On the move again, Paris to Albi

We had to be up early to catch our train from Montparnasse station to Albi via Toulouse. To ensure we arrived in plenty of time, we booked an Uber. Pierre, our Uber driver, got us there well ahead of schedule so we were able to have an espresso before boarding our TGV to Toulouse. We had been advised by the train company that the Toulouse to Albi regional train was cancelled due to a local strike. We didn’t receive any advice that alternative arrangements had been made until we were 10 minutes out of Toulouse. The replacement busses that had been arranged were scheduled to leave at 2.30 pm so, as we had some time, we grabbed a quick bite at the McDonalds located at the train station before walking the short distance to the bus station.

Finally we were all on the crowded bus and on our way to Albi. We were dropped off at the train station and found a little shuttle bus that took us about half the way to our hotel. We then had to walk the rest of the way through the centre of the city over cobblestones to get to our hotel. Poor Brigitte was a bit hot and bothered by the time we arrived.

We checked into our hotel, The Mercure Albi Bastides. The hotel is situated in an old building right on the river Tarn, and has wonderful views back over to the old city centre. We had an easy evening, starting with a pre-dinner drink at the bar and dinner out on the terrace. Here we had sensational views over the river and old city as the sun set. We tried the local wine which comes from the Gaillac region located close to Albi. It was delightful and very reasonably priced. Tomorrow we begin to explore the city with a food tour booked for the morning.Read more