1.I recently took a trip through the Auvergne and Rhone Valley, and I came back with more than my share of beautiful photos (including this one of a local cheese called artisou.)
2. Fall colors were around every bend as I wound my way through the region.
3. And I definitely saw more than my fair share of cows.
4. I visited the natural aging cellars of Beaune-le-Froid, where Saint-Nectaire is ripened beneath the volcanic soil.
5. I breathed in the delicious scent of roasting chestnuts in Mourjou.
6. I learned how traditional knives are made in Laguiole.
7. I stood beneath Gustave Eiffel’s viaduct over the Truyère.
8. I met the producer of my favorite saucisson sec…
9. …and of one of my favorite pressed cheeses.
10. I woke early in the morning to start my journey…
11. …and I often kept driving well into the evening.
12. Everywhere I went, I was blown away by exquisite colors. Blues and oranges…
13. …deep greens and blacks…
14. …red, cream…
15. …crimson…
16. …turquoise and yellow in Puy…
17. …gold in Beaujolais.
18. Every bend in the winding roads revealed another perfect vista.
19. Medieval fortresses stood tall in the background.
20. Tiny towns beckoned with their winding streets.
21. I drove through the natural tunnels in Ardèche…
22. …and past more grapevines than I can even count.
23. As I wound my way south, things revealed themselves to be far more Provençal in style…
24. …while in Bresse, the Burgundian influences were clear.
25. I saw blue-footed chickens.
26. I climbed higher than the clouds.
27. I saw cobbled streets…
28. …and a terrifying scarecrow…
29. … and an ancient volcano.
30. I ate far more cheese than one person reasonably should.
31. And I saw far more beauty…
32. … than I ever could have imagined…
33. … existed anywhere on Earth.
