Woops, I Slipped And Fell Into A French Mountain Fairytale

This week I am in the Cévennes National Park and it is unlike any other landscape I've seen in France so far. I travelled here on one of the most astonishing roads I've ever driven. I kept making noises that sounded like being stabbed as I rounded the corner to every new vista and it literally took my breath away. Steep, steep roads switch-backing up the sides of the mountains (like Galston Gorge on steroids and with fewer safety barriers), deep valleys far below, occasional tiny towns clinging to the ridges, but otherwise just mountain wilderness. Higher and higher until I entered the misty zone, where I slowed to a crawl through the soft dreamy white. Impenetrable woods of dark green and ash grey just visible on one side of the road, only mist on the other (probably blanketing a sheer drop off a precipice).

Eventually I drove even higher and left the mist behind and below me. I soon found the last turn off to my destination with a red warning sign. WARNING - DIFFICULT AND DANGEROUS ROAD. Cool, not at all frightening or intimidating. It actually wasn't that bad, similar to the route I'd already taken to get that far.

But gosh, I was glad to finally make it to the place I'm staying for the week, a remote farm off a remote hamlet of a remote little town named Vebron.

The place I'm staying is nestled in a steep valley.

There are llamas, chickens, two teeny tiny horses, and one deeply suspicious black sheep who considers himself to be the security agent of the place.

(I was REALLY excited at the size of this horse, okay?)