Le Puy
Even though we had a rest day in
Valence not so long ago, we decided to stay in Le Puy for a little
longer. We liked the campsite and Le Puy is the official start of the
St Jacobs Way. Most pilgrims start walking from here and the little
town is packed with beautiful architecture, little windy roads and
cosy squares with busy cafes. There is a lot to see and we didn't
want to miss out on a bit of sightseeing.
On the way into town we stopped at a jet wash and I spent a happy half hour using the hot foam lance to get rid of 1500km's or crud from the moving bits of the bikes. After a rinse, they came up sparkling, the chains and Johanna's derallieur look brand new and change gear silky smooth again after a bit of dry-oil also. Required.
The main events are a Cathedral and two
huge religious constructions perched on top of 80m high volcanic
peaks, overlooking the small city and visible from every angle. From
a few kilometers distant it really is something special. We visited
the Cathedral first which is not really on a peak, but felt like Mont
Saint Michelle in the north of France with its winding steep cobbled
roads and multi-facaded complexity. Whilst wandering around, someone
who lacked the correct skills set about the huge Organ and made some
horrendous noise before another better advised person made it all
sound much better and we listened in for a while.
After that we scaled the 82m of 'Le
rocher d'Aiguilhe' with another Saint Michelle at the top. A
beautiful, if slightly bodgy old chapel, but the views over the side
were something else. We wondered how they made it 1000 years ago. We
didn't climb to the top of the Notre Dame de France as it would have
cost us another 7Euro and we are cheap. Anyway, the best views are
from below, like it was designed to be seen.
It was a wonderful day, and we even had
the chance to indulge on crepes and coffee in the sun shine in the
main square. Something we had been dreaming about.
The next day was kind of unplanned as a
day off, but we decided to stay anyway as we really liked the
camp-site and also found out the day before that there was a swimming
pool not far just on the other side of Le Puy. We were both desperate
for a stretch in the swimming pool, so we didn't want to miss the
opportunity.
We cycled there straight after
breakfast and it was more than we could have dreamed for. The
swimming pool was new and very nice with water fountains, streaming
jets and some strange wave making thing with a big red ball in the
middle (don't ask). It was the best treatment for cyclist's sore
muscles!
When we got back to the camp-site we
were starving and ate a massive bowl of cream-cheese pasta Cabonara
with bacon, turkey, peas and Parmesan.
We let dinner sit for a while and then
decided to venture out to Le Puy town centre for a few beers enjoying
the last rays of sunshine. Not sure if it was because it was Monday,
but Le Puy seems to be a bit of a quiet place. Most cafés and bars
that were busy yesterday were now closed, but we still enjoyed a
drink at the bottom of the steep steps up to the Cathedral.
Double click on any pic to open a gallery view! Much bigger pics! ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment