France Day 8
Since we had eaten the last of our groceries yesterday, we started without a breakfast (after the obligatory dump/refill ritual).
Our drive took us through the beautiful landscape of the Auvergne. Our first stop was the big Carrefour in Issoire. There was a “Caféteria” and since we hadn't had breakfast, we decided to go there first. It seems breakfast at 11 is not a thing in France. They were already in lunch mode. We decided to get Galettes, some cake for dessert and a coffee. It was okay, but not great.
After buying groceries and much decision paralysis (so much choice everywhere), we filled up the gas tank and drove on. Roughly west, was the goal. We want to reach the Atlantic soonish.
The drive was more scenic roads through mountains, meadows and cow pastures. It felt very much like Bavaria or Austria. We had a short stop to enjoy the view, eat some cheese and salami and have another coffee.
Just a few curves further, was a parking spot with a trail leading up the mountain, so we decided to do some hiking.
The trail was quite steep but in the end the exertions were worth it. We had a fantastic 360 degree view across the Parc naturel régional des Volcans d'Auvergne from the peak of the 1629m Puy de la Tache.
Next we started our ascend on road D36 which our guide book recommended as especially scenic. It is somewhat the wrong direction so we'll see how far we'll follow it. But for this day we decided to stay at a campground atop the first mountain. First time we connected to electricity again, but with all our devices USB chargeable and a solar panel on the roof, that isn't as important as it used to be on previous vacations.
For dinner we had lamb, sweet potato and green beans. We were just ready to eat when it rather suddenly started to rain and we had to move inside. Camping with no need to pitch a tent and being completely independent from the weather is just so wonderful.
