May 31 around Albi

It's raining, a steady drizzle, but that does not stop the intrepid travelers that we are.

In the region of Albi, our list includes:
Gaillac
Najac
Rabastens
Trebas
Cagnac-les-Mines

In seeking to locate Rabastens, we found Saint-Sulpice. Forward!

As we drive through the countryside, sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesn’t. Gray and low clouds create a beautiful soft landscape. The Photographer growls: when there’s nice view, there is no place to stop, and when there is a place to stop, the view is only so-so. The Photographer's life is a long series of painful tribulations.

We get to Rabastens. A church similar to Sainte-Cecile Cathedral holds the Photographer's attention for quite some time. Then, oops: I suggested we go to the Rabastens Tourist Center and set a rendezvous point. The Photographer just plain forgot and had a long wait before I realized what was going on. He had a nice chat with the owner of the pub next door, he says.

It is now colder and raining. Too bad, that kind of settles it for Rabastens.

Sandwiches and sparkling water purchased from a grocery store. A quiet park bench. It rained and it will rain but it’s not raining now. But it’s cold.

We drive to St. Sulpice, to visit the medieval underground shelter of Castela. The guide is super charming and well informed. Briefly, 800 years until the appearance of feudal lords, the campaigns were frequently attacked and plundered by companies of brigands. To protect themselves, farmers had dug underground shelter where they could flee and hide. The shelter in Castela, dug at a location determined by dowsers, was used for several generations, it was a way of life. The Saint-Sulpice shelter is one of two open to visitors in France. It is known that there are thousands of similar underground shelters, some forgotten, others partially collapsed, others opening on private land. Roger took pictures using his tripod but the iPad camera was stumped.






This visit left me wondering. Imagine that this is the way you live: three or four times a week, you must flee for your life. What if you were breastfeeding your child? What if you were having a baby? What if your mare was foaling? If you look at the map, you'll see that there were family rooms, stock rooms, a chapel, of course. Dowsers had helped find the location, so there was fresh water. What a life!

Later, we tour the ruins of the castle itself. I shudder at the arrogance of having loopholes in the shape of crosses. I also saw those in another stronghold, last week. Humans so enjoy killing other humans when they’re allowed, even encouraged to believe that this is their god’s will.






Below, a dovecote. There are many dovecotes in this area, of varied shapes and structures. Through the sale of manure as fertilizer, dovecotes owners made a lot of money.






We're back. Christine operates a mini-farm and raises, er, poultry, and goats.











The goat cheese she served the night before was made from the milk of her own goats.

We’re tired. Roger is getting irritated. In this area, the driving is crazy. Drivers tailgating you, or cutting rudely in front of you as they pass. No, it ain’t fun any more.

We go to the grocery store and buy two salads and two crèmes caramel, for a nice peaceful meal.

The sky has cleared, the Photographer again hears the call of the God of Lenses. Let’s go back to Albi.

Phew, that was tricky. But we managed to park the car close to where we wanted to go

When they say that the Cathedral was a fortress, they were not kidding. Notice the location.

Quand on dit que la basilique était une forteresse, on ne plaisante pas. Voyez-vous cette position ?





Tomorrow, we leave for Montréal. No, nothing happened and we're not going home yet. But we will be staying in Montréal, in the Aude department, near Carcassonne, our next hub.