Millau Bridge--Tallest in the World

{Millau Viaduct facing South}

When there's a big gorge that causes traffic from Spain to Paris to crawl through a small village, what do you do?
You build a bridge, that's what. And you know how the French love to build a bridge.

The Millau bridge is a work of stunning engineering, daunting in scale and height, stretching across the Tarn river valley and saving the village of Millau from all that traffic from Paris to Montpellier and beyond to Spain.
At its highest point this cable-stayed bridge reaches to 1125 feet high from the base. It's said to be a reflection of the structural beauty of the Eiffel Tower in the south of France.

{view from the top}

On site work began on 14 December 2001 and the finished bridge opened to its first traffic almost exactly three years later on 16 December 2004.

There is a rest-stop and visitors center where you can stop and learn about the construction of the bridge as well buy and learn about local products. There's a small restaurant open in high season and the ubiquitous French drinks machine dispensing chocolat chaud, coffee and soup.

{kids, chocolat chaud and a big bug at the visitors center}

You can follow a walking path up to the side of the bridge for a closer look.

{on the way to the lookout}

We took a picnic and stopped off at one of the tables to have lunch after the short hike and incredibly vertigo inducing view. 

{looks like they're on the edge doesn't it?}

P-Daddy and I started off on the wrong foot and were irritable with each other as we drove over the first time but by the time we'd hiked and oohed and picnicked and swung back around to pay the 6 euro toll for a second time, we'd found our way back around to each other too.
Picnics and bridges can do that for you.

{turning my back on a make up photo, harumph!}

They close the bridge for footraces, unusual for a non-pedestrian bridge of such scale, each year.
This year's race is on 12 May and is 23.7 kilometers, roughly a half-marathon by my estimation. Registration is open and by internet only if you're interested. It would be magnificent to 'run between sky and land'. Any takers?