the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur (Sacred Heart), and the nightclub district, which includes Moulin Rouge. Some of the artists who lived and worked

Paris Day 4 – Chateau  de Versailles Tuesday 19th September Diane and I traveled about an hour out of Paris to the Palace of Versailles. Originally the old hunting pavilion of Louis XIII, it was transformed by Louis XIV when he installed the court and government there in 1682. Today