Blogs from Saint-Nectaire, Auvergne, France, Europe

21/10/05 - Big rest day required today after too much driving. We strolled around Saint-Nectaire and its surroundings. The autumn colours are lovely, the trees are full of red, brown and orange leaves, the weather is also great, about 19 degrees. Autumn is also good from the point of view that the summer crowds have long gone and we virtually have the place to ourselves and the locals. This is a very interesting area, old volcanoes, lakes, beautiful farmland and old villages. We visited the 12th century church, plus the limestone Petrification Fountains (Fontaines Pétrifiantes des Saint-Nectaire, where artwork is created over a period of about 12 months by placing moulds on a ladder in a fountain of water which contains limestone deposits. 12 months later you have a limestone artwork or perhaps a limestone statue ... read more