France Day 6
We decided to skip breakfast to be able to start a little earlier than usual. We had left the Loire Valley and were now on our way south.
Our first goal for today had come from Atlas Obscura again: Mantin House in the city of Moulins.
Legend tells that this house by a late 19th century bourgeois gentleman had been closed for a hundred years. Which isn't quite true, but it is showing the state Mantin left it a hundred years ago.
The young woman at the counter spoke nearly no English at all, but we learned that the house is accessible by guided tour only and that this tour is in French only. But we had come to see this house and so we agreed anyway. We had half an hour before the tour so we had time to visit the Museum Anne de Beaujeau in the neighboring building.
The tour through the Mantin Manor finally was great. The tour guide spoke excellent English and made sure to repeat all the important facts just for us two in English. He was very enthusiastic and made the impression that he loves the history of this place and his job. The house itself reminded me a bit of the Edison house. If you're ever in Moulins I highly recommend a tour through the Mantin House. Unfortunately you're not allowed to take pictures inside.
The same tour guide also mentioned that a café in the old Town had been decorated by the same artist who had worked on the Mantin House decorations. So that was our next way point after paying the cathedral next to the Mantin House a visit. At the Café we had burgers, our breakfast, before we returned to the car, made a coffee and drove on.
Vichy got the same treatment as Tours. We drove through, didn't find a spot for parking and moved on.
Our next halt was Thiers. A medieval town built on the top of a mountain. This town could have been great, but everything seemed to be very run down. There were multiple knife stores - making knifes seems to be a local tradition. But everything else was closed and bleak. A pity, because this could be a beautiful town and tourist attraction. We got some ice cream and moved on.
The roads through the Massif Central are narrow and steeper than before, but Kaddi is a good driver so this was no problem, until a road was blocked by a truck parking in second row. Cars could squeeze by, we couldn't.
We had to wait for the driver to return. Kaddi went to see if things could be accelerated and surprisingly found a man who spoke German. He informed the truck driver and we could move on.
Our destination was Lac d'Aubusson. The first place where there was actually a price to pay for the night. But a lake sounded worth the 6 Euro.
And it really was. The motorhome area is nice and a bit off the busy beach area, but still in walking distance. And of course we had to go for a swim. A wonderful place. In fact we liked it enough that we decided to stay another night.
Dinner was cheese and baguette and some crisps for dessert.
