SPARKY’S BLOG
12-3-2012
Albi,
France III & Rodez
(May 19th)
Albi
(tour) –
Without Aaron in tow, we had a guided visit of Albi and this proved to
be a blast as we walked past Toulouse Lautrec’s home and learned of his prowess
with the women. Not sure if I believed
most of what was said as this man’s diminutive size would normally preclude him
from attracting the fairer sex altogether.
Needless to say, I knew it was all true and felt that perhaps there is
hope for me as well….okay enough about me.
Cathedral
/ Sainte-Cecile
Our next visit was of the cathedral located smack-dab in the middle of
the town nestled along-side the Tarn River.
The spectacular Cathedral
Sainte-Cecile of Gothic origin and style was built in the 13th
century in the heart of Cathar country, is the largest brick building in the
world. Perched high on a hill above the River Tarn, it looks more like a
fortress than a cathedral. The interior is opulent with frescos and very
interesting stained glass windows depicting not only medieval times but those
of modern events as well. I was
enthralled with the “open-minded” attitude of the ruling clergy to allow such
free thinking to enter their religious domain.
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| Votive candles sending prayers |
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| The opulence is magnificent! |
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| The entrance to the cathedral is grande |
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| Gargoyles are rampantly adorned |
Boat
ride of “Gabarre”
The boat ride of “Gabarre” on the River Tarn was nice but all too
short. The ride and tour lasted about 45
minutes but proved to be a visual spectacle of flora and fauna creeping into
and onto the local architecture that was damaged and bombed in World War
II. The remnants were quite stark and
there was evidence of great destruction and I became a bit melancholy at the
thought of seeing German war planes dive bombing such splendor as the
surroundings of Albi, France are quite beautiful.
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| A view from our boat on the Tarn River |
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| Looking through the aqueduct and bridge |
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| The Cathedral reigns supreme over Albi |
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| Albi has enough charm for two cities |
Lunch
We retired to the bus to head to lunch at restaurant L’Ispien Port in
Les Brisses Gaillac…former rugby play Revallier is a chef/proprietor of this
establishment and one would wonder what a ruffian like a former rugby player
have to offer us? Charcuterie, squab
atop haricoverts, cheese dumplings and wicked aperitifs! I ate too much and didn’t care as I tortured
myself before this trip losing 15 lbs. knowing that I would put it all back on.
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| Wine, food and new friends made for a perfect trip! |
More
wine tasting
Our next stop is a visit La Cave de Tecou for another wine
tasting. It’s a wonder that France’s
population isn’t totally plastered all the time as we, seemingly, drink wine
all day long. Regardless, we tasted a
very tart white as our first offering (I didn’t like it) but then came the
full-bodied reds with undertones of earth, pepper, nutmeg, pear, faint citrus
with fragrant and flowery grapes.
Absolutely fantastic stuff and I was very pleased – probably due to the
fact that I had become inebriated - a detail that gave me shivers as I had
given Aaron a serious tongue-lashing in our hotel room prior to our day’s
departure for doing this very same thing.
I was quite secure in my resolve to keep my clothes on and gave my
drunken state a pass as I was going to enjoy myself albeit in a responsible
manner.
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| Anyone for some wine? |
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| This stuff was pretty wonderful! |
Enjoy
myself I did
As it turned out we all wanted a bit more fun after such a long visit
and we had a long bus ride to Rodez the next day and figured we could sleep on
the bus if needed. We just so happened
to be staying in a hotel where the lobby also doubled as a bar and the beer was
flowing quite nicely. I led the way with
a round on me and we started to play cards and then the laptops came out to
facilitate our fellow students need to become Facebook® friends. Some of the older students didn't even have
accounts but after much prodding; they gave in to the peer pressure and signed
up for a share of the fun in the distribution of photos, comments and overall
merriment.
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| Bailey enjoying a nice French beverage while a pregnant Tiffany looks on... |
Some members of the group made up songs and words (me) to go along
with various tunes that were playing on the hotel sound system. Others were engaged in hangman, chess (yes,
the hotel had a board available), checkers and euchre (a nice Midwestern game).
Suffice it to say, we had a good, clean,
all-American time and we kept our clothes on.
Come morning, we straggled downstairs one by one wearing sunglasses,
wrinkled clothes and sporting a lot of wet hair as time ran short to use a hair
dryer (that extra few minutes in bed really DOESN'T make a difference on how
you’ll feel the rest of the day). Our
last night in Albi would be my last one of being “over-served’ as my father
would call it. Most of the group would
not venture down that slippery slope of alcoholic messiness including me for
the rest of the trip but I must say…..we had a swell time that night and I’m
glad we all enjoyed ourselves and developed a nice bond among the group.
(May 20th)
Rodez –
The Roquefort cheese cellars were a treat just to understand how the
process evolved. First we were schooled
on how the geography had changed over hundreds of thousands of years. The earth literally broke away from what eventually
has become a small mountain and fell hundreds of feet below. This process of the earth breaking apart and
falling formed the caves of Roquefort and started a process of drafts that
would carry with it spores of penicillium that imparts the cheese with its
sharp and full-bodied nature.
The process was discovered, of course, by accident when a Sheppard
laid down a piece of bread and cheese but forgot it over a period of a day or
so. When the Sheppard returned he
discovered a type of mold had grown on both pieces of food. The bread tasted foul but the cheese tasted
divine and thus the process was born and refined over hundreds of years
becoming a legendary food product of France.
After our history lesson, we entered the caves and immediately felt
the drafts that were spoken of in the video and lecture we received. The second thing that you notice straight
away is the smell which is that of a peculiar type of mold that is musty but
also fragrant. It’s kind of funny how
the air doesn’t smell like the cheese itself as there is loads of it lining the
shelves that are built to house it for storage during its curing process.
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| Getting into the French spirit! Yes, that's a genuine beret (I had to right?). |
If memory serves me correctly there are five stories of shelving just
like that of an actual building. That
doesn’t mean that there are only five stories of cave – oh no, there is an
undisclosed number of levels as some of the facts regarding the Roquefort caves
are cloaked in secrecy. I’m not sure why
but were also instructed to NOT take pictures during our stay beneath the
earth’s surface. I still heard a few
clicks as some group members did not heed the rules set forth by our guide.
Of course there are stories of ghosts and tragedy strewn along our
walk throughout the tour but most of that went in one ear and out the other for
most of us. I was really looking forward
to the tasting that came after and I was not disappointed! There were several variations (aged at
different periods) that were very different.
I wouldn't think that a few months would make that much difference in
the taste of the cheese itself but it really does.
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| After our Roquefort tour - full of cheese and wine; I was VERY happy! |
We first tried 3 month, 6 month and 12 month variations. The longer aged cheeses were, of course, much
stronger in flavor but this doesn't mean better. We all spied a 24 month old cheese and assumed
that this would be the best tasting but it was not…..be careful of the theory
of diminishing returns. In my opinion,
this older variety was musty and dull tasting but I was assured by our tour
guide that it is a delicacy. Most of our
group felt much the same way I did.
Have a
great day and never give up!
Mark
(Sparky)
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