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Le Puy en Velay

mavis_prosser — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 03:52:00 GMT

What a contrast from refined French elegance to Greek statues and gilt! But the charming Martine made us very welcome. She provided a lovely meal in the evening – the guests spoke mainly French with some concessions to our English.

Went to mass at the cathederal – hundreds of steps so we really earned our indulgences.

Lace making is all the go in Le Puy en Velay.

Went to an exhibition of works from the Louvre of the Virgin Mary – Titian, George de la Tour etc. Well set out and worthwhile.

Climbed to the top of Sanctuaire de Saint Joseph de Bon Espoir – climbed to the Forteresse Polignac. Completely buggered – resolved not to climb any more steps today.

Photos: Switzerland

mavis_prosser — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 22:43:00 GMT

Photos: Cubjac Le Maine

mavis_prosser — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 22:12:00 GMT

Cubjac La Maine France.

mavis_prosser — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:51:00 GMT

Last few blogs have been lost in the ether somewhere so I will briefly summarize the journey so far.

Ken has enjoyed riding the bicycles kindly provided for us at La Maine. He visits the local villages and goes for our morning pastries and bread.

We have enjoyed strolling in the woods surrounding the Chateau.

Maxence has been very helpful in providing advice about the area and Catherine recommended a fabulous restaurant in Perigueux. This had one Michelin star and was amazing.

Went to St Emilion for the day – this is a town seriously into wine! The town was Medeaeval with a cathederal and cloister that had an interesting modern sculpture of a bull and matador in the cloister.

I take the basket from Maison Marc to the markets – Ken laughs but it is part of the French scene.

Visited the beautiful gardens at Les Jardins du Manior D’Eyrignac – immaculately maintained. On the way we stopped at the Abbey Amand de Coy [very atmospheric]

The newly opened Grotte de Tourtoirac was also well worth a visit.

Drinks on the terrace with Catherine and Maxence capped of a wonderful stay – we will be sorry to leave

switzerland

mavis_prosser — Wed, 6 Jul 2011 01:49:00 GMT

the swiss have a good thing going on their motorways. the charge $45 for the years use of the motorway. Good for the locals. Bad for the tourist that only use is for a few kilometres

Bourges France 2011

mavis_prosser — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:34:00 GMT

After a six hour flight from Dubai we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport and picked up the car for our journey down to Bourges. The traffic was horrendous.

When we arrived we couldn't find the hotel - had to ask some likely lads who used their mobile phone to locate it but we had to ring the owner - it was behind a nondescript green door with no number.

We were alarmed to find the room was over fussy and dusty and to make matters worse the shower was in a little cupboard under the stairs and included a toilet you had to back into as the ceiling sloped precariously close to your head. The staircase was narrow and precipitous so we decided to leave our heavy cases in the car and just take our pyjamas and a few clothes for the next day up to the room.

It was rather late so we had a simple meal at a cafe of moules and frites - and so to bed.

This was a three star establishment!

June 25th

What a difference a day makes! After a good nights sleep the room even looked charming - but there was no improvement on the bathroom!

A simple but adequate fresh breakfast and we set out to explore the town.

Bourges is a delightful town with quaint wooden buildings beautifully restored.

The cathedral and churches have beautiful stained glass windows.

We were amazed at the artistry of the pastry cooks at the patissarie and couldn't resist purchasing two gloriously decorated cakes as well as taking many pictures to carry the memory away.

The Abbey at Noirlac was a delightful tranquil visit on our way down to Cubjac.

We listened to beautiful music as they prepared for a concert on the weekend and had coffee and our Bourge bought cakes in the quiet courtyard.

Arrived at Cubjac obout 7.00pm and were met by Catherine and Maxence. Maison Marc is even better than I remember! Tastefully decorated and with every convenience in a tranquil setting - heaven!

The donkey and one of the cats were there to greet us as well!

They provided some bread, wine strawberries and delicious goat cheese for our pleasure.

Enough of driving for a few days - we will just relax and enjoy!