Viaduct of Millau (pronounced Meow) is a 2 1/2 hour drive from the barge. It is a suspension brige over a gorge... the highest and one of the longest suspension bridges in the world, an engineering marvel. It was spectacular. We drove under it and then on it! The lovely thing about French engineering is that an object must not only be functional, it must also be aesthestically pleasing.
Village of Roquefort is, of course, where Roquefort Cheese is made. It is cured in special caves that are only in the side of the mountain where this village is located. No one else in the world can make 'Roquefort'. Story has it a shepherd, while tending his flocks aout 2000 years ago, left his sandwich (bread and curd) in a cave he was sheltering in. Months later, he returned to the cave and found the sandwich covered in a green mould. Being hungry, he scraped off the mould and tasted it... and voila! Roquefort was discovered. Whether this story is true or not, these caves have the moisture, air flow and temperature variation to turn sheep's milk (with the help of a penicillan mold grown on bread) into world renowned Roquefort cheese. The tour was fascinating and of course we bought some cheese. All in all, we had a great day!
AGREED - THE VIADUCT IS REALLY IMPRESSIVE. I SAW AND DROVE OVER IT IN 2009. IT CERTAINLY IS A PLEASING ON THE EYE. DRIVING ACROSS IN STRONG WINDS IS A LITTLE SCARY - AND IT GETS YOUR ATTENTION AS WHEN YOU LOOK OUT TO THE SIDE - IT IS A LONG WAY DOWN. THAT SHOULDN"T WORRY BALLOONISTS THOUGH !
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