2014 EUROPE by Rail 8 - Day of Thrills

This morning the sun was bright and the mountain LaFage that Uncle has made an art study of over the years (a la Cézanne and Mont Sainte-Victoire) was in clear view. Its falls colors in full glory. Uncle said he has in one way or another (through drawings, collages, etc) chronicled that particular mountain over a hundred times.

But the weather quickly disintegrated into an overcast gray. We rechecked the weather forecast. The foreboding of the previous night's report had not fully resulted and the river level in front of their property was down a few feet. We felt comfortable motoring to nearby sights. Departure was 09:16.

We passed through Ganges (a town I had often heard B&T speak of) and Montpelier (location of the regional hospital). This town is also known for being in the silk trade in the past because of its many mulberry trees.

This is the Languedoc area of France. We drove mostly on narrow two-lane Hwy. 999 toward the south and caught a "freeway" type road near our first destination. On this wide and straight road the speed limit was 130 kph. 

We saw some of the Cévennes mountains, a scrubby plateau area, and a very high and impressive cascading waterfall (due to the heavy rains, I suspect). It was narrow, but at least twenty stories high. We wondered the size of France. Aunt said "smaller than Alaska, but bigger than Texas." For that size area (compared to the size of the U.S.) there certainly is a wide variety of topography.

In contradiction to the photo above, overall there was not much color on the trees at this time of year. A little yellow, leaves lightly scattered on the ground, but mostly shades of green.

Our itinerary was not laid out for us in advance, but Uncle said it would be a day of three thrills. Just after the caves of Roquefort (must stop here another time), we arrived at our first thrill. It was a new bridge spanning hill-to-hill over the town of Millau.


Before it was built, it took 40 minutes of switchback roads down to the valley through the village and back up the hill on the other side. Now it takes only a few minutes to cross the 1-1/2 mile span.

Ten years ago there was a design contest to determine the style of the Viaduc du Millau. Five construction companies competed. There was a model of each entry in the visitors center. The winner was Eiffage Group (the same company that constructed the Eiffle Tower). We agree it was the clear top dog.

There was a movie showing its construction and mentioning lots of fun facts, like "the Eiffel tower could almost fit under the highest span." Impressive!

It cost 7.30 euros each way to cross and it was so worth it. I thought it would be another great bridge walk, but because it is part of the French motorway system, no walking allowed. More info at: www.leviaducdemillau.com/en_index.php#/franchir-le-Viaduc/

Next was lunch at our second thrill in the small walled town of La Couvertoirade (more on the town in Part 2). 

Since we arrived at B&T's, they had talked about lunch here at their favorite creperie (Creperie Montes at www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1062760-d6975753-Reviews-Creperie_Montes-La_Couvertoirade_Aveyron_Midi_Pyrenees.html). Not only was the food delish, but over the years B&T had become friends with the owners. They especially wanted Mike to try the Grand Marnier infused chocolate crepe dessert. But alas, the creperie was not open.

We wandered a bit further and found another promising spot. It advertised grilled and vegetarian fare. It had a cat-theme going with a cat statue in front and a cat water bowl. Although B&T are not particularly cat people, it seemed like a good omen to us.

L'Auberge du Chat Perche (www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1062760-d6835582-Reviews-L_Auberge_du_Chat_Perche-La_Couvertoirade_Aveyron_Midi_Pyrenees.html) means hostel cat perch per BabelFish.com, or my interpretation is cat hang-out. We saw one cat relaxing and grooming on the cool stone floor as we entered.

Inside was a curved-ceiling, cave-like, cubby hole of a cafe. Lots of character and charm. Two more cats were wandering around the place -- not begging or bugging anyone or hopping on tables. Just content to get a little pet now and then from cat lover patrons.

We ordered another nice bottle of red. After we ordered, I spotted a sign for violette kir. I just had to try it. I've never tasted anything like it. It was pale purple in color, a definite violette nose, and a faint but true violette taste. It was excellent.  

For lunch I had a fabulous hot-n-cold veggie plate with purple (is there a theme here?!) broccoli, black lentils, dipping sauces, and much more. This is one of the most wonderful veggie combos I have ever tasted, if not the most colorful. The others chose the sausage special cooked on an indoor open-fired grill.

Mike could not decide if this or the previous day's sausage was the best he ever had in life. They came in at least one and two between the two of them.

Dessert was creme brûlée and vanilla cake layered with a raspberry creme.  The creme brûlée was served warm (yay!) and the best I ever had. Seems like France has a lot of bests when it comes to food.

Mike let one of the cats lick the rich whipped cream topping from his dessert off his finger. What a happy, purr-y cat that was!!

As we were about to leave, we had an unanticipated surprise. The owners of the crepe cafe had stopped by du Chat to have their lunch. B&T introduced us and then gushed and hugged and chatted in French with their dear friends. They knew we had good intentions to eat at their place and seemed pleased.

Good byes were said and off to more thrills for us.