A town like out of a story that takes us to meet one of the most important French painters of all times and hide places that are worth discovering.
Hello, what a pleasure to greet you, I am Yael Yancelson and I am very excited to be your guide and companion in this magical journey through the senses and imagination.
In this episode we are going to take a trip that excites me a lot, because thanks to our imaginative power we magically arrive in Albi in France.
To enjoy a wonderful tour with our 5 senses, so will you join me?
Albi is the capital of the Tarn department, in the Midi-Pyrénées region. It is located on the banks of the River Tarn and the clays of this river were the raw material to make the red bricks that characterize its local architecture, and that make it a small dream place, don’t you think?
The old bridge of Albi was built in 1035 and is one of the oldest bridges in France.
We are walking through a beautiful city to enjoy and what if we go to the Cathedral of Santa Cecilia de Albi, which according to the local people we have found, was built from the 13th century and is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in France and a landmark of the city due to its 78 meter high bell tower. Let’s go up … It is the largest brick cathedral in the world and look inside … wow it is beautiful, it is completely painted with some very striking frescoes. Do you see its colors and textures?
We arrived at the Berbie Palace which is also the museum of the famous painter Toulouse-Lautrec. It is located next to the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia and is one of the oldest castles in France. Toulouse-Lautrec was a world-famous Albigensian painter. And what if we walk through its small but beautiful gardens.
I know you like art like I do, and learning new and interesting things. You knew that Toulouse-Lautrec was related, among other creators, with Vincent van Gogh, Pierre Bonnard and Paul Gauguin, and from the latter he took some stylistic traits, like the use of pronounced contours. But the works that most influenced his peculiar style were those of Edgar Degas and the Japanese ukiyo-e prints. From Japanese engraving he took the liberation of color from any descriptive function, its extension over large surfaces and sinuous lines, while from the masters of Impressionism he especially admired the capture of immediate reality.
With Dance at the Moulin Rouge he begins a series of dance scenes that constitute the beginning of his mature period.
In his lithographs that we see here, he portrayed emblematic characters of the Belle Époque, such as the American dancer Loïe Fuller, who in her dances waved, with the help of long rods, veils that swirled under the surprising effect of multicolored lights.
The dishes of this town preserve the traditions of the south-west of France. The specialties are: Roquefort cheese, goat cheese, foie gras, duck breast, cassoulet (a kind of bean stew without broth). There are several restaurants with all kinds of foods. Some are concentrated around the covered market and offer simple cuisine, with fresh produce.
And I already got hungry, and you? Let’s go to the covered market which was inaugurated in 1905. And among the aromas of cheese, spices and wine we are going to cook.
Each neighborhood has its own charm. In front of the Sainte-Cécil Cathedral is Castelviel, with medieval houses gracefully decorated with flowers. On Saturdays they have an attractive antiques market, which attracts collectors and all those who want to find unique pieces, out of series. And during the summer, its squares, Savène and Saint-Loup come alive with free shows. In the Castelnau neighborhood, the new neighborhood on Carrer Henri Toulouse-Lautrec is the Hotel du Bosc, the artist’s birthplace.
RUE PUECH BERENGUIER is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful streets in Albi, and a place where the oldest houses in the city are located. See these streets full of atmosphere and small shops, perfectly integrated into the historic center. ¿Shall we go in to pry? You will agree with me that the fun part of every trip is to go to different local shops, cafes and galleries and see what sticks around here.
Well, this is how we leave France today, very sure that we will soon return in these directions because we will travel every week to another corner of this wonderful world, to know, enjoy and fly with the imagination, I ask you, if you liked the content, share it with your friends and give me a like and a review,because with that you help me a lot to raise the ranking of this podcast, ALTERNATIVE REALITY A UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT SPACE THAT CREATES COMMUNITY…. This space was born from a very personal need to connect with visually impaired and deaf people who teach us that these trips full of music, smells and flavors can be enjoyed in very different ways and that is why I like to think that together we make a difference. . I invite you to know the ONCE foundation for solidarity with blind people in Latin America / and if you would like to contribute, we will be very grateful, visit https://www.foal.es
By helping others we mainly help ourselves and I hope you find meaning and fill your soul as much as I do to support different causes and give a little of who we are to other human beings.
It was a pleasure traveling with you. Until next week and thank you
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