Vichy - Moulins

Wednesday 30th December

On Wednesday, I was hoping to find a jacket for myself at the local markets in Vichy… but you know what’s it’s like when you have something specific in your head and nothing else will do!!!  So, no jacket.

The markets weren’t all that impressive, so Wayne and I walked into the centre of town and then back to Anne’s house.  We saw the very impressive war memorial which also commemorates those residents of Vichy who were taken to Nazi death camps.

We then went to Moulins.  The peculiarity of this town is that it has two cathedrals.

While here we visited a house which was once owned by a bourgeois called Louis Mantin.  He had no direct descendants, so in his will, he left his house to the city of Moulins on the condition that it remain closed for 100 years, then be restored and made into a museum to show people of the 21st century.  While it was quite interesting to see the eclectic collection of artefacts in the house, the tour did go for too long.  The guide was so passionate about his subject matter that his one hour tour almost extended for two (which made it a bit difficult for Wayne as it was all in French).  Photos wereen't allowed but here's the National Geographic article on it if you are at all interested: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/pictures/110209-maison-mantin-french-time-capsule-mansion/

We then went and had a coffee at the “Grand Café” which is reminiscent of a bygone era.

On return home, Anne cooked us a beautiful dinner of quail.

Charroux - Chantelle

Tuesday 29th December.

Today we went to the lovely little artisans’ village of Charroux.  It is here that many local products are made.  Due to the fact that it’s winter, unfortunately not much was opened.  I was able to stock up on the mustard which the town gives its name to.  It is apparently better than Dijon.  Last time I was here, they had “Roupettes” (rooster testicles in jelly) but they had sold out over the Christmas period.  They did have, if you so desired, cocks’ combs in jelly, though.

We also visited the jam shop where they had a huge array of flavours, including champagne and chocolate.

The old buildings are so full of character.  The house in the first picture below dates to the 14th century and still has some of the original floor boards.

Our next stop was Anne’s hometown of Chantelle where we had lunch with Anne’s sister and father.  Anne had bought and absolutely decadent chocolate gateau to enjoy for dessert (which I stupidly forgot to take a photo of).  We then went to the local abbey where the nuns produce beauty products.  Last time I was here, I bought a bar of soap that lasted 12 months, so I stocked up again.

In the evening we had dinner at a new Moroccan restaurant just down the road from Anne’s house.  It was absolutely delicious.  Something that I really liked was that when we had finished our main meal, they moved us to comfy couches where we enjoyed our mint tea and Moroccan pastries.  I am so going to miss Moroccan food and mint tea when I get back to Australia!

Puy de Dôme - Clermont-Ferrand

Monday 28th December

We’ve had a busy few days in the Auvergne region seeing lots of what the region has to offer (still no snow, though).

On Monday, Anne took us to the top of Puy de Dôme, a large lava dome in the Massif Central mountains.  This is part of a chain of extinct volcanoes.  Many of the craters are now lakes which have a depth of up to 500 metres. To get to the top, you have to take a 10 minute ride on a cog train. The number of visitors each year was becoming unmanageable, so they removed the carpark from the top and installed the train which commenced operation in 2012.  For those who are a little more active, you can walk or cycle to the top... we took the train!

Apart from there being a spectacular view, the Puy is also the site of a second century Gallo-Roman temple to Mercury.  The remains of the temple were found in 1873 during construction work for a weather station.  Part of the temple has been reconstructed to show how it might have looked.  There is a little museum which explains the Roman history of this area as well as copies of artefacts found at the site of the temple.

On the way to Clermont-Ferrand, we drove past some lovely farmland.  While some of the animals are no doubt in barns at this time of year (even though the weather is unseasonably warm) but there were still a number of sheep in the field and some of the lovely cows that provide milk to make Saint Nectaire cheese.

We were lucky again to have such beautifully blue skies because the black volcanic rock of Clermont-Ferrand certainly stood out in these conditions.  It’s a bit miserable when it’s bleak.  The cathedral is the most striking with its black gargoyles and with the black rock framing the vibrant stained glass windows.

Clermont-Ferrand is the birthplace of three famous personalities: Vercingétorix (the Gaul who supposedly threw his weapons down in front of Caeser in defeat), Pope Urbaine II and Blaise Pascal (a famous mathematician) and their images are found on metal discs which are embedded into the footpaths of the town.

After a lovely day of site seeing we headed back to Vichy where I prepared a curry for us all to enjoy.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day

We had a slow morning getting over all the food we ate on Christmas Eve.  It was nice to have a sleep in and a bit of a relax after doing lots of tourism.

After a light brunch, Roland and Christine took us up to one of the mountains near Annecy, Le Semnoz.  This is also a ski station and once again, there was virtually no snow. It was the first day we got to see Mont Blanc.  The other days we have been out it has been difficult to see due to the position of the sun or cloud cover.

At the top there were some paragliders trying to get a good updraft to take off.  They managed to get a small wind to have a bit of a play but I’m not sure if any of them succeeded in getting the right wind to take them down the mountain.

We then headed back down, passing some typical farm houses of the Haute-Savoie region.

We then drove back along another section of Lake Annecy.  From every angle, this lake is beautiful.  We got out and had a bit of a stroll and it was like spring weather.  Christine said it was not usual to see little daisies flowering at this time of year.

Christmas night, we headed back into the old part of Annecy and enjoyed a cheese fondu.  Yummy!

La Clusaz - Col des Aravis - Megève

24th December

Yesterday, Roland took Wayne and I to some of the famous ski stations of the region (via Lake Annecy).

How very sad that there is so little snow.  At La Clusaz, there was still enough for the cross country skiiers, but many of the lower downhill runs were barely covered. Despite this, the views were stunning.  I guess one of the benefits of there being no snow is that we were able to make it to these amazing sites without having to worry about snow or black ice on the roads.  Despite there not having been much snow, the little lake in the valley was still frozen over.

We stopped for a quick bite at Col des Aravis.  The little chapel there is dedicated to two resistance workers from World War II.  Roland explained to us that this was a major area for the resistance during the war.

When we left Col des Aravis, we stopped at a barn to take photos of the many cowbells that were lined up on the wall.  Just as we were doing so, the farmer turned up and he introduced us to his cows.  These cows make a well known cheese from the Haute-Savoie region called Roblochon, the breed of cows is Abondance.  They are known by the brown patches around their eyes.  At this time of year, the cows and other livestock are kept in barns. We then went into the area where they were making the cheeses.

Our final stop for the day was Megève.  This little alpine town, like Geneva, had all the high end brands available.  Roland told us that people come here not so much to ski, but to show how much money they have.  Last time I was in this town (23 years ago with Roland and Christine), it was a winter wonderland.  It was quite a different picture this time around.

Next we headed back to Annecy along another section of the lake.

As the main Christmas meal is consumed on the evening on the 24th in France we enjoyed a wonderful extended dinner beautifully prepared by our lovely friend, Christine:  escargots vol-au-vents, salami, foie gras, roast chicken with steamed asparagus, and a bûche de Noël.  Of course all of this was washed down with several different varieties of wine.