Going Underground

Turn up the volume. This post has sound art from inside a cave.

Well that just takes too long to load onto the blog. If you want to hear more just visit me when I get home. Here’s a quick synopsis. I was in a cave system and there were musical art installations throughout.

The sound was incredible. The first time I tried to get into Carrière de Vignemont the owner said I couldn’t go into the cave system alone. So I said I’d come back on Saturday when there was sure to be a crowd. Today I returned but there was no one else there and she said I could now go in alone.

It was amazing! Here she is unlocking the door for me. Big key eh?

It’s the result of centuries of limestone quarrying for the rocks to construct buildings. The size is incredible (I expected a cave but this is a theatre) and there are dioramas too.

There is one section dealing with wine (because it’s in France) and one section dealing with growing mushrooms. That was one of the uses after the quarrying stopped.

The locals had used the caves as places to hide when pillagers and such came by. I seem to remember a WWII film where they hid all their wine in a cave system. Was that here?

I made it out, in spite of some pretty big, scary cracks in the roof of the cave, and it was market day. Here’s what I found to buy today.

The black thing is a tourteau fromage. It turns out it’s a kind of cake made with goat cheese. Here’s a link to the explanation: Tourteau Fromage. I think it must be the kind of cake they packed in those historical novels when they went on adventures. The cheese I bought today is made from sheep’s milk.

The cake was delicious. I had no trouble eating the entire thing!

I’m looking forward to sharing those underground sounds with you when I get home.

Love to all.