Hotel Des Puys Arverne Clermont-Ferrand

... nice.

Andy told us all about how a guy in the town we're staying at invented elastic, and it had something to do with sheep’s innards, cast-offs, and a small child – I think. The place we stayed at used to be a pig farm, but it had a concrete leaping stag as an emblem. I broke their satellite decoder. It was a very strange night.

... reached the Millau Bridge, super structure and amazing piece of engineering, by late afternoon. It was no way I would make the Loire by 7 pm so we reach the little town called Issoire and stay the night at Etap hotel (like formula one). Tomorrow short drive big day.

... Lemptegy, which has been quarried for the lava which is used for all sorts of things, including making cat litter! We went on a tour of the crater in a small train with a manic young guide gabbling volubly in French. At the end of the tour there was a very entertaining theme-park type experience called The Exploding Mine, which was not ...

... opportunity to make our lunch which usually consisted of a baguette filled with pate, cheese and or meat. We would stop along the way some where for lunch in a park or a Chateau. The cruising along the canals was incredible especially going through the locks. One part took us over one of the longest viaduct in Europe at a place called Briare where we stayed for the night. The first couple of days was heavy going but my knees and legs settled down that ...

... trousers and the appearance of the sun were a good excuse to put on a skirt, I thought. We had planned a long slow drive with an end destination of Le Puy en Velay, south of Clermont-Ferrand. We had programmed all the side roads into the SatNav, so I could enjoy the views of the Loire without having my nose in the map book. Almost immediately we set off, the clouds moved in, but it always seemed brighter in front of us ...

... felt he saw in his country, he agreed to head a government in "Free France" (now usually called "Vichy France") after agreeing to allow the Germans to occupy 3/5 of the nation. After the war he was sentenced to death for treason but had the punishment commuted to life in prison by Charles de Gaulle, on account of his service in WWI. I can't help but think about that history as I drive through Vichy. A great man, a talented, and courageous and ...

On Le Weekend we met a group of the French kids and clearly they fell in love with us. So shortly after that weekend they wanted to party with us again as soon as they could. And did we ever. Quentin had a number of us over to get to know us a little better. A couple 40s later we were much better acquainted. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

... house or at La Goulais, which was our home for the beginning of the year. Friday night we went to the discotheque, The Loft in Vichy. It was a pretty fun night. Their drinks are so weird here...when you order say a vodka seven, or a rum and coke, you pay for the shot, and then the mix. It can get pretty expensive. It's time like this I really wish I drank beer, but I just can't do it. Its about a 45 minutes train ride away to get to Clermont. Thais, a girl from Brazil ...

So, on September 1 we headed to the Gare de Lyon and made our way down to Vichy. Its about 3 hours by regular train south to Vichy. When I got the station a girl from my school met me and took me right to my dorm. I was super nervous about this. I really wanted something nice to live in, and thankfully my dorm is perfect for me. It was super clean, had a shower, with pressure, toilet, and kitchenette ...

Mida lähemale linnale, seda vichysemaks ja vesiseks ka ilm kiskus. Seetõttu polnud me seal väga entusiastlikud turistid ja käisime vaid tiiru linnas ning maitsesime kraanidest vett. Tegemist oli sooja ja väga ebameeldiva maitselise veega. Seega 0,3 € topsi ostmine vee degusteerimiseks oli üsna mõttetu. Vichy külastamist jääb meile meenutama karp pastille.