Albi is a charming old town about an hour’s drive from Toulouse. Its architecture is a fascinating mixture of tumbling down ruins, beautifully-restored old brick houses, and modern embellishments.
The public showers were open and ready for business. How convenient that you can tell that smelly person sitting next to you on the bus, “Here’s a euro, please go have a shower on me.” Of course he’d probably use it instead to buy a bottle of yummy local wine.
I’m usually in a perpetual state of church burn-out, but Albi’s was worth a visit. We paid a couple euros for an audioguide which did a good job of pointing out some amazing details, such as the richly-colored ceiling frescoes which have never been restored.
The big highlight of Albi is the Toulouse Lautrec Museum. Albi was his birthplace, and the museum holds an excellent collection of his paintings and prints.
The museum is housed in the former bishop’s palace. I’m sure these fancy gardens must have helped the bishop do god’s will or something.
Street signs in Albi are posted in two languages, French and Occitan. It’s amazing how many languages you’ve never heard of you can find lurking around Europe.
We ended the day with a fabulous dinner at Ambroisie, a cute little restaurant specializing in tarts.
I love what you call "church-burn out." It's really a common problem among expats in Europe.
Albi looks like a great town though.
I visited Albi in 1984 and when I saw you were posting about it, I was hoping you would show the garden behind the Lautrec museum. Still lovely.
Great pictures looks like a nice quaint place to visit.
Great photos. Loved the comment about the gardens helping the bishop do god's will.