26 June 2011

I hate tourists!  I know what you're going to say, but it's the English particularly.  I remember one particular (OK Yah) woman in our old place showing some friends around:  '...and here's our Mary....'.  I looked around, expecting to see some cute little girl, only to see her pointing grandly at the castle ramparts where resided the French town hall (mairie). 
So, it was with some trepidation that we showed our son around nearby Albi, capital of the Tarn.  Success. Not only did we not encounter a single other tourist, but we found that rare place - a French vegetarian restaurant. (I remembered our old neighbour, on learning that one of us didn't eat meat:  'Mais...c'est un catastrophe!).  The Albi central streets are charming, full of cobbled alleyways and delicious little shops and boutiques. We trudged up the slope past the Musee de Toulouse-Lautrec and found the surprising Jardin du Palais de Berbie, which winds down stoney steps to the cool waters and the Pont-Vieux over the Tarn beneath. All in all, a great day.  Even Him Indoors enjoyed it. Normally he just rushes us around so he can get a beer back home. Some Englishmen never change.