Today
we drove from Arles to Toulouse, that's 403k's, one of the longest trips on
this sojourn.
After
seeing the Rhone in Lyon and Avignon we said farewell to it as we
left Arles...it's quite amazing to think that it flows all the way
from the Swiss alps to the
Mediterranean...about
813 k's.
A
few hours later we stopped at the amazing Millau
Viaduct to enjoy the view and have some lunch.
The
incredible Millau Viaduct is the highest bridge in the world,
standing 270 meters (890 feet) over the Tam River and is more than
340 meters (1,125 feet) in height at the top of its highest mast. It
is slightly taller than the Eiffel Tower and only 38 meters (125
feet) short of the Empire State Building.
At
the unique viewing area
and tourist information centre we learnt about the viaduct and its
construction...it was the very best info. centre we've ever been to.
There is also a gastronomical area where you can taste, amongst other
things, the famous “capucins” made by the Michelin starred chef
Michael Bras...of course we tried them.
I
tried to find some information about the capucins because I couldn't quite work out how to explain them. This is the
Google translate version...something is lost in translation but it
will give you a bit of an idea...
The
capucin is a cone-shaped slab, cooked with buckwheat flour and
wheat, both crisp and mellow, cooked on the instant and garnished
with local products.
Originally,
the Capucin is an old cooking utensil used in cast iron used in
Aveyron, which consists of a long stem terminated by a conical funnel
pierced at its point.
THEY
WERE DELICIOUS.
With
lots of driving time today we didn't walk very far today...but we did
have time to reflect on the first 18 days of our trip.
On
the first days we saw lots of daffodils, lilac, wisteria in bloom but
the vines vineyard were quite bare and there was no colour evident in
the fields of lavender. Now the vines have leaves and we have seen
lavender in bloom.
We've
settled into our apartment and look forward to exploring Toulouse
tomorrow...we also have our fingers crossed that the Easter Bunny
will be able to track us down on Sunday. Au Revoir for now xx
