Norman and I returned from our not-very-planned-in-advance vacation last night. It was a very cool and tiring trip. We first went to Clermont-Ferrand which is in the Puy-de-Dôme department. We trained it to Paris at 5:31 am and then to Clermont. Paris is our nearest big train station so we have to go there first to get anywhere else. On the train I sat with three cute children and their grandparents. I wanted to sleep but it was a challenge with all the card games and brotherly whining of "Arrête! Arrête! Arrête!" (sto-op!)
We checked out L'office de Tourisme (there seems to be one in every town, no matter the size) and ate cheesy mushroom crepes near a huge cathedral. We finally found a hotel after checking all the hostels- they were all full for the night. We dined at MacDo (Mickey D's) that night and planned our activities on paper. MacDonald's is very expensive here- almost 9 USD for a meal! The next day, we were hoping to climb a mountain (Puy-de-Dôme) but the little trains to get there stop running in the fall. We had a fine time running around the city, being given very different directions and advice by bus drivers and train station workers. We decided to take a train to another town. We chose Mont-Dore based on the advice of the tourism guy. But, no train, just a bus. The ride was only about 75 minutes but it was horrible. It was very hilly and jolty and bouncy and I felt very very sick. Buses should always have windows that open! Please! We arrived safely and saw some huge, beautiful, snow-covered mountains in the distance. While recovering from the icky ride, an aggressive bee followed me around (while I ran from it) and eventually stung me on the back. But I love the pharmacies in France. You walk in the door, explain your problem, and the pharmacist goes into a back room and comes out with a medicine specifically for your ailment. I bought some spray and cream made just for insect stings. Easy!
We had a hostel room booked for the night so we walked from the station toward the hostel- about 2.5 miles. No buses or trains in this town! It was a hot and sunny walk. With big backpacks and a bee sting, but whatever. We were in the mountains so I couldn't complain too much.
We ended up not having anything to eat for dinner. There were no restaurants nearby and the pizza places didn't deliver (I called and asked, another accomplishment). Earlier in the evening, we met a gal named Karen who was also staying at the hostel. I found her in the dining room and we chatted for a minute. She had some dinner fixings and we agreed to eat together later. We had pasta with cheese, cucumbers from her parents' garden, sausage, and sangria. I had to carry on an only-French conversation (as usual) which was tricky but fun. I hit the sack after dinner, full of sangria and excited that I could (mostly) communicate with real French people.
The next morning, Norman and I decided that we would take the little sky box guy up to the mountaintop (called Puy de Sancy). We saw two mountain goats running about. The gal running the box told us not to be scared, but I was (Aunt Mary, you would have hated it). We got up there and walked up a bunch of wooden steps which were covered in snow and ice. I was wearing some pink tennies, not great for scaling mountains. We hung out up there for a long time, taking lots of pictures and making a cute little snowman (in French, petit homme de neige, literally little man of snow). We saw our French friend Karen atop the hill. She invited us to join her on a long walk across the mountains and then down into the centre-ville. I almost said no because I was scared at the prospect of falling off the mountain, but I figured that wasn't very likely and I might be sad if I backed down, so I said yes. It was worth it. It was surprisingly warm atop the cliffs and very sunny. We hiked for hours and just when I thought I couldn't go any further, Karen explained that we were about 1/4 of the way done. OMD. She lent us each a walking stick and gave me a pair of snow boots from her backpack. Very nice. We hiked and hiked and stopped to eat sausage and cheese with bread, and kept hiking for hours. As we descended the mountain, we saw a very pretty waterfall and a cool Redwood-esque forest. We finally stumbled into town and sat down at a cafe. I ordered a crepe with cinnamon ice cream, warm apples, and salted caramel sauce. And a coke. It was all very sweet and tasty.
Some beautiful photos.
Pretty, eh?
XO
2 comments:
Beautiful! (And you're right - those sky lifts FREAK me out!) LOL
It sounds like you had fun but I missed your regular updates. ;)
I can't believe what I've been missing! Wow.
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