Albi

Imposing view of the bishop's castle as you enter the old city over the bridge

old bridge and lock

Our last stop on the trip was Albi, home of  Henri Toulouse-Letrec, the artist who is best known for inventing the art of the poster.Albi is interesting because it is a medival city that made the transition to a vibrant modern environment while retaining the beautiful heritage. It was always a rich town and the bishop's palace/church are the most imposing structures we have come across in the region. The reason for the wealth of this city was due to the help they gave Rome in fighting the Cathars and the cultivation of the plant to cultivate indigo color used in the industry at the time. They were one of the oly ones at the time to use brick for construction (13th century).

The church - we listened to a concert  - see below

Gorges Du Tarn

Hotel De La Muse

Jennifer climbing to an platform overlooking the gorge. She tried to put on a brave face for the picture.

We stayed in the Millau area in a small village called Roziers (Hotel De La Muse). The river Tarn (we later met up with it again in Albi) formes this beautiful gorge which  at some points is so narrow and high that you it feels like the mountains are closing in on you from both sides.

Millau and the new "8th Wonder of the World"

We were talking on the phone with Michelle and all of a sudden we realized we were on this bridge. Like Machu Pitchu, unless you're there it's hard to describe the amazing sight of a bridge that just soars over an entire medieval valley with just 7 pillars touching down. It's hard to take pictures but here are some. This is the tallest bridge in the world.

Aigues Mortes or the French Dead Sea

We came upon this old city (founded in 12th century by King Luis IX (St Luis) who used it as a port for crusades.It's built upon the salt marshes in the area and it has some beautiful wild beaches and pink flamingos and waters (yes pink waters!). They have large desalination areas and export salt all over. The fortified city is unchanged since the 12th century and we stayed inside the old city (at Hotel St Louis) for a couple of nights with the French seaside tourists.We spent a day on the beach (Splendid beach). There is about a mile walk in the sand from the parking lot to the water. Although the beach was on the Mediterranean - the water was surprisingly cold.

Villerouge Termenès

After LaGrasse we were trying to find a place to stay for the night and came across another delightfull village with a medieval restaurant. We asked if they know of a b&b in the area and they pointed us in the direction of a small Hosteliere called xxx. It was a beautiful old (500 years) house. The owner had collected a beautiful set of antiques and bric&brac. It included a mechanical rotisserie which you wind like a clock to turn and then it rings a bell when ready. Attached are some pictures of the village where Jennifer was (fearfully) walking on top of the fortified walls. They also had a fully dress up Medieval Restaurant which we did not visit.

LaGrasse

LaGrasse is rated on of the most beautiful villages in France. The abbey is very nice and there is a whole artist colony in the village. However, for me, it was the fresh figs that i was able to pick off the trees (still not the season) was the main attraction.

Chateau Haut-Gleon and Abbey Fontfroide

On the way from Carcassone to Narbonne, we decided to take an Agite (French Bed and Breakfast) in a 13th century vineyard called Haut-Gleon( http://www.hautgleon.com/english/navigation.html). We slept in an old barn which was used by the shepherds. You had to climb a steep ladder to the loft to get to the bathroom so needless to say even Jennifer didn't shower very often.. From there we went to see a wonderful old abbey called Fontfroide (cold water fountain). It was one of the richest abbeys in the region which was known for the Cathar uprising. The French like their freedom and in the 12th century some people decided the Church was too oppressive and they decided to rebel. Simon Monfort and the crusaders crushed the movement and the abbeys that were faithful (and spied on their friends) were properly rewarded. Above, some pictures from this well preserved 11th century (founded 1093) abbey. Interestingly it flourished (only affected by the black plague) until 1791 - the French revolution and Napoleon when it was dissolved only to be reinstated by the French post Napoleon defeat by Wellington who brought the church back to France big -time. The power of the church finally vanished in France only in 1901 but it seems like the French took the  Church less seriously than the English for most of the last 2000 years.

Carcasonne

our guide/tour - sang better than he could speak

We stayed in a 2 star hotel called Montmorency, at the foot of the gate to the city. It was very convenient and had a 3 star sister hotel so we could take advantage of the pool. Jennifer fell in love with Claude (the hotel mascot). 

map of our travels

If you look at the map of the area we saw, it's quite a small area of France. We started in Carcassone. This is one of the largest fortified cities sill standing. It was started over 2,000 years ago and the mixture of architectures from different periods is very extensive. Many roman as well as gothic architectures...