We like to vary our route between Switzerland and Provence and this time decided to return via Albi and visit the Toulouse Lautrec museum there. It was adding quite a number of kms to our journey but we wanted to explore a different part of France. This decision was made after we read an article in Cote Sud which described the area around Albi and Rodez in glowing terms!
We did initially book into one of the recommended hotels mentioned in Rodez, the Chateau de Labro because of their comments on the restaurant's innovative cuisine. However, thank goodness, we asked for a dinner reservation, otherwise we would not have found out until too late that the restaurant was closed on Sunday evenings! They gave us the names of two other restaurants to book...both were also closed. When their next suggestion was the restaurant at the bowling alley we felt we needed to skip Rodez! However Albi wasn't too much better! Most restaurants were indeed closed there also on Sunday evening, and on Mondays!
Research led to us to booking a fantastic chambers d'hotes.......La Tour Sainte Cecile.....
..within a stones throw of the museum and the exceptionally large brick built Cathedral. This was a private residence and the owner grew up in the house. It is listed as a historical monument, the
and entered into the owners salon, which he told us had been his parent's bedroom when he was growing up.
Entrance to our room was up a very narrow spiral staircase ......
but I had definitely asked to have the Toulouse Lautrec room, knowing this prior to arrival. We took very little luggage!
The room was even better than it looked online!
The nighttime view of the immense Cathedral was superb.....
...as was the view of it from our window the following morning....
We were then also able to check out the tower we were in, during daylight hours...... just behind the circular stairs!
The owner did find us a small restaurant on the Sunday evening, just around the corner......he couldn't remember the name of the place he had booked for us but assured us it was only 20-30 meters, left and left again! He was correct... we had no trouble finding it.......everything else was closed!!
...and we had no choice but to take all 3 courses of a 'menu'..... fortunately good!
We did initially book into one of the recommended hotels mentioned in Rodez, the Chateau de Labro because of their comments on the restaurant's innovative cuisine. However, thank goodness, we asked for a dinner reservation, otherwise we would not have found out until too late that the restaurant was closed on Sunday evenings! They gave us the names of two other restaurants to book...both were also closed. When their next suggestion was the restaurant at the bowling alley we felt we needed to skip Rodez! However Albi wasn't too much better! Most restaurants were indeed closed there also on Sunday evening, and on Mondays!
Research led to us to booking a fantastic chambers d'hotes.......La Tour Sainte Cecile.....
Hotel Séré-de-Rivieres, from the 16th century .........
We were greeted inside the door....Entrance to our room was up a very narrow spiral staircase ......
but I had definitely asked to have the Toulouse Lautrec room, knowing this prior to arrival. We took very little luggage!
The room was even better than it looked online!
The nighttime view of the immense Cathedral was superb.....
...as was the view of it from our window the following morning....
We were then also able to check out the tower we were in, during daylight hours...... just behind the circular stairs!
The owner did find us a small restaurant on the Sunday evening, just around the corner......he couldn't remember the name of the place he had booked for us but assured us it was only 20-30 meters, left and left again! He was correct... we had no trouble finding it.......everything else was closed!!
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