Le Puy-en-Velay was one of the most gorgeous towns we’ve seen in the whole trip. It’s set in a valley (as the name suggests) surrounded by four extinct volcanoes; on each one is set either a statue or a church – the church takes up at least the whole top of its own volcano.
There are steps leading to the top so of course we did that. Note how my hand tightly grips the rail in case I’m suddenly thrown sideways or down the steps!
In the town itself the buildings have a lot of character, steep cobblestone streets, and of course there is a large, very beautiful cathedral. All ingredients to make up the most beautiful town!
We’ve now driven to Millau, have seen glimpses of the famous bridge but will go and check it out properly tomorrow. On the way here we passed over several high viaducts – they obviously don’t believe in driving down into valleys if there’s no need. Gus was very impressed with all the beautiful ‘cuttings’ on the way through too, very impressive earthworks. The road was so good that we had the Enterprise in warp factor 7 all the way. Just after we arrived and set up the awning (and got a load of washing in the campground machine) we got the most impressive thunder storm; note the water pouring off the edge of the awning!
We had the most amazing day today, but not because of the Millau Viaduct, although of course that was interesting and very big – they had an information centre there too so we now know lots about it – well, Gus does... For those who may be interested (skip the rest of this paragraph girls!) length is 2460m; there are 7 piers, the shortest being 77m high; the longest 245m. From the river to the deck is 270m. Each of the steel pylons stands 90m tall above the deck (where the cars go). Total height is 343m. The span between piers is 342m. They used 85,000m³ of 60MPA concrete. The steel deck weighs 36,000 tonnes; and has 10,000 tonnes of hotmix. It took three years to build from start to finish and cost 400 million Euros; the toll booth alone cost 80 million. Of course he has a brochure he’s reading from, complete fraud really...
On a whim we decided to take a drive up the Gorges du Tarn, we hadn’t heard about them before but had seen some signage on the way into Millau and saw some more info at the information centre so thought they may be worth checking out.
So pleased we did, it’s the most incredible gorge! The scenery alone would be well worth the drive; the road hugs the river all the way and some of it looks like both of us imagine some of the Colorado gorges do. But apart from the scenery there are also villages hugging onto the steepest parts, sometimes built into the rocks themselves.
There are also the remains of many chateaux that were built on top of the most precipice rocks – god knows how, mostly built in the 12th century apparently. Some of the villages can only be reached by crossing the river from the road; there are flying foxes and boats to get to them.
One village we stopped at, Sainte-Enimie, was mostly built in mediaeval times – it has several squares amongst the buildings, they each had a different purpose. One was for men only and was for trading. Another was the main place to buy sheep’s butter in the region. The streets were steep and original, not true cobblestone but just river stones set into mortar.
The road itself was carved into the rock, with tunnels, natural overhangs, sheer drops straight into the river; we even drove under a house that hung over the road at one point. Quite exciting for The Enterprise and the rest of us, Puke had her eyes shut a couple of times. (By the way that’s Puke as in Puketapu NOT as in puke (feeling sick) as has been suggested) Luckily with a right hand drive vehicle and driving on the right hand of the road, Gus was closest to the edge!
Le Puy-en-Velay was one of the most gorgeous towns we’ve seen in the whole trip. It’s set in a valley (as the name suggests) surrounded by four extinct volcanoes; on each one is set either a statue or a church – the church takes up at least the whole top of its own volcano.
There are steps leading to the top so of course we did that. Note how my hand tightly grips the rail in case I’m suddenly thrown sideways or down the steps!
In the town itself the buildings have a lot of character, steep cobblestone streets, and of course there is a large, very beautiful cathedral. All ingredients to make up the most beautiful town!
We’ve now driven to Millau, have seen glimpses of the famous bridge but will go and check it out properly tomorrow. On the way here we passed over several high viaducts – they obviously don’t believe in driving down into valleys if there’s no need. Gus was very impressed with all the beautiful ‘cuttings’ on the way through too, very impressive earthworks. The road was so good that we had the Enterprise in warp factor 7 all the way. Just after we arrived and set up the awning (and got a load of washing in the campground machine) we got the most impressive thunder storm; note the water pouring off the edge of the awning!
We had the most amazing day today, but not because of the Millau Viaduct, although of course that was interesting and very big – they had an information centre there too so we now know lots about it – well, Gus does... For those who may be interested (skip the rest of this paragraph girls!) length is 2460m; there are 7 piers, the shortest being 77m high; the longest 245m. From the river to the deck is 270m. Each of the steel pylons stands 90m tall above the deck (where the cars go). Total height is 343m. The span between piers is 342m. They used 85,000m³ of 60MPA concrete. The steel deck weighs 36,000 tonnes; and has 10,000 tonnes of hotmix. It took three years to build from start to finish and cost 400 million Euros; the toll booth alone cost 80 million. Of course he has a brochure he’s reading from, complete fraud really...
On a whim we decided to take a drive up the Gorges du Tarn, we hadn’t heard about them before but had seen some signage on the way into Millau and saw some more info at the information centre so thought they may be worth checking out.
So pleased we did, it’s the most incredible gorge! The scenery alone would be well worth the drive; the road hugs the river all the way and some of it looks like both of us imagine some of the Colorado gorges do. But apart from the scenery there are also villages hugging onto the steepest parts, sometimes built into the rocks themselves.
There are also the remains of many chateaux that were built on top of the most precipice rocks – god knows how, mostly built in the 12th century apparently. Some of the villages can only be reached by crossing the river from the road; there are flying foxes and boats to get to them.
One village we stopped at, Sainte-Enimie, was mostly built in mediaeval times – it has several squares amongst the buildings, they each had a different purpose. One was for men only and was for trading. Another was the main place to buy sheep’s butter in the region. The streets were steep and original, not true cobblestone but just river stones set into mortar.
The road itself was carved into the rock, with tunnels, natural overhangs, sheer drops straight into the river; we even drove under a house that hung over the road at one point. Quite exciting for The Enterprise and the rest of us, Puke had her eyes shut a couple of times. (By the way that’s Puke as in Puketapu NOT as in puke (feeling sick) as has been suggested) Luckily with a right hand drive vehicle and driving on the right hand of the road, Gus was closest to the edge!
No comments:
Post a Comment