Auvergne - take 2

[Deleted]

Even though I do not feel comfortable with the architecture, the building materials or the layout of the towns and villages of Auvergne, there is one splendid thing about it, and that is the natural setting. These 80 extinct volcanoes are all clumped together, and the elements have been wearing them down for the last 8000-12000 years to beautiful rounded forms covered with lush vegetation. The most famous one is the Puy de Dôme, just 15 kilometers from Clermont Ferrand. I was last at the summit 10 years ago, but no going up to the top this time, because it has just been closed until July 2012. The spiral road that goes to the top is going to be replaced by a mountain railway with a big parking lot at the bottom. Interesting to note that a railway already existed from 1907 to 1926. Clearly these things go in and out of style. In the first and second centuries, there was a temple dedicated to Mercury on top of the volcano. In more recent times, the first mountaintop weather station was installed there (in 1876), and now the main thing at the top is an ugly but very useful television transmission tower.

I approached the base of the Puy de Dôme this time, up to where the road was closed, and then it was time to continue on to some of the other lovely mountain sights. It did not take long to reach the snow level on the road to the resorts of Le Mont Dore and La Bourboule.

There was even hoarfrost.

[Deleted]

[Deleted]

The resort town of Mont Dore is nestled in one of the valleys.

But most of the area is sparsely populated, and the thickness of the moss on the stones and trees shows how merciless the climate can be.

[Deleted]

You'll have to forgive my brevity. It was a very short trip. One last view before leaving the area.

[gertie]

What beautiful pictures, I love the mossy trees and the frozen fairie waterfalls!

[spindrift]

Thank you for this most interesting report that has awakened my desire to visit the area. Do you happen to know the altitude of the area where the snow is?

[Deleted]

The altitude was well under 2000m -- probably no more than 1500m -- but don't forget that winter was exceptional this year.

[bixaorellana]

Whoo ~~ the clouds over the snowy peaks, the waterfall, the gorgeous moss and winding empty vistas, the fairytale town and the ancient castle ...... this is a France I never dreamed existed. Thank you for these gorgeous views.

Since you've made it clear you don't fall completely under the "creepy" spell of the place, were you visiting because of family or simply because you're an inveterate traveler?

[hwinpp]

It all looks a bit stark in Winter, Summer is much nicer and more jovial.

[bjd]

I tried posting in response to the first Auvergne thread but my computer jammed. I admit that I find the countryside of Auvergne nice, especially in summer, at least from Kerouac's pictures, because it's an area I don't know. But, like hm, I don't like the architecture. All that dark, gray stone is depressing. The buildings look so heavy and forbidding. There are some villages with similar stone architecture in the Pyrenees and I just don't like them.

This said, one of the things I like in France is that you don't have to go too far and the scenery/architecture/climate changes.

[lagatta]

bjd, I have friends who are both profs at the university at Clermont-Ferrand, and they really like the area. I agree that the dark volcanic stone is depressing, but of course there is a lot more in the city.

I also worked at an event near Brioude, quite a bit south of there, but still in Auvergne, and as I recall, there was much less of the dark stone. No exceptional architecture, but it was certainly pleasant and harmonious.

We didn't get to La Chaise-Dieu (God's Chair?) --- it seems that the name stems instead from Casa, so it is the more common House of God.

[mossie]

Thanks Lagatta for bumping this thread up, and thanks Kerouac for braving the ice and snow to bring it to us in the first place.
Just goes to show what a variable country France is. The colour of the buildings no doubt stems from using the local stone which in volcanic regions can be very black, e.g. basalt

[tod2]

Sometimes I can't believe how I have missed certain posts and awesome photos, but here once again, I am seeing these lovely photos of the Auvergne for the first time from Kerouac!
The only thing I know about the name Auvergne is that in Paris there are hundreds of restaurants run by people from the Auvergne. In one article I read they actually mention that it is like an Auvergne Mafia. Only because they control so much.

[Deleted]

The Auvergne connection to Paris is that they took over the café and coal delivery business starting in the mid 19th century. There are still quite a few Auvergnat cafés left in Paris (unlike the coal business which is against the law in the city since it is forbidden to use coal as a fuel). They are colloquially called bougnats, which is a mixture of charbonnier (coal dealer) and Auvergnat (person from Auvergne).

You can still see the words "café charbon" of "vins et charbon" on some of the oldest cafés in the modest neighbourhoods. One of the trendy bars on rue Oberkampf is still called "Café Charbon" (109 rue Oberkampf). My cellar is still full of coal! It has probably been there for at least 80 years.

[htmb]

I'm glad to see this thread, as well as the first. One of my closest friends is from Vichy, and she still has a lot of family ties there and in Clermont--Ferrand, where her mother worked for Michelin for many years. I had no idea it looked like this, but my friend and her husband talk about the beauty of the Auvergne whenever we discuss the topic of "where next to travel in France."

[Deleted]

I would have been able to make lots more of these little reports if it were still possible to drag my mother around. I am amazed at how many places I took her (even though she remembers not one iota of it) during the 3 or 4 years that she was still able to get into a car. In fact, I would never have seen most of these places myself otherwise. For more than 30 years I flew around the planet at will, telling myself "I'll get around to seeing France when I get old and don't want to fly anymore." Well, I still miss not flying, but I'm glad to have made these trips with my mother.

[htmb]

Pulling this thread back up again. It always amazes me how much my friend adores her childhood area of the Auvergne. She's still encouraging me to attend the CAVILAM language school in Vichy, which is supposed to be excellent; and when she and her brother get together they always talk about their fondness for the dark rock of the Auvergne. Plus, even after more than thirty years in the US and a surplus of education, her accent it still very thickly French. Could that be related to growing up in the Auvergne, I wonder?

[Deleted]

The people of Auvergne do have a reputation for a very thick regional accent. Or course there are a few other regions with even thicker accents. The Berry comes to mind.