Larzac

There was a national holiday on Tuesday 1st November to remember the dead. The shops were full of flowers and everyone had the day off to visit the cemeteries and leave their bouquets. Chrysanthemums were the favourite choice as they lasted longer. The cemeteries were indeed covered in flowers that day.
The language school arranged for us to visit a region known as Larzac, just north of Montpellier, about one and a half hours from here by motorway.
I was particularly interested in the walled village of La Couvertoirade, built about 1200 by the Knights Templar, as their base before fighting in the Crusades. In this small space you have a concentrated view of how people lived at that time, surrounded by ramparts and knights. There is a large lavogne, a stoned watering hole for the sheep, just outside the walls. This was a clever way of collecting rain water as it is a dry, barren area. You can see in the photos some of the stone steps up to the houses where people still live and have been living for over 800 years. Fascinating Place. The posters show some of the activities held here, similar to the jousting and other games of long ago.
Then I had another opportunity to see the famous Viaduc Maillau, this time from underneath. Well, I couldn't see all of it. Quite a lot was in the clowds. After all, it is higher than the Eiffel Tower at one point. I  am really amazed when I look at it, how it was possible to build such a bridge. Quite spectacular.
Our final stop was the village of Roquefort, where we were able to take a tour right into the heart of the mountain where real Roquefort cheese is made. It was cool and humide inside the caves and this temperature is carefully monitored to produce the most famous cheese in the world. There is quite a story behind its inception as far back as Roman times but I'll let you google that yourselves.
We returned to Montpellier tired but very pleased with our outing only to find that there had been a once in 50 years storm in Montpellier. There were floods everywhere, roads were blocked and traffic jams on all the roads into the centre. The river recorded 70 cm rise in one day. We eventually abandoned our bus and walked the last part. Tram lines were submerged and the underground tunnel was closed, causing mayhem. This stormy weather has lasted 4 days now. Hopefully we will have a dry day tomorrow. I have been returning home each day soaked. All part of the adventure. I have notice that no one lives on the ground floor in central Montpellier. Here's some weather report for you French students.
La pluie! Il y avait ici des orages violents qui ont provoque un episode pluvieux qui n'arrive que tous les 50 ans. On dit que la pluie ne dure longtemps. J'espere que c'est vrai. C'est aujourd'hui le quatrieme jour. Mardi on a eu les pieds dans l'eau, la circulation a ete arretee pendant des heures avec des embouteillages partout. Les rives de la riviere Lez ont ete interdites aux voitures car inondees. La hauteur du Lez a augmente de plus de 70 cm pendant une journee. Et ce n'est pas fini. Le vent continue a venir de la mer en rafales. Je suis arrivee chaque jour de l'ecole trempee jusqu'aux os. Mais c'est une aventure. J'adore les orages, surtout quand je suis a la maison!