Manoir de Montesquiou Languedoc-Roussillon

... view from the drivers side as I was looking right into the gorge (don't worry mum I drove very slowly and was very careful not to drive too close to the edge). Luckily there were many parking areas to stop at so both of us could get out and really appreciate how beautiful it was. On the downside it was still a little wet so hiking was off the cards...next time.

... with steep drop offs and no guard rails... and those are the highways!! Wouldn't want to be one of those ashen faced motorhome drivers or the poor guy in the tour bus. In the Gorge the road is also pretty narrow with many tunnels and rock cuts. Took many pictures of this wild rugged area. Not only were there beautiful rock formations but the hill towns (built right in to the rock) were very unique. Right out of a story ...

... The largest of these two villages is called Hauterives, and we really want to go back and make arrangements somehow to stay there at some point. We continued on out of the canyon to the town of Millau which is famous for having the highest bridge in the world. It is a 1.5 mile long bridge that spans across a large valley and the bridge reaches a height of over 1300 feet. It was built just a couple of years ago and is considered an engineering ...

We are still staying in Florac tonight, but we took a beautiful drive to this village today. The Cevennes national park countryside is gorgeous with big, green hills and hardly any homes or buildings...just countryside! We went on a 5km hike to the Chateau Roquedhouil, a nice old home built in the 1500's. There was a very tall sequoia tree that was planed in 1887 and was about 25 feet in circumference.

... to see the giant 'bridge amongst the clouds'. It's 2 ½ km long, and over 300 m high. It was absolutely beautiful day - so not a cloud in the sky to get that sort of perspective. But it was well worth a look, just the same. After this extra, extra visit it was already after 12 o'clock ... then we finally began the rest of the more than 6 hour journey through the south of France and into Barcelona. Yay!

Please note that Causse is spelt with an au not a ui and the Gorges do not need a soutien!! The causses are high limestone plateaux at the western end of the Massif Central, rising to 1100/1200m. The Gorges are formed where millions of years ago caves in the causse have collapsed, to form deep river valleys, up to 400m below the causses, which makes for spectacular scenery. The ...

... wish for in a French gorge, but the weather was even more dramatic - disgustingly so. The wind was howling, nearly sending Bongo off the narrow roads and down the mountain. The rain came down sideways, and the views disappeared into the clouds. The river was swollen and dirty but the rocks were beautiful reds, browns and blacks against the rich green of the trees. The sun actually appeared as we drove into Sainte Enimie sur Tarn ...

... We just had the best meal! We bought prawns, ham salad, beetroot salad, egg salad and a crunchy baguette and ate it in the garden washed down with some local wine, and finished off with Roquefort cheese (which comes from near here) It doesn't get dark until about 10pm so we went for a walk afterwards towards the bridge across the fields....magic!!!!!

We rented a mobil-home on the Val de l'Arre campsite near Le Vigan. Nicely located campsite, although the traffic on the rather busy road can be heard. Nice river for swimming and canoeing. Good base for trips all around the Cevennes. We made cycling trips, hiked and toured around by car. At the time of our ...

... my custom by name alone. There must be some Sydney link there, no one could make up that name by themselves... The street sat outside the original 12th century walls but was included in the defended city after the new walls were built in the 14th century. It underwent many name changes as new establishments replaced the old that gave it their names ...