The Auvergne is a volcanic, mountainous area, with steep-sided valleys and rocky peaks. It includes the ski resort of Super Besse. The streams at the bottom of the valleys have a tendency to get dammed up, giving rise to deep lakes, and we went to see one: Lake Pavin. It has a visitor centre with restaurant and bar (natch) and a track around the lake that you can walk.
We had Wednesday afternoon off on our accordion course, so we went to see it and walked around it.
I've just been on an accordion course down in the Auvergne. Great fun; the first francophone music course I've been on. Saw my first street sign written in Occitan. I'm told that there are no remaining people who use it as their mother tongue, but it is sometimes taught and studied. The sign means "The residents of Picherande (miengué) are pleased to welcome you". You can just about see the similarity with "Les miengués se font plaisir de vous recevoir".
There were 6 students, with abilities running from Pascal who is a demon player who has been playing since his youth, to Laurent who is almost a complete beginner. A good time was had by all, and my team won the pétanque. What's not to like?
Not a bad harvest this year.
One of the McDonald's in Laval, since last week. The other one is OK. Story is that burning cars nearby set it on fire, but I didn't notice scorched tarmac nearby. Not that I looked especially hard, to be honest.
The throbbing metropolis of St Pierre sur Erve holds an art exhibition every year. It's part of the activities associated with being a Petite Cité de Caractère. This year there were 45 different artists exhibiting, most of the works were outside in people's gardens or attached to walls, though some were indoors in the bistrot or other publicly-accessible areas.
The inauguration of the exhibition is known as the vernissage, I have no idea why, it means varnishing, but it seems to be the term. It was yesterday, and lots of people came to see. There was the exhibition itself, the bar was open, there was live music, and a meal served in the evening (90 places). A good time was had by all.
Here's a few random snaps:
My favourite was the pterodactyls flying up the river.
The village fête at St Jean-sur-Erve just down the road, is celebrated over the weekend. Sunday starts with a car boot sale, so we wandered over to take a look. I'm on the look-out for some big socket spanners (30mm and up).
The sale was a bit thin, but then, who's complaining about the perfect excuse to visit the pretty lake early in the morning while it's still cool. Shame about the dead water mill though. Our grandchildren will be rebuilding them.
