Girona

Girona is in the Pyrenees about one hour from Barcelona. There is a train station here, and a lot of industry. Last night at dinner we met two people traveling here on business: a process chemist who works for Gilead Pharmaceuticals and a food chemist who works with processed meats for pizza! At the airport, which is the stopping off point for people visiting the Costa Brava, there were displays of meteorological instrumentation: there must be a lot of scientific stuff going on here!

We decided to visit because it was on the way to Barcelona where I fly out and because it was once home to a large Jewish community that temporarily lived harmoniously with Christians and Muslims. 

On arrival we witnessed another Catalonian independence parade with a drum core leading a fairly large group of protestors decked out in Catalonian flags. It seems that every building and lamppost here is decked out with slogans, flags, or yellow ribbons....the ribbons are in support of individuals sent to prison last year after the illegal vote to secede from Spain. I hear the essence of the battle is money...Catalonia is the richest province and doesn’t receive back the taxes they put into the country.

One of many signs......everywhere.

Yellow ribbons everywhere

We went to the Jewish museum. It seems there was a population of Jews - second only to Barcelona - who thrived for two hundred years or so. There were very few artifacts remaining, but it seems they were able to dig up a mikvah. Eventually the Jews were expelled or converted by Ferdinand and Isabella. Even after conversion the Jews were persecuted for not being Christian enough. 

There is also an ancient Arab bath there...built in the 12th century, which was pretty interesting, and ho hum, more immense churches. We also walked around the city atop a fortified wall...rebuilt originally from Roman times, but also used later on.

A wall portion from below.

City view atop the wall.

Toilet a few steps down from guard station on wall.

The baths...the cold room?

Another bath...medium room? there was also a hot steam room.

Ruins of a Jewish home

What Jews wore back in the day. I can’t stop thinking Handmaid’s Tale, which is not so far off...

Ornate street mosaic made from river stones.

The town is gorgeous and well maintained. It is a working town, but still there are plenty of tourists visiting. Oh and it is inexpensive...much less than Barcelona.

Albi

I’ve always wanted to see Albi, since my first visit to France in 1974. The entire region is orange from the orange brick and tiled roofs and I remember a an ancient orange bridge....

At any rate, we decided t take a side trip from Toulouse...an hour train ride ....to see the sites. It did not disappoint. The city has a Medeival, Renaissance, and modern parts. It is obviously a tourist hub evidenced by the tour busses outside the old city together with the tour groups. Nevertheless it was vibrant and interesting.

Albi was the home of Toulouse Latrec, and they have a beautiful museum housed in the former bishop quarters. There is also a church that defies description, built in the 13th century. We were told by the tourist information bureau that the church was built to be plain, somehow in opposition to the Cathar movement of the time. So, yes, it is plain on the outside, but immense...but on the inside it is anything but plain.

The church from the outside.

Another view of the “plain” church.

The Toulouse Latrec museum did not disappoint. This is a ceramic piece. The museum featured works from his early years and beyond and had many portraits from his youth done by other artists.

The building itself was quite stunning, another 13th/14th century building. The museum also housed a number of details about the refurbishment.

The ceiling of one of the galleries...there are paintings on the wood that had been painted over, but then removed.

Another room with elaborate paintings on the ceiling.

Outside the museum was a lovely garden that overlooked the river, its comely bridges, and the other side of town. We were not allowed in at first, there were bodyguards at the entrance. we struck up a conversation with them and learned that a former prime minister and current secretary of the economy was visiting the gardens. He had Laurent in his name....At any rate, we watched his entourage leave the garden and then he came out holding hands with his wife, looking extremely self satisfied. The chief of police of Albi, who spoke English, struck up a conversation with us and escorted us to a restaurant for lunch....not a tourist place he said...it had a view of the cathedral.

A view of the city from the gardens.

The formal garden.

Entree course, that’s glacé on top.


Dining in front of cathedral


Peach dessert.

Entrance to cathedral....the plainness slips away....

The walls of the “church within a church” where the bigwigs sit. It looked to be carved out of stone.

A scene from hell...the front of the church had a double mural depicting descent into hell. I kept thinking of the Cathar reference given to us in the tourist information bureau.

Conclusion: Albi is a fantastic one-day destination with stunning scenery, decent food, an excellent art museum, and I think the biggest “FU” church I’ve seen to date.