Le Parc Issoire

... 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.

We arrived at our next campsite, in the heart of the Chaine des Puys, an extraordinary area which consists of 80 extinct volcanoes which were active from 60,000 to 6,000 years ago. There are numerous hot and cold springs, the most famous of which is Volvic. In the evening we decided to drive to the top of the nearby Puy de Dome, at 4806 feet the ...

Hi everyone I survived the bike and barge after completing about 350 ks for the week. The weather was sensational except for one day that we got caught in the rain riding home one day. Luckily we were near a village that had a bar so the group of 18 took the place over and sat it out. Martin the barge pilot and tour director claims he will not be able to go back there again. The food was amazing with a 3 course hot meal everynight, breakfasts and at ...

... 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 ...

... We shared the best appetizer ever, tomato and mozzarella salad. Some of the French guys got some traditional french dishes that we got to try. Steak tar tar, which is raw hamburger with a raw egg on top was the most adventurous thing I have ever tried in my life. I tried a really small bite and I think I threw up a little in my mouth but, I am glad that I got to try it. It was such a great weekend, everything was so random, but alotta fun. I just wish that we were more prepared.

... The next thing I know, naked men are riding on horseback across my screen....welcoming me, the shocked viewer, to Brasil. It was a naked travel show. And I guess here it's appropriate to watch such a show if you've reached 13....maybe it coincides with bar/bat mitzvahs and adulthood. Here I am watching "Urgences" (ER) in French with two of my girl friends in the room, Daria and Dawn. We're having a low-key evening in Vichy before ...

Reached Clermont-Ferrand at 6:07pm. Turned to night already. Snowing everywhere and the cold is almost the same as Park City, unlike Paris which was slightly warmer and no snow on the ground. Took a cab to Hotel Athena. Clermont-Ferrand is not the small town I thought it was. It's quite big and so different from Park City which consist of just a main street that's maybe 2km in length. The whole journey from Best Western Landmark Inn to Hotel Athena took nearly 28 hours. Didn't expect it ...

Well, all unpacked now and even have some groceries, so I thought I should get started with the Travel Journal or whatever this is called. On Friday we walked around the city to buy a few things (including a delicious baguette-see in pics, haha) and to explore. There's a few streets that have tons of stores of all kinds which is nice ...

... starting for about another 5 weeks. the square was packed with people and dogs and the fireworks were pretty cool. i also spent a day with nicole and her colleague traveling to some other towns and had a look around while they attended meetings. that's me and nicole in the photo with some kind of scarecrow? on the side of the road. i just love how everyone has dogs - they even ...

... to enjoy my picnic when two men in uniforms came up and explained to me in a game of charades that I was not meant to be on the grass. Ooops! I was wondering why nobody else had taken the opportunity, and it was a gorgeous, sunny day also. Today I went back to the cathedral which is in the middle of town and went to sit and think for a while (yes, I've changed) and the ...