Albi, France. Recovery week

Albi, our base for a recovery week, relax and rest before we hit the Pyrenees Mountains for two weeks of climbing.  We are now, well over half way of our trip and I love to walk as a recovery tool, choosing this small UNESCO city, for exactly that. 

Our transfer by fast train, from Girona to Albi, was long and tiring. The first segment to Narbonne in France, was so overbooked, no where to fit our luggage, backpacks stacked on top of each other in between seats and bike bags & luggage blocking isles.  Overhead racks were so tiny, only laptop bags or a small day packs would fit. So despite having booked seats and bikes on board, we stood in the doorway, between two carriages, not wanting to be separated from our luggage, Dave securing the bike bags to safety railings with ocky straps.

The train was delayed at Perpignan, the first city across the Spanish border, when six 'don't mess with me' kinda guys, that I thought were police but Dave said 'border patrol,' appeared at our carriage door, weapons at the ready. Three came on board and proceeded through each carriage, while the other three followed them through the windows, outside on the platform.  We were in carriage 17, so maybe 20 carriages in total, but they eventually got their non-citizen hiding in the last carriage who Dave saw taken away. This delay caused us to miss our connection in Toulouse, extending the day longer than we were prepared for.

Standing at 78 metres tall, the Saint Cecile Cathedral, dominates the skyline in Albi from all directions. Construction started in 1282, taking 200 years to build and is the largest brick cathedral in the world.

Featuring a side entrance, (as you can see in the first photo), dwarfed by the mammoth size of its formal and defensive body, its built of stone in contrast to the exterior red brick, the intimate lace work, hints at what's behind large looming dark timber doors.

Truely stunning, the detail and workmanship is extraordinary, almost all surfaces in the cathedral have been decorated, Italian frescoes, decorative patterns adding colour, intricate stone carvings, all watched over by the brightly painted ceiling and walls. We were simply blown away.

Wandering the streets, admiring the medieval houses of timber and brick or the three or four story buildings of less than a double bed width, filled our days in warm sunshine.

Two days of persistent rain followed, before we had a day dry enough for a spin in the country side.

Dave has a clinging cold so we choose a flowing, undulating route, that's not too taxing.   Basically steady climbing for half, then all downhill for the return leg, just under 90km.

It's quite chilly, in comparison to the humidity and heat we experienced on our first 3 days, jackets are on as we negotiate our way out of town. Before too long, we have left the city traffic behind and in a sea of green, so lush, water gushing from every corner.  Farmers must be happy.

Heavy clouds block out the sun and I hope they hold for the morning, as predicted.

Our route takes in 2.6km Mont Roc climb and the 15th century, partially submerged Chateau de Grandval, which was burnt down in 1944 by the Germans, after sheltering resistance fighters.  It's chilly on the descent to say the least, needed a buff.

We make it home in time for lunch, a good relaxing ride, just a tad cold.