I eventually wandered up what looked to be a pedestrian road, but occasional cars went by. I eventually found the "real" downtown Clermont. The pretty flower boxes are all around down town in the are of THE church.
There are also a bunch of squares all across town. All seem to have a fountain. This one had a really nice view of the hills ... behind the fountain. Not sure how much of it you can see in this picture.
It's very hilly here (if hilly is a word), and it almost reminds me of the hills in parts of California, where they just seem to fold into one another. Apparently, the hills are actually volcanic formations, and the biggest one you can see from Clermont is Puy de Dome. This picture is down one of the main roads at sunset, with the mountain in the background. Had to trick the digital camera into getting the mountain to show up. We'll see what the film versions produce. (Yes, I carry 2 cameras.)
It was starting to get dark and I was really hungry, and still nothing was open for dinner. (Restaurants don't really open before 7 or 7:30 -- I'm starving by then! Plus, I'm not up for a 30 minute walk back to the hotel at 9:30 by myself when I don't know the streets and don't know the language. And I can't figure out the tram thing yet.) I walked back to the hotel. Still not brave enough for a French restaurant on my own. I went to lunch today with Caroline to a French restaurant, and I was glad to have someone to help me. Some colleagues should be here next week, so maybe I will eventually eat dinner out somewhere.
My attempt to do laundry was thwarted tonight, as the door was locked when I got there. I'll try again in the morning. I think I spent too much time on my "quick" grocery run. I got distracted by the shoes.
1 comment:
In google-earth, there are some nice views of the area..here is one link for a panorama from the top of Puy de Dome
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/362686
and another nice shot showing the volcanic origins of the area
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/25346
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