At the Opera in Verona......

Having wanted to see Verdi's Aida in Verona for many years we were pleasantly surprised to find that there was a date which suited us.....just when we intended going back to Provence from Switzerland. So we reserved a hotel room first.....it gets rather overbooked during the opera season! We returned to the Hotel Verona which is ideal in terms of going to the Arena..... and they park one's car!! Once the hotel was booked we could go online to buy tickets for Aida from the Arena site!

The view from our room was great....

 and the room was comfortable.....

....and it is just a 5min walk to the arena..... most important for the return trip at 1am!  In fact it looked as though all rooms were occupied by opera buffs, we were in a steady stream back to the hotel!

We got to Verona in plenty of time to stroll around the old part of the town......unlike Alba there was no sign of Ferragosto! It was a Sunday and all the shops were open! Particularly on the upscale Via Mazzini......

and then on to the Piazza delle Erbe...  with the Torre dei Lamberti on one side

We did succumb to a drink and people watching.....

just opposite the old Domus Mercatorum......

but we are still puzzled by a sign we saw there......  no tourists pulling luggage, perhaps!!

We had reserved a table at the well recommended restaurant, Locanda 4 Cuochi.
I had come across this in the NYTimes article 36 hours in Verona......

It is necessary to reserve unless one wants to eat on the Piazza Bra which is great for a drink and people watching but has essentially fast food, at inflated prices, before the opera! There are some good restaurants on the Piazza but they are expensive and are booked months in advance during opera season!

The food was excellent......

The restaurant was empty when we arrived, but we were early in order to eat before the performance!

It was interesting to watch the chefs in the kitchen......

Then on to the Arena, which is amazing!

The first act was spectacular..........and the following acts kept getting more and more spectacular....... with a huge cast!

Just to give an idea! This is from 2012.....

We were very happy to have bought 'Poltrone' seats........the stone benches would have become quite uncomfortable at the end of 4 hours, even with a cushion!

Alba en route to Verona…….opera time!

We are always trying to vary our much traveled route between Switzerland and Provence…. and one favorite way is though Italy.   Going to the opera in Verona is a fantastic experience and we noticed that Aida was playing the day after we intended returning.  So a quick change of plan ....and we built our return journey around a visit there.
We left a fantastic evening view from our chalet in Chateau d'Oex.....

and replaced it with an equally beautiful view next evening in Barbaresco.....

We stayed in our favorite (tired!) hotel, the Vecchio Tre Stelle......for the food!

We also like Alba….it has my favorite 'outlet' Missoni store……and I like to include it in passing! And having just inadvertently washed...in a washing machine......a favorite sweater I felt it was imperative to visit it!!

So we decided to stay in the actual city and chose a hotel with parking, the Hotel Savona. This was also a rather tired hotel but the location was great …..walking distance to everything!

We thought we might go to the  Michelin 3 star  Piazza Duomo, having economised on the hotel……but it was closed!  For August!! However their more affordable restaurant was open, La Piola.....

This is on the ground floor of the main restaurant, on the Piazza Duomo and has great food!  We eat there twice.... on the same day!! No other recommended restaurants in Alba were open!  Ferragosto!!

Good food…..good wine!

The wine at La Piola was so good ........

..........we couldn't resist a visit to the Ceretto winery before moving on to Verona...

The centre of Alba is definitely worth a visit......

and we were intrigued by this poster on the main square....... a week in a spa being offered to pensioners! We wondered if they offer the same for people living in other EU countries!!

 Non residents of Alba pay just 55 euros for transport!! Presumably the 'Cure Termali' are covered by the health service!!

The visit to the Missoni store didn't go as anticipated either!! I had not really realized that Ferragosto included closure of stores and more than a few days in the middle of the month!  

This notice basically says 'see you in September'!  We will return!! Next year!!

Exploring Albi......

We found Albi to be a very interesting town to visit......
First stop, the immense Cathedral, the largest brick built cathedral in the world.  We had seen it from our chambres d'hotes window and it was even more impressive close to!  Awe inspiring....built to intimidate the Cathars.

The interior is totally painted.....which creates a very light interior.... heaven and hell depicted below!

It uses the blue 'pastel' , woad, which was the source of the city's wealth in the middle ages.

It took a lot longer to go around than anticipated...particularly as we decided to ascend their spiral staircase....a lot wider than the one at the chambres d'hotes....

... to their Treasury......

We found the opening hours out of peak season in Albi a little frustrating!  As the Lautrec museum closed between 12 and 2pm there was no point in going without enough time to see as much as we could......
So we explored the town a little.....
The old bridge which has been in continuous use for traffic since the 10th century......

The small narrow maze of streets ...............

with old ads on buildings......

and interesting homes.......

On a little street we also found the birthplace of Henri de Toulouse Lautrec.

...right next door to the navigator  Leperouse.....  a good street address!

It was interesting learning the history of Toulouse Lautrec...... apparently his parents were first cousins (their mothers were sisters!) from noble families and in order to keep their wealth within the family it was decided they should marry!  Their son, Henri, had a lot of congenital problems and died fairly young at 36. Their second son died when he was one year old.  So......no close family to inherit the combined wealth!!
After lunch ( and surprise, surprise very few restaurants were open on a Monday!!) we finally went to the Toulouse Lautrec museum.

 It is enormous!

In content as well as the building, which had been the archbishop's residence but looked more like and awe inspiring fortress! Again obviously to intimidate the Cathars!

No photos allowed but I did take a few before I realized!

I can definitely recommend a visit... but do allow a lot of time. They have every poster he ever produced and it appeared he was very prolific! Interestingly his parents offered all his work to the Paris museums after he died and they were turned down.  So his birthplace, Albi, definitely benefitted!

The covered market is also worth a visit, built in 1905....

.....the oldest church, the Saint Salvi, is also worth a visit.........

...to enjoy its beautiful cloister area......

and it has a watch tower on top!

We did find a different restaurant open on the Monday evening Les Jardins de L'Archeveche..... there wasn't much choice!

 Fortunately the food was good....