Saturday, 25 Sept - Orcival, Murol, Vallee de Chaudefour, Farges

On Saturday the school sponsored a trip in the country for the international students.  We have been on this trip before, but not with fellow students.  Fred and I were both able to go.  The first stop was in Orcival, site of a 12th century church, famous for its statue of Mary, which is said to be quite old (older than the church).



Chateau Murol



From Orcival, we went to Murol, where this is a 12th century fortified chateau on a hill overlooking the town.  The chateau is in restoration, and during the summer there is a group of people who dress in period clothing and present shows.  It is always an interesting stop with great views of the countryside from the chateau, but it is a long climb just to get to the gates.

Village of Murol from the chateau

View from the chateau

Upper walls of the chateau

My colleagues

Beekeeping at the chatear

After Murol, we went to lunch at Le Buron in the Vallee de Chaudefour (valley of the hot oven).  This is a small restaurant in a regional park, where hiking is common in summer and skiing  or snowshoeing is common in winter.  At this restaurant we are always served truffade, and traditional potato dish of the region. 

It is potatoes, cheese, and garlic, made in a large frying pan and is wonderful.  It is always served with green salad and slices of air-cured ham also of the region.

After two hours for lunch, we went to Farges, near St Nectaire, where there is a working dairy farm and where St Nectaire cheese is made.  There are also caves where the cheese is aged that are open for tours with historical programs about the history of the place and the making of St Nectaire cheese. 

 St Nectaire cheese can be either Fermier or made on the farm from unpastuerized milk or industrially made from pastuerized milk.  In order to carry the St Nectaire name, the fermier cheese must come from a single herd of cows.  This cheese has been made in this area for hundreds of years.  The original aging was in caves like this on rye straw.  Now much of the cheese is aged on wooden shelves at the farm or at a location specializing in aging.

St Nectaire cheese is aged for about 2 months. During the process, it is turned and the furry mold is brushed off. 

We had not seen this presentation before and it was very interesting.  The farm and cheese fabrication are operated by an association of local people making the special cheese that only is made in this area.  They have 100 dairy cows and make and sell 45 metric tons of cheese per year (about 99,000 lbs), most of which they sell on site to tourists and locals.

Equipment on the dairy farm

 

Cows wear bells



The barn at milking time

The cheese is made twice daily, morning and evening.  The milk is put in a vat with starter culture and rennet.  The milk is heated, but not cooked.  Within 15 to 25 minutes, the milk curdles.  The whey is then drained off, and the curd is put in molds and pressed.  The cheeses are again turned out of their molds, salted, wrapped in cheesecloth and put back in molds and pressed for 24 hours.

  

Making St Nectaire cheese

Flowers on the path to the barn

When we got back to the bus, we met a goup of antique car collectors who where on an outing.  Saw some great cars!



We returned to Clermont about 6 pm and were tired, but had a great day learning about the area.







Thursday, 23 Sept - Clermont Ferrand

We have been busy all week with classes.  My small group has been meeting regularly to discuss our presentation on the cultures of Equador and Morocco.  We have had very interesting discussions and we are all learning a lot about the two countries.

Monday I attempted to bake a chicken the way I do at home with potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery.  I browned everything first, then put it in the oven.  The chicken turned out great - it was very fresh and the veggies cooked in a little wine were fabulous.  Here I use celery root instead of celery stalks and that is really good. 

The pan lid, however was a casualty.  The oven is small and we don't think the lower unit works well, so we have to turn on the upper unit which gets really hot, like broiling.  The pan lid was too close and melted.  It could be we don't understand the images on the oven dial. 

Tuesday our French professor brought the 5 regional cheeses for us to taste, along with a wine from her region on the Loire.    We have been eating leftover chicken for lunch and dinner and it is just as good cold as it was the first day.

Wednesday, Fred finished grading his first group of KSU tests, and suggested we go out for dinner.  I was tired - I actually had 6 hours of class, so I suggested someplace close.  We chose Le Serin, just around the corner.  It is a nice restaurant featuring specialities of the region. 

We both had trout, served with cantal cheese.  We chose from the menu below, one option from each of three courses. 

We had a great meal and it was nice to be so close to home. 

Thursday, we had salad at home for lunch, now we will use the last of the chicken for a pasta dish for dinner.

Sunday, 19 Sept - Lezoux and Ravel - Foire des Poitiers

Some of you know I love pottery - earlier in the week I read in the newspaper of an art fair specializing in pottery in a nearby town.  Last night I searched the SNCF train schedules and found an SNCF bus that goes to Lezoux, about 5 km from Ravel where this annual fair is held.  It was a little tight - out to Lezoux at 1 - 1:30, walk 5 km, see the pottery, then walk back 5 km and board the train by 6:00 pm.  

This morning I wasn't sure I wanted to work that hard, but Fred thought it sounded like a nice little adventure, so off we went.  The bus tickets (roundtrip) cost 11 euro, and the fair is free, so it will be pretty cheap entertainment.  

We got of the bus at Lezoux and made certain we knew when and where to meet the bus for the return trip, then walked past the war memorial and through town.

After we left town, the road was nice walking and not too busy at that time of day.  The scenery was lovely, including this chateau.

We walked into Ravel at about 2:30 and were hungry, so stopped at the first food booth and ordered the menu:  salad or charcuterie (sausages), cassoulet, cheese, apple tart and drink. 

They were pretty busy, so by the time we finished lunch, we had only 30 minutes left, so we split up and walked around.  I can "shop" pretty quickly unencumbered.  I did find a vase that I "needed" so the entertainment became not quite so cheap, but fun for sure.

They also had a children's workshop where a good time was had by all.

While I was shopping, Fred ran into a recently retired colleague from ESC, who was surprised to see us.  It seems like Fred knows people where ever we go!  He was on his way walking up to the Chateau de Ravel, thinking it would be open for tours because of the fair.

We made it back to Lezoux with 20 minutes to spare, then the bus was a few minutes late.  We arrived back at the house about 7:45 pm.  I  sat down to study for a bit, while Fred walked out to pick up a little something for dinner - he came back with a chicken sandwich and fries - half of that was just what I needed. 

We both needed the walk, enjoyed the day and got out of town, just like we used to do in 2000-2001.  All in all a great day!

More photos of Ravel: