Albi, Home of Toulouse Lautrec

We came to Albi just to see the museum of the hometown hero, Henri Toulouse Lautrec. He was born here in 1864. But we got so much more. It's yet another charming small town in France. And we had no idea that the Cathedral is a UNESCO world heritage site. It was amazing, and that's saying something from someone who is "churched out."

The Musée Toulouse-Lautrec included mostly early works that his mother collected and saved. It was nice seeing his style progress to what he became famous for. The building itself was fantastic, a former Bishop's palace from the middle ages.

There was no mention of the genocide of the Cathars, the plans of which probably originated in these walls. The Cathars were a Christan sect deemed heretics in the middle ages. They lived throughout Occitania, this southern region of France. Historians think about one million were tortured and killed.

But enough of the fun stuff! The town today is clean and friendly, with lots of pedestrian streets. It's on the river Tarn and there's an old bridge that only pedestrians use now. Many of the older buildings are made in the half-timbered style.

For lunch, we found a local restaurant offering a plat de jour. Fantastic meals for two that we couldn't finish cost less than $40 without wine. Mine included 3 types of seafood in a wine sauce, and a delicious appetizer of an Arancini in a mushroom duxelle (mince). I discovered Arancinis in Sicily, where they are from. They're deep fried rice balls stuffed with the chef's choice. They're absolutely delicious and gluten free.

One night wasn't really enough but we did see the major sights. Bordeaux beckons!

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