Brown, Danny 'Atrocity Exhibition' CD (Warp Records) New fourth full-length release for the Detroit rapper known for his humorous delivery and wit along with his. After MASH (TV Series 1983–1985) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. A Trip Along The A7. The High Road To The South of France : : Society Grapevine. No, this is not about the 7. Dumfriesshire. This is about the amazing and often beautiful stretch of motorway that winds its way through the centre of France. There are a number of ways to drive to the south of France and I think I’ve done them all, including routes nationals, but the A7. Most French motorways have names. No, this is not about the 75cl bottle, nor indeed the ghost road through Dumfriesshire. This is about the amazing and often beautiful stretch of motorway that winds. AfterMASH is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 26, 1983, to May 31, 1985. The series is a spin-off and continuation of M*A*S*H which takes place. With Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, Rosalind Chao. The Korean War has ended. Colonel Potter, Sergeant Klinger, and Father Mulcahy find themselves. The most famous, the often overcrowded A6, is the . The usually empty A2. Calais to Troyes, is called . And for most of the time, it’s free, and usually free of heavy traffic. Leaving Clermont southbound, the first point of interest, at least to historians and lovers of Asterix, is the Plateau de Gergovie, a setting for a resounding Roman defeat at the hands of the Gauls. From the road, it is difficult to see that this is also vineyard country. The Veyre- Monton turnoff quickly leads to the admirable Saint Verny Co- operative, the largest producer of wine in the Auvergne which is currently enjoying a period of real rebirth. The Auvergne is an old wine- producing region but its size coincided with expansion of Clermont- Ferrand, and then, as with so many regions, receded after phylloxera. Traditionally the wines were light reds and at one time made from pinot noir, locally called auvernat noir. Gamay came to replace it and is now the majority variety. Others have been added including chardonnay and even syrah, but gamay still dominates for both red and ros. The 2. 01. 3, which we stock (. The reds are almost as light and can be enjoyed cool with charcuterie, for example. And, of course, there is also cheese. Another short detour will take you to Saint Nectaire which makes a rich and creamy cheese which goes well with the red. After a short winding passage alongside the Allier (beware of the much reduced speed limit and camera), the road starts to climb to its cruising altitude of around 8. The remarkable thing about this motorway is that so much of it is at high altitude, twisting between the hill tops and leaping over valleys on ever more impressive bridges. About 5. 0k of the route is over 1,0. The first of these is just before the exit to the historic medieval town of Saint Flour with its Gothic Cathedral perched high up on a volcanic spur.
This is always a good place to stop over, breath the fresh mountain air, eat the local charcuterie washed down with a gamay. Should the air be not bracing enough, the road to Aurillac, capital of the Cantal Departement, crosses the Monts du Cantal, with two peaks, plomb du Cantal and Puy Mary on either side of the road and both eminently scalable. The summer months are the time for cheese making and two of France’s oldest and greatest cheeses come from around here. There is Cantal and in my view the more complex salers. Both are hard cheeses made from cow’s milk. Salers has to be made only from milk from the salers breed of cow. Both cheeses are best with age and both have a certain similarity to Cheddar. A little to the south of Saint Flour is one of the two great engineering masterpieces along this route and is probably best seen from the lay by off the motorway. This is the Viaduct de Gabarit, a single track wrought iron railway bridge built in 1. Eiffel. Only one train a day uses it in each direction during the tourist season and going on it remains an unfulfilled ambition! After leaving the Cantal, the road cuts through the Aubrac, home to another breed of cattle, the Aubrac, but this is now beef cattle and very fashionable too in all the top restaurants of Auvergne and the Languedoc. And talking of animals, this is where the beast of G. From the 1. 76. 0s onwards came tales of a horrific Hound of the Baskervilles type of creature that terrorised the population, eating its victims and forcing the government to act. This is what Robert Louis Stevenson had to say in his essential book, Travels on a donkey in the Cevennes: For this was the land of the ever memorable Beast, the Napoleon Bonaparte of wolves. What a career was his! He lived ten months at free quarters in G. He was placarded like a political offender, and ten thousand francs were offered for his head. And yet, when he was shot and sent to Versailles, behold! A common wolf and even small for that. Today seeking out the Beast is of course just a wonderful excuse for further exploration of the stunning countryside. Time for more vineyards. Philippe Teulier is the key man here who almost single- handedly resurrected this near- extinct appellation. Most of the wine is red made from the local fer servadou grape, and we currently stock Marcillac . This is a deeply coloured, gutsy red, always fresh and never high in alcohol and it goes perfectly well with the local dish which would be a slice of Aubrac steak with a spoonful of aligot. Aligot is the sort of dish made for hill walkers. Mash potato with plenty of garlic and combined with cheese to create a fondue like texture. Delicious though almost indigestible! Back to S. The road now climbs back to over 8. Millau or continuing on. Millau itself is attractive enough with plenty of options for staying the night and good places to eat too. There is a local wine called C. Personally, I believe Marcillac is the better buy. Millau used to be famous as a centre for glove making, especially from sheepskin, and nearby is where Roquefort cheese is made. The cheese remains world famous but Millau itself has become world famous for the eponymous viaduct. This was designed by Norman Foster and opened in 2. It is 2,4. 60m in length and crosses the Tarn River, some 2. The highest pier is 3. Eiffel Tower and the whole thing looks like a magical silvery sailing ship, often cutting through mists and clouds. The A7. 5 goes over it and there are plenty of places where one can stop and admire its beauty, either from a lay- by off the motorway or from below. With the bridge behind, the landscape changes to one of arid scrubland. This is the plateau of the Larzac, known for its sheep, Roquefort cheese, Templar fortress and the activist Jos. Suddenly, the speed limit is reduced. They’re cameras everywhere; the road starts to twist and turn and plunge quite steeply. This was the hardest section of the A7. The pass is called Pas de l’Escalette and it marks the separation between the Massif Central and the plane of the Languedoc. The road goes through a tunnel at that point and very soon reaches down to the plain. The landscape changes completely and often too does the weather. So often the Larzac is crossed in mist or drizzle which suddenly clears to blazing sunshine down in the plain. Now of course there is vineyard everywhere but for a final stop, the village of Montpeyroux lies just off the motorway. Montpeyroux is a vigneron village with a growing reputation for its wines and especially for its reds. Sylvain Fadat of Domaine Aupilhac is the leading light in the area but there are others too like Pascale Riviere and Alain Chabanonwhich we also buy from. All the growers are busy working on turning Montpeyroux into a cru, which would be well deserved. The A7. 5 carries on past the town of Pezenas, with its link to Moli. Peter and Deborah Core, two expatriates from the City make excellent wines at their bijoux winery, Mas Gabriel in the village of Caux. Soon, the journey is over and the A7. A9 to go either towards the Rh. Gone is the peace and quiet and welcome instead three lanes of incessant traffic, trucks and caravans! Marcel Orford- Williams.
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