T stands for …..taking you back to Albi

As promised the other day I am taking you back to Albi - we went on the recommendation of my SIL, who had told us that if we were going to Carcassonne then we should definitely fit in a day in Albi. We arrived on a drizzly Sunday afternoon and on walking down to the main square we found a pottery fair going on.

There were some lovely pots but as we were travelling by train it didn't seem like a good idea to buy any!
We had a little wander around in the drizzle!



As it was getting late, we went to a little restaurant tucked away in a corner behind the the cathedral
Of course it's time to share a drink with Bleubeard and Elizabeth for T stands For Tuesday!

 At first we were on our own, so I took the chance to take some photos.

 Chilled soup for starters

 Water to drink with our meal.
The photo I took of our fish main course came out blurred but here is my pineapple and ice-cream dessert….

 …and our coffee!

The next day was sunny, we went into a church/abbey and through to the gardens…..

…where we saw this lady arrive and get a tin of cat food out of her bag and feed this cat who was clearly waiting for her!

Yay! Pear shaped tomatoes!

After that we visited the Cathedral and then after a quick(late)lunch (in this post)we went to the Toulouse Lautrec Museum which will have to have a post of it's own!
It was still sunny when we came out so we took a walk over the Vieux Pont(Old Bridge)

 We walked past the Museum of Miniatures….

 …it was closed but a peek at what was in the window showed fabulous details 

We walked to L'eglise Madeleine...

…where I picked up some conkers...

…and made my own little bit of natural art and took a photo of the cathedral.

 Each bus shelter had art posters - this is the only one without waiting queues.

 The new Arts centre has a wire cladding and is quite a landmark too!

 This traditional bandstand was close to the hotel.

Our view of the sunset on the arts centre.
After this we went to for a meal and the next morning after a short walk to buy gifts we set off for Bordeaux.

I hope to show you the Lautrec museum later this week and something exciting too! 

Happy T Day, Thanks for looking, Chris

Live your life!

I'm enjoying some time with our grandchildren at the moment but I made this a few days ago. 
It's another entry for Elke's 'Landscapes of the Soul' at Art Journal Journey.

We sometimes try to ignore the past and hide away as this Paper Artsy Lynne Perrella lady seems to want but if we look way back into the past to our ancestors we know that they have lived their lives so that we can live ours. Some of the elements of this page are there to remind me of this and that's all I'll say on the matter!(can't have you nodding off!!!)

Thanks for looking, Chris

Albi cathedral

I have more photos for you - this time of our visit to Albi Cathedral - there will be more about Albi on Tuesday but for now I think there is more than enough for this post,

This was the view we had from our hotel room.
Albi Cathedral is built of red brick as the local stone was not suitable for building.

Apart from the fabulous entrance, the outside is not very ornate, but inside….

 ….well as you can see…. 
The cathedral has chapels all around the sides.

The next two photos are of the Final Judgement done by Flemish painters

We went behind the Rood Screen into the choir - this is where I just sat for a long time to take it all in, so many beautiful carvings, statues and paintings. 

My last view from Albi Cathedral as it was on our visit - this was by the door on our way out.

I have so many more photos!

Thanks for looking, Chris