One of the main drawcards for me to go to Toulouse is its proximity to the town of Albi. Albi is famous for two things - its UNESCO-listed cathedral, and the famous Albi-born painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, whose work I just love. It was about a 40 minute train ride from Toulouse to Albi, and I got there pretty early, around 8:30am. The cathedral wasn't open yet, so I spent an hour or so wandering around, watching the little town wake up.
At 9:30, it was time to go into the cathedral. I visit a lot of churches but this was honestly one of the most beautiful that I have ever been to. The ceiling was just so gorgeous in the most brilliant shade of blue - the ceilings were painted in the 16th century and are haven't been touched since, so it was surprising that it was just so intensely coloured. The cathedral of Albi also claims to be the biggest brick building in the world... not something I would argue; it was huge! Anyway, I have a lot of photos of this beautiful building...
After visiting the church, it was time to grab a baguette for lunch then head to the Toulouse-Lautrec museum. You weren't allowed to take photos for obvious reasons, but I will assure you that you should visit this museum if you're interested in Toulouse-Lautrec or the early stages of advertising and design, as his posters for Jane Avril and the Moulin Rouge are some of the best examples of early French advertising. It was just such an amazing museum. Disappointingly, however, they didn't have any good books on Toulouse-Lautrec in the gift shop.
I wandered around the beautiful little town for a couple of hours, then walked over the Tarn River and caught the train from the station over on that side, back to Toulouse. That night I went to Le Colombier, a restaurant that is well-known for its goose cassoulet. It was absolutely delicious too.
