Caught in the rain!

Friday
We are down in south west France in Albi for the weekend. Roger had business in Toulouse yesterday and this morning, so we drove down Wednesday afternoon and evening, arriving in Toulouse in time to celebrate Roger's birthday with a nice meal out. This morning, while Roger was working, I walked to the Basilica St. Sernin. Most of the current building was constructed in the Romanesque style between about 1080 and 1120, with construction continuing thereafter. Saint-Sernin is particularly noted for the quality and quantity of its Romanesque sculpture. In 1998 the basilica was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I met up with Roger back at the hotel at around noon, and we drove to Albi, about an hours drive to the north east. We checked into our hotel, which is located right by the river, affording wonderful views across the river of the magnificent cathedral and the old town. Then we walked across the bridge into town, had a late lunch then went to the cathedral. The cathedral is an immense fortress-like construction, entirely of brick, built between 1287 to 1480 in the wake of the Albigensian heresy in the area. The government mounted a brutal crusade to suppress the Cathar rebellion, with great loss of life to area residents. In the aftermath of the bloodshed, the cathedral's dominant presence and fortress-like exterior were intended to convey the power and authority of the Christian faith. The interior is equally striking and unusual. It lacks side aisles, which are replaced by rows of small chapels between brick internal buttresses. The elaborate interior stands in stark contrast to the cathedral's military exterior. Below the magnificent organ, a fresco of the Last Judgement, attributed to unknown Flemish painters, originally covered nearly 200 m² (the central area was later removed and replaced by an arch. The enormous vaulted ceiling is entirely covered with frescoes, which comprise the largest and oldest ensemble of Italian Renaissance painting in France. As we left the cathedral, the forecast rain accompanied by rumbles of thunder arrived. Fortunately the rain wasn't too hard, and we did have our umbrellas, so we carried on regardless, strolling round the old town, and finding a salon de thé to have a cup of tea. I thought these wet cobbles made for quite a striking photo. After returning to the hotel to freshen up, we went out for a delicious meal, quite close to the hotel. Hopefully, the late afternoon rain will have cooled things down a little for the weekend, as it has been unbearably hot the last two days - around 32C.