Southwest France - continuing the Post-Conference Tour Day Two

September 20 - Friday:  After a good night's sleep, this hotel's breakfast was particularly comfortable, surrounded by French countrystyle furniture.

breakfast buffet

more breakfast buffet in a colorful cabinet

Into Albi in the rain to visit the former Palais de la Berbie (now the Toulouse Lautrec Museum).  This is a huge palace begun in the 13th century by the bishops of Albi and now a UNESCO world heritage site. Hugely large and elegant, it enclosed a very formal garden, which we could see but not visit.

The bishop's garden in the Palais de la Berbie

Rather foolishly I purchased an umbrella from the museum's gift shop, while the rain began to let up. The entry courtyard had an unusual umbrella stand, which you can see here.

Some of my friends are inside; the umbrella stand is out in the courtyarad.

The T-L Museum is very extensive.  The artist is not my favorite, but I could appreciate the great volume of work done in a fairly short life.  there's a wonderful photograph of him seated on the floor, wearing a Japanese costume, and with his eyes crossed.  Quite whimsical. Briefly but quickly we walked through some streets to the plaza where we'd been dropped off - -

The large plaza not far from the Palais

A great urn with a small fountain.

not really a coach stop, the driver just pulled over and we clamored quickly aboard and were off again.

Geppetto, the shoemaker.

Looking down a street next to the Cathedral in Albi.

I think we were headed to Montauban to see the double lock that connects the Garonne with the Tarn via a short (11 km.) Canal de Montech.  The pair of locks lowers boats into the Tarn River, running concurrently beneath both a railway line and a road.

The bridge over the locks carries road and railway.

Climbing back up from the locks.

The waterside walkway is a pebble mosaic. 

Near the Garonne end of the Canal de Montech is a most interesting structure: a "pente d'eau" - the Montech Waterslope (an incline plane that bypasses five locks).  This structure is, I believe, one of a kind, and no longer in use.  Nevertheless, here's an explanation:  A canal boat enters the waterway and travels beneath a large shield that will be dropped behind the boat.

The giant black shield, when lowered into the channel, pushes water and boat uphill.

Two locomotives mounted on huge tires run on concrete tracks on either side of the waterslope.  They push the shield uphill (and thus the water and the boat)

Imagine that the black shield is lowered behind a boat; the locomotives (trams from Argentina) begin operate, and the whole thing travels up the slope.  Ingenious, no?

When the water level in the wedge of water pushed uphill is the same as the level at the top, the dropgate at the top lowers and the boat moves on. Confused? I certainly was. Unfortunately, the machine does not operate now. Perhaps someday?

Montech is a nice little town with a mayor who is very proud of it.

City hall in Montech

We had a very low-key, casual lunch in the city hall - no wine, just various kinds of soda, juice and water, snacks, trailmix, nuts and squares of various types of pizza. It was evident that we love this kind of meal - Not more than 40 people, small room = intimate setting and group.

Low-key lunch.

Next on our agenda was a visit to the Moissac Aqueduct, built in the mid-19th century.

A very beautiful, well-built aqueduct - it survived a 1930 flood when the twisted wreckage of a railway bridge was thrown against it.

We scrambled up to the towpath. Our timing was perfect, as we saw a boat travelling upstream and then one travelling downstream, as well as a number of bicyclists.

Many camera focused on this pleasure boat.

Moissac has a truly beautiful abbey and cloister, the Saint-Pierre Abbey from the 12th century. We had English-language accousti-guides for both the cloister and the church, an excellent choice by our guide, David Edwards-May.  The columns that line the cloister alternate single column with double column.

One side of the cloister - note the man listening to his acousti-guide.

The capitals are wonderfully preserved; the interior walkways are pebble mosaics.

Who are those monsters and what are they doing?

Outside the church the carvings on the Tympanum and above to the left and right of the entry stairs told biblical stories to the illiterate medieval inhabitants.

Those backpacks display the scallop shell that marks them as pilgrims on Le Chemin de St. Jacques de Campostelle.

The holy family fleeing Herod's massacre of innocent babies.

Inside the church itself was a moving wood sculpture of the interment of Jesus, surrounded by seven figures.

This is nearly lifesize.

The Hotel Moulin de Moissac was quite a bit different from where I normally stay.  Four and five star hotels have spacious rooms, lots of amenities, and meals that take forever to eat, with fairly small portions.  Is that why so few French people are obese?

The hotel is on the foundation of an old mill.

That structure in the water marks location of the lock; small white buoys on the left mark the channel from the lock into the river.

The Pont Napoleon upstream from my hotel window, illuminated at night.

Southwest France - WCC13 Ended; Touring Began

September 19, a Thursday, is the final conference day. I walked to the large square for the Toulouse Metro, and here are two photos of the area:

The large "M" on a pylon was familiar to me & my COCA friends.

And one photograph of the seats on Toulouse's quiet and efficient Metro, with colorful upholstered seats.

Side-by-side seats at the end of the car.

At the Conference center the 2014 locale made its presentation:  Milan, where 3 or 4 rivers flow into or through Milan.  Some come from the Northern lakes; the presentation of lovely photographs that included local wildlife and countryside.

The announcement of the venue for 2015 was announced by Dave Ballinger (President of Inland Waterways International) - - it is Ghent, in Belgium.  There were final speeches by representatives of the several French organizations sponsoring the conference, then lunch was announced.

Buffet lunches were generally these little canape-like foods.  Tasty, but one needed lots to keep up with the wine. 

Please note that the wine was always poured in advance; the water had to be special-ordered!

Buffet style with many choices of food and drink, and waiters passing through with choice tidbits - the best of which was 'poulet curry' (curried chicken and rice).

Curried chicken & rice went quickly.

After many good-byes to our co-delegates and guides, like Delphine Valentin, my personal favorite.

always knowledgeable, efficient, and especially cheerful

After bit of waiting,

I recall that we sat down and were quickly called to the coach.

we departed for the coach pick-up spot.  The coach was there, but the suitcases were not.  They'd been picked up by another vehicle and were en route.

That's Rod helping with the luggage, once it finally arrived.

There's always some oddity to screw up the schedule . . . which is a good reason to leave some wiggle-room in the schedule.

We drove a long time and distance to the Tarn River and crossed at the Rivieres dam (21 m. high).  That dam pretty much stopped navigation above the dam.  Given the height of the dam, it will be difficult and costly to provide locks or a boat lift to ensure navigation. At the boat harbour Aigueleze, we boarded a replica "gabarre" - an open-topped wooden boat.

In long-ago days, there was no motor; one floated (poled) down river and the boats were broken up, the lumber being reused .  Sort of like in the USA 18 & 19th centuries on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

Propulsion of this was by an electric motor.  The boat owner/operator is Michel LeGrand (not the pianist or filmmaker) who is one of the pioneers of French waterway tourism, according to David Edwards-May.

M. LeGrand on the right, David (our trusted leaded) on the left.

As we approached the city of Albi, we tied up at Hotel LaReserve, our hotel for the evening.  All were delighted to see a robot lawn mower sort of waddling back and forth across the lawn.

A very nice Relais & Chateau hotel facing the Tarn River, with its own dock.

Kind of like a Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Some of us stood in its way to see how the machine stopped and then turned away. Barbara and I were drinking beer on the patio when we were called back to the gabarre to continue the cruise up to Albi for a brief examination of area by water.

I cannot identify the bridge or the tower or their ages.

I was delighted with the room that Kerry and I shared.  It was quite comfortable as well as beautiful.  The chairs' seats and backs were covered with exquisite embroidery.

Our view was over a tiled roof toward the Tarn River; very quiet and peaceful place.

At dinner I sat next to Giacomina, wife of M. LeGrand, and learned a lot about her, the area, the bad wet cold summer and its effects on the local vineyards and agriculture.  And slept well that night.