Roquefort Cheese Caves.

About an hour’s drive from where I’m living is an area called Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, home to one of the most widely known blue cheeses in the world. I have never been a blue cheese fan, but going on a tour through the cheese caves sounded amazing and something worthwhile doing, even if smelly.

Several million years ago, a series of climactic events caused the Combalou Mountain in this area to partly collapse, leaving behind cracks and caves in the rock. Legend tells that a shepherd and his sweetheart met secretly in one of the caves and by accident, the silly shepherd left behind his bag with rye bread and ewe’s cheese. A few days later when the lovers met again, they discovered the cheese covered with green-blue mould. They tried it, loved it, and the rest was history.

Today, the ewe milk is curdled in the cheese dairy, then the natural mould Penicillium roqueforti, which grows naturally in the caves, is injected inside. The cheese develops in the caves too, which happen to be the perfect temperature and humidity conditions for a stable microclimate all year round. And after three months, voilà! Out comes the tangy, sharp, moist, green-veined wheels of cheese.

So I went, and sampled it, and I can honestly say that I like it. If eaten with my eyes closed, nose pinched and simultaneously consuming copious amounts of bread*.

But the day trip with special friends was great fun, seeing the architectural feat of the Millau Viaduct on the way back was equally a highlight, our picnic in the sunshine overlooking the Gorges du Tarn was also magnificent, and the scenery in the south of France continues to take my breath away.

* Don’t take my word for it – the stuff is loved by many.

And this is coming from the girl who didn’t like wine once either. Thankfully I’ve since come to my senses.