Ever Westwards

Day Three

Ever westwards - and a rendezvous.

A few kilometers out of Le Puy, we stopped in the little village of Polignac. Set upon a rise in the countryside, the castle looks down on the village surrounding it. The village itself does not offer a lot except one pretty church with paintings dating back to the 12th century - often a feature in these parts.




Rolf will use a motorway if necessary, but this journey has only used minor roads since Switzerland. This means we pass through sleepy little villages and along country roads with more tractors and cyclists (they are everywhere - even on the steepest hills). But it does bring you closer to the countryside. This is Prades les Orgues, a hamlet with an amazing basalt cliff (like an organ).


  
  


      

French guide books point out 154 of France´s prettiest towns / villages, and this is one. Salers lies almost half way along a line between Lyon and Toulouse, but there is no direct road. It is in the area known as Cantal, famous for its cheeses, including Saler cheese, made from that breed of cattle. Now it is also a popular tourist site, but the tourists are mainly French and Dutch! (Cheese rollers get everywhere!)

   

      





      

And then on to Aurillac, where we spent the night; and Rolf had time to meet up with an old friend.


         



Go to DAY ONE - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY TWO - CLICK HERE.
 
Go to DAY FOUR - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY FIVE - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY SIX - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY SEVEN - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY EIGHT - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY NINE - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY TEN - CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY ELEVEN- CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY TWELVE- CLICK HERE.
Go to DAY THIRTEEN - CLICK HERE.

For a list of my other (mainly map) blogs - CLICK HERE.

.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Set Off from Stuttgart

Image
 DAY ONE Set off from Stuttgart My friend Rolf loves driving. And if you had a modern Mazda MX5 maybe you would too! He has driven it all round Europe and in 2024 we travelled through Romania together. This year he opted for a trip to see the solar eclipse in Spain in August and after I hinted I would be interested, he asked me to join him. As he had to travel from Hamburg, Stuttgart was a convenient meeting place, and he stayed with us. Kit and Rolf searching for the solar eclipse      The beginning of the trip was fairly boring for anyone living in or near Stuttgart. We took the motorway A81 directly from Stuttgart southwards to the German border with Switzerland and crossed at Koblenz (not the one on the Rhine!). Then through Switzerland which was uneventful. Although we passed both the big lakes at Neuchatel and Lausanne, we saw little of them. We quickly made for our first overnight stay at Annecy, just inside France, below the Swiss border. We had a cheap hotel...
Read more

Goodbye

Image
 DAY TWELVE Yesterday was the last full day of this long journey. A time to slow down and relax.  The night before we had left the restaurant late and the sky was clear. However, during the night there was a severe storm and this morning started cloudy with the last rumbling of thunder as the still heavy clouds rolled out to sea. No damage, but, of course, all seats wet through and cushions needed to be hung out to dry.     After breakfast I walked down the hill to the famous flea market. This takes place at the site of the annual carnivals etc, and is about the size of four football pitches. You can almost buy anything you want, and is great if you are decorating a house in a certain style. There are amateurs and professionals, some fresh food, and clothing besides the usual flea market wares.       Smallest "stall"! Mirrors are Popular    Faces of Fuengirola Then in to town and a slow stroll through side streets I had not walked before. Kat...
Read more

Annecy to Le Puy (France)

Image
 Day Two From Annecy to Le Puy Leaving Annecy in the extreme east of France, but north and touching the Swiss border, we headed westwards.  The highlight today was the road! Rolf had found two imposing stretches of narrow winding road with overhanging rock, small tunnels and breathtaking scenery left and right. The first was the Au fil de la Bourne.             This is a film of the road as we took it. Skip it if you are not a road fan! A short stop for a sandwich and a cold drink at a small town in the mountains - at Pont-en-Royans. Although lovely on such a hot day in the summer, it would be dismal on a rainy day. But its August, French on holiday, so it is picnic time on the river.                 Then to the Combe Laval which is a shorter stretch with slightly different feel.        Finally to Le Puy, which is noted for the three "hills" in the town. There are three rocky outcrops whe...
Read more