'Oc' in Languedoc: Albi, Carcassonne

Languedoc is a region that got its name from the local's dialect. They said 'oc' instead of 'oui', and therefore were the language of 'oc' people. I think I like 'oui, oui', better than 'oc, oc'. Kind of sounds grunt-like.

I haven't mentioned yet that France has this sneaky system of road tolls that you have to pay every so often and have absolutely no idea what the ticket price will be. After we got nailed with a 17 euro toll for a 20 min freeway stroll, we opted for utilizing the scenic routes (non-National freeways) for the remainder of our trip. Which was perhaps one of our best decisions ever. It allowed us to happen upon fun little cities like this one - St. Cirq Lapopie - which I used my imagination to visualize in sunshine. Someone was telling me they read about it being a popular honeymoon spot. Yes please.

Albi
Was just a quick half-day town. We dropped our bags at our most unique hotel room yet. And posed with the hats that were actually the lamp-shades.

The thing is, you know the decorator had really tried his best. We did enjoy our chiffon bed drapes which would've been dream-like had we been back in 3rd grade.

Then we went out and saw the Henri Toulouse-Lautrec musuem and I learned that I love his art. He broke both his legs as a kid and had a fragile constitution - never got taller than 4"11', and was neglected by his Dad. Basically a misfit and consequently he hung out in Moulin Rouge - red light district areas, which is what he painted. But his slant wasn't voyeurism or sensual, it was trying to capture the daily life of the girls, so there's more of a feeling of understanding and companionship.
The cathedral in the town was monstrously big. This was the land of Cathars - which were a heretical sect of Catholicism who believed in reincarnation (and vegetarianism) and simplicity. They weren't very popular and were pretty much dessimated. The cathedral was built on the remains of theirs but expanded. You can see the contrast in the Cathar main edifice with the later-added Gothic wing (post Cathars).

This is actually from the Internet on a sunny day. Of the 4 of us, none took a picture from the outside. Plain and simple isn't so popular for cathedrals I guess, and rain doesn't help.

I wasn't a huge fan of the cathedral outside or inside because there was little to no light. All the decorations were in the frescos. But Becky got some good pictures that brought it to life. Pretty elaborate ceiling huh?

Carcassonne
It was a shame we didn't have better weather in Carcassonne to really highlight its beauty, but it was still cool. A self-contained medieval city with rampart walls to walk for good views.

The famous regional dish is cassoulet - basically French chili. A chili with goose, duck, pork sausage, and beans could get iffy, but we went to Maison du Cassoulet and were not dissappointed!