September 4, 2023
Day 0 - Getting to Albi
No riding today, but a bit of tourist activity so I’ll post that.
Despite our best intentions, it was after 1100 before we rolled out of the garage. The bike is covered in the back since it’s going to spend the night in the car park.
We took the scenic route to Albi, via Castres, to avoid doing the autoroute into Toulouse. I’m REALLY tired of that drive!
We got to Parking Vigan in downtown Albi at around 1330. I had reserved a spot in this underground garage for the duration of our trip. By booking in advance, it’s cheaper. And we like having the car off the street in a safer location.
After sharing a sandwich at La Mie Caline (French fast food), we set off to explore Albi. We wandered through the narrow streets, which look much more prosperous than they did on our last visit in 2008.
After twisting and turning, we wound up at the big cathedral, St. Cecilia’s. A massive pile of red bricks, built to intimidate the local heretics after the Cathar crusades in the 12th century.
Inside, it’s gorgeous.
We walked around a bit and re-found the gardens that Robin remembered from our previous visit.
We also got our first glimpse of the Tarn river, which will be the star of the show for the next few days.
Someone is celebrating a birthday today. A birthday ice cream was consumed…
And then we wandered back to the car, picked up our bags, and checked into the birthday hotel “L’Alchimy”, where we have reservations tonight for a birthday feast.
I think that’s enough for today!
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