Sunday, 12 September – Clermont

Today we have nothing planned – we have the day free!  We start with breakfast at home, then walk to the nearby churches to find mass times so we can get to church most weeks, sometimes in different churches.   There is a church about a block away, but it is being renovated and services are held in other buildings in the neighborhood.  There is a map posted of nearby churches, so we head out to another in a part of town we are not familiar with. 

We return through the train station, noting the open hours for a butcher shop we have been referred to by our neighbors.  We have walked 1 ½ hours already.  We take a short break, then are off again. 

We walk by one of the oldest churches in town, Notre Dame du Port, a Romanesque basilica, dating from the 12^th century.  It is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.  When we lived here 10 years ago, we attended this church often.  For the last 4 or 5 years there has been ongoing construction to clean and repair it inside and out.  Many of the older churches in France now belong to the state or city, mostly because of historical significance and cost to maintain.  They are considered national monuments and are open to the public.  We make a note of the normal mass schedule and then go inside.  It is beautiful and has been nicely restored.  When we were here before, we remember it as being mostly gray inside, but now it is shades of yellow and appears much lighter.

Then we wander through the center of town, built on an old volcanic cone, searching for a restaurant Fred has been in and wants to try again, but we have no luck.  In the process we walk another 90 minutes.  We stop to rest in Place de la Victoire, next to the main cathedral. 

Place de la Victoire

The gothic cathedral is built of black volcanic lava stone on the top of a volcanic cone in the center of town and is quite imposing. Construction began in 1248 by the architect Jean Deschamps and was not completed until the towers were added in the 19^th century by the architect Violet-le-Duc.   In the open square there is a staute of Pope Urban II, as he held a council in Clermont in 1095, calling for the first crusade. 

We have a snack of cheese and a fresh peach, then go on down the hill from the cathedral.  In front of us is the main shopping street, Rue de Gras.  In the distance is Puy de Dome, an extinct volcano. 

We pass through our old neighborhood, then make our way toward Chamaliere.  Fred wants to find the Chamaliere Bridge Club building where he used to play chess.  We stop and sit on park benches along the way.  When we locate the building, it is quiet, so we stop for another snack – chausson au pomme, or small apple pie.  A man comes out of the building and Fred asks him about the chess club, which used to meet on Sunday afternoons and on Wednesday evenings.  The man finds a contact name for Fred and says they may have stopped for the summer and have not yet resumed. 

We move on and stop again by a shopping area in Chamaliere.  There we find an art exhibition that is open and spend some time enjoying the show.  Then on toward our goal, Le Biniou in Royat, a smaller town further up the hill.  Royat has been known for years as a spa town.  There is a stream running through town that is harnessed and used in a hydrotherapy spa.  There is also a casino (gambling variety) in town and lots of mostly older people from around the country come here in spring, summer, and fall for the fresh air and water.  We just think it is a pretty place with a really nice park, and our favorite restaurant. 

We are early, it is only 5:30 and we try not to arrive for dinner until 7:00 pm, so we stop at a sidewalk café and have a mini beer and watch the people.  Apparently this  bar/tabac is the only place open to buy cigarettes and magazines on Sunday afternoon – it is quite busy.  It begins to rain, but we are under an awning, so we sit and relax. 

At 6:30 we move on toward Royat, walking beside a lovely park, with flowers along the street. 



Eglise St Leger, Royat, France



Place Cohendy, Royat, France

The church in Royat is across the stream and up the hill.  It also dates from the 12^th or 13^th century. 

We see that there is also an art exhibition in the local museum, but can find no notice of mass times.  Part of the related fortress is now home of the cycling association – remember, most of the older churches are now owned by the city or state. 

Royat, France

Then we make our way down to the restaurant.  Last week when we were here, I asked about the veal which is on the menu, but is crossed out.  This week they have veal in sauce porto, fabulous!  We start with our usual green salad with warm blue cheese dressing.  I end with raspberry tiramisu – WOW, and Fred has a 3 dip chocolate Sundae – our rewards for walking all day. 

We walk part way home, then hop on the bus.  Even so it is 11 pm when we arrive.  Fred has a 9 am meeting to off to bed we go!

Thursday, September 2 - School and Shopping

Fred learned at 8:15 am he has a meeting at school at 10, so he got up, got dressed, and walked off to school.


Have I said yet that we do not plan to have a car here, only occasionally we will rent one for a weekend trip. But here in Clermont, we will walk and take the bus or tram. There is a nice electric tram that goes generally north and south and around the center of town.


I set out for shopping, but first must have some coffee and something to eat. I head down the street toward the train station with my shopping basket (which the landlords have supplied with the apartment).


I scope out some of the shops and find just a block from our apartment a baker, a fruit and vegetable seller (the "fruitier"), a small grocery and all kinds of bars and restaurants.


I stop at a brasserie for cafe au lait and a baguette with butter - that will fortify me until lunch. Typical french breakfast is normally a roll or croissant with butter and jam and espresso.  I prefer the large coffee that is about half frothed milk - cafe au lait.


Then I am on my way to Leader Price. I haven't been in one, but am guessing it is a discount type grocery and I am correct. This is where I will buy paper and cleaning products, toothpaste, food storage bags, shampoo, bath soap, etc. I do find they have wine, so I select a bottle of Cotes du Rhone for 2.6 euro (about $3).


I find the coffee filters I need, and most of the other items on my list. I also pick up some food items I can't resist like Cantal cheese, a semi hard, white cheese from this region which is one of our favorites here.


I almost pick up more that I can carry and lots of it is heavy - so I purchase a Leader Price plastic bag with handles and then when I get outside, I move the bottles to my back pack and am ready for the walk home.


Recycling is encouraged here, so there are no "free" bags available at checkout at most stores. You bring your own bag or purchase one at checkout.

When I return home, I put away my purchases and head back down the street for vegetables, eggs, yogurt, etc.


In the small shops on my street, I get chicken for dinner, lettuce, eggplant, tomato, fresh strawberries, eggs, etc.


I also buy some instant asparagus soup for my lunch and head home. Fred has gotten free and is home as well, so we make a salad with blue cheese crumbles and a cup of soup for lunch.

Our next task is to open a bank account, so after lunch we set off for the bank where Fred had an account previously, thinking that would be a good place to start.


There is no one available for this sort of transaction, but I know there are other locations in town, so ask if it might be possible at another "branch". They say the earliest is next week and set an appointment for the following Monday. I am anxious to get this done when we are both available, so we go to another bank and ask the same question. We get the same answer - too busy today, but could make an appointment for Friday. Again I ask if someone might be available at another location in town.


They check the online calendars and find someone at the main Clermont location of Credit Agricole who can take us now AND there is an English speaker working there as well.


So we walk about 10 minutes to the other location to meet Angelique and Laurence, who speaks English. We have brought along everything we think we might need: passports, lease, work contract, etc.


They take our documents to photocopy, but on returning, tell us there is a new policy and the proof of address must be approved by another department and can't be done until tomorrow.


Good thing we didn't wait until Monday to start this!


So we ask about renters insurance (which is required by most landlords here) and get a quote on that as well, then make an appointment for Friday afternoon.  It feels like we have accomplished a lot even though we still have no account.


We walk back home, change clothes and go back to school (ESC) for a reception. When we return home, we report to the landlords that we have started the account process, but must return to finish on Friday. They have asked if there is anything we are missing or anything else we need, and I tell them we could use a can opener and a hall tree or someplace to hang our coats.


They search immediately and come up with the can opener, but will get a hall tree on the weekend.


We start dinner with an appetizer, then salad and bread, but decide we are tired and almost full, so we skip the chicken and rice and go straight for dessert. I have purchased a Chausson au Pomme at the bakery - this is like a small single serving apple pie and is delicious. We split it and are quite satisfied, but Fred thinks coffee would be good - he has had no caffiene today, so we have a small coffee and are off to bed - what a day!