Albi is one of the three "red cities" in southern France. Only slightly less famous than Toulouse, it gets its name from the red bricks used in most of the old houses. Albi was about 2 hours away from Carcasonne, following a terribly scenic road through forests and mountains, plus all the quaint small towns beckoning to us like Greek sirens. Most of the small towns were along the Aude River, which snaked itself right through Carcasonne.
After the Salad Revival, we went back to the Cathedral of St. Cecilia to tour. Heavily Gothic, this one had brightly colored gesso paintings all over the ceiling, and a huge depiction all over the front behind the altar of the Judgment. The bottom layer was all the people roasting and skewered, the next level was a procession of penitents, and the upper layer was a congregation of saints with hymn books. I'm guessing it was a serious deterrent to sin in a 14th century congregation. There was no picture of Jesus or mercy anywhere. Then we read the tablet in the back. In the very center, just behind the altar, there were two pulleys which seemed to suspend some sort of tapestry that was missing. The tablet showed the front of the church as it should be, with a huge tapestry of Jesus in the direct center, stretching from the floor to the soaring ceiling. I wish it had been in place. As Cecilia is the patron saint of music, this cathedral had a really impressive choir section that took up the entire back half of the space, but conveniently partitioned off so as to charge for viewing. I bet it was spectacular.
Albi taught us a hard lesson: small southern French towns often shut down, hard, after lunch, and don't revive until dinner. I can see why, as it was blazing hot that day. We had a lunch destination in mind that closed earlier than advertised, a backup that also closed just before we arrived, and a secondary backup that was probably out of business. We did stumble on a place in the main square that served delightful salads and ice creams that kept us going until dinner.
After the Salad Revival, we went back to the Cathedral of St. Cecilia to tour. Heavily Gothic, this one had brightly colored gesso paintings all over the ceiling, and a huge depiction all over the front behind the altar of the Judgment. The bottom layer was all the people roasting and skewered, the next level was a procession of penitents, and the upper layer was a congregation of saints with hymn books. I'm guessing it was a serious deterrent to sin in a 14th century congregation. There was no picture of Jesus or mercy anywhere. Then we read the tablet in the back. In the very center, just behind the altar, there were two pulleys which seemed to suspend some sort of tapestry that was missing. The tablet showed the front of the church as it should be, with a huge tapestry of Jesus in the direct center, stretching from the floor to the soaring ceiling. I wish it had been in place. As Cecilia is the patron saint of music, this cathedral had a really impressive choir section that took up the entire back half of the space, but conveniently partitioned off so as to charge for viewing. I bet it was spectacular.
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