Day 16: Albi and the Lanuedoc Region

We drove through the picture post-card French countryside from Biarritz to Albi in the Lanuedoc Region.

Languedoc means "Language of Oc" and goes back to feudal times when this area was an independent country and got its name from the language at the time which included the pronunciation of the word for "Yes" which was "Oc." When Languedoc was absorbed by northern France, the language of Oc disappeared, and we were left with the traditional "Oui" for "Yes."

The main attraction in Albi is the Cathedral of Ste. Cecile, which is a massive gothic cathedral built in the 1200's entirely of bricks as opposed to limestone.

The interior of the cathedral was plastered and then elaborately painted, including the ceiling, and the paintwork is still visible today. In addition, the interior was adorned with lacy stone carving among the most intricate in France. And the cathedral boasts the largest pipe organ in France.

The other tourist attraction here is the Berbie Palace which houses the Henri Toulouse-Lautrec museum, where they have the largest collection of original works by Toulouse-Lautrec in the world. The Berbie Palace was the residence of the Catholic Bishop in Languedoc, and like the cathedral is built entirely of brick.

Many of the paintings we saw were incomplete, or were studies for his more famous works. A lot of the paintings on display are oil on board and are very dark. We assumed that most of his more colorful and more famous works are in private hands. For us the biggest attraction at this museum was the air conditioning. It is hot in central France once you get away from the beach!

The local cuisine is famous for cassoulet, which is a bean-and-meat stew with regional spices. We did not come to France to eat bean stew, so we went to a little restaurant we found called Ambroisie. It had only 7 tables and wonderful food.

My appetizer was homemade foie gras with homemade grape jam and stewed red fruits. Foie gras? I know, I would probably offend some PETA people, but hey--it's France! I had to have it once. And BTW it was buttery and especially delicious with the fruit!

Tim's appetizer was spicy split pea soup.

We both had "Marmite de Mer." Marmite means "pot" in French. And we got a pot of 3 fishes, shrimp, and scallops in a browned coconut milk sauce with couscous, julienned zucchini, and mashed potatoes. Superb!

We enjoyed Alibi, but it's not Biarritz. And the best thing is that it's half way between Biarritz and our first stop on the French Riviera! Ooh-la-la!