In June, I accompanied my three classes of 2nd graders for 5 days in Auvergne.
Technically a 6 1/2 hour (435 miles) drive.
We made it in 9 hours after a lunch break and one other stop.
8 adults and 80 kids. Only one trip to the emergency room and no one got lost.
Our first stop was this forest with some famous waterfalls.
It was nice and cool in the shade because it was cookin' in full sun.
Full disclosure....the shot on the bottom I found on the internet. The bottom shot is another waterfall in the forest that we were in, but not the one we were able to visit. The waterfall we saw above, was a bit less pictoresque:)
my favorite visit of the entire trip. We only spent a morning here, but could have spent an entire day. We saw a fraction of the place. It was super hot, so were happy to be inside the castle walls in a bit of shade.
The first castle was built on a basalt outcrop
in the 12th century.
One of our guides in full costume.
In this room, we had a guide explain some weapons used in the Middle Ages.
He spoke for almost an hour. Fascinating stuff....
This was so cute, the kids got to try on the chain mail and helmets.
I want this fence.....
and this one too....
Cool stuff, I learned that under the metal armature,
these doors were covered in cow hides. In case of invasion,
they would then soak the cow hides in water, which would make it more difficult
for the intruders to set the doors on fire:)
I love the chimney (blue arrow).....
You could try on clothing from the time period.....
no one we knew, just couldn't resist the photo op.
Puy-de-Dôme is part of the Massif Central mountain range
and has more than 80 volcanic craters.
We took a train to the top and walked backed down.
No small feat, but everyone made it in one piece.
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These guys made it look so easy....
Back to civilization.....
"La Dordogne" is the name of this river ....
Some random shots of a village we stopped at one hot afternoon.
This crazy yellow pod was used to haul people up the mountain side for skiing.
Now it's sitting outside of a tiny "French Ski Museum".
Doors, doors and more doors....
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"La Marianne" is a symbol of the French Republic, this one was on the front of a town hall. This metal work of the 3 profiles includes blue, white and red, the colors of the French flag. Well done I thought...
Eyeglass shop....
Flower shop....
We have the same red colored shutters at Chenedouit, I couldn't resist a photo.
Public fountain, which we all drank from and are still living.
Crazy spiral staircase we stumbled upon...
Love the red window frames.....
Nice letter box ....
Some nicely colored cobble stones....
Below is Cherry Nougat and above is "gels de fruit" which is fruit juice and sugar cooked down to a gummy bear consistancy.
Too bad I didn't get to try either.
The last day I did get the chance to buy a few things.....
some cheese, blueberry dried salami (pictured below) and some
chestnut syrup to add to sparkling water.
An afternoon visit to Lake Pavin. Formed 6,900 years ago,
this crater lake is the youngest volcano in mainland France.
Our 2nd graders taking a break to listen to the guide talk about the history of this famous rock formation. Fairies and Wizards and the like.....
I've never seen such beautifully colored clear water.....
Here's all of us (chaperons/teachers), except for the big cheese principal,
who was actually keeping an eye on the kids perhaps?
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