Dana
100+ Posts
This July four of us drove from our home in the Lot to the Auvergne to see Romanesque churches, as one does although we ended up spending four nights in Clermont-Ferrand because the car broke down! But what a lush and lovely part of France it is, the land of famous fromages like Salers and Cantal (its nickname is the 'Cheese Platter of France') and if like us you get stuck in the city waiting for the garage, Clermont-Ferrand actually a lot of fun, young and buzzy with great bars and restaurants, and very low on tourists, even in July.
We stayed smack in the centre near Vercingetorix, the brave Gaulish chief who was captured nearbyin Gergovie by Julius Caesar. Even though Clermont-Ferrand is quite small, thanks to Michelin it has a very useful tram system so it was easy to get around even when the car was in the garage.
Via tram, bus trip and funicular we got to the very windy top of Le Puy de Dôme, a former volcano with grandiose view over dozens of other dead volcanoes, all covered in a carpet of green. After Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul, a Roman road was built from Lyon to Saintes on the Atlantic coast, and up on the summit stood Europe's highest temple of Mercury, god of commerce, which the French are currently restoring: it looked like this in the 19th century, when a meterological station was built on the summit.
Clermont also means Michelin, of course, the only top ten company in France located outside the Paris region. We didn't really expect much from L'Aventure Michelin on the edge of the city but it was really fun, especially the sections on the maps and guide books. Best of all were the surreal films from the 1950s and 60s of old Michelin promotions, starring Bibendum the company's famous mascot, that I would attach links to but they aren't online and you'll just have to go to Clermont to see them.
This is a car used to test tires.
On the way back home, car repaired and 1200 euros poorer (ouch!) we did stop to see one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Saint-Nectaire, which is also synonymous with cheese.
Built in the 12th century, it had some of the very best painted capitals from the period, complete with a whole bestiary. There were even a couple of crocodiles, which are pretty rare in the middle of medieval France, but my photo is really blurry. But here is a donkey playing a harp.
It also had a rare reliquary bust of the obscure St Baudime, although someone had nicked his gemstones.
We had to get home to relieve our cat sitter. Next time, though, we'll make it to Le Puy-en-Velay, one of the traditional starting points of the Compostela pilgrimage. Maybe we should walk!
We stayed smack in the centre near Vercingetorix, the brave Gaulish chief who was captured nearbyin Gergovie by Julius Caesar. Even though Clermont-Ferrand is quite small, thanks to Michelin it has a very useful tram system so it was easy to get around even when the car was in the garage.
Via tram, bus trip and funicular we got to the very windy top of Le Puy de Dôme, a former volcano with grandiose view over dozens of other dead volcanoes, all covered in a carpet of green. After Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul, a Roman road was built from Lyon to Saintes on the Atlantic coast, and up on the summit stood Europe's highest temple of Mercury, god of commerce, which the French are currently restoring: it looked like this in the 19th century, when a meterological station was built on the summit.
Clermont also means Michelin, of course, the only top ten company in France located outside the Paris region. We didn't really expect much from L'Aventure Michelin on the edge of the city but it was really fun, especially the sections on the maps and guide books. Best of all were the surreal films from the 1950s and 60s of old Michelin promotions, starring Bibendum the company's famous mascot, that I would attach links to but they aren't online and you'll just have to go to Clermont to see them.
This is a car used to test tires.
On the way back home, car repaired and 1200 euros poorer (ouch!) we did stop to see one of the most beautiful Romanesque churches in Saint-Nectaire, which is also synonymous with cheese.
Built in the 12th century, it had some of the very best painted capitals from the period, complete with a whole bestiary. There were even a couple of crocodiles, which are pretty rare in the middle of medieval France, but my photo is really blurry. But here is a donkey playing a harp.
It also had a rare reliquary bust of the obscure St Baudime, although someone had nicked his gemstones.
We had to get home to relieve our cat sitter. Next time, though, we'll make it to Le Puy-en-Velay, one of the traditional starting points of the Compostela pilgrimage. Maybe we should walk!
