Le Puy day 2: so much to see and do

The Puy de Lumières yesterday evening was better than either of us was expecting. The light show was set to music, with different themes and stories projected onto each building or monument. The one on the pointy rock was my favourite.

We enjoyed wandering the streets in the dark watching each display in its entirety before moving onto the next. It was lovely and warm sitting having a beer after 11 o’clock. Unfortunately, I put the wrong camper van aire into Google maps when we were returning to Bertie, which resulted in a row to end the night. Oh dear! We’re friends again now though. Just as well as we’re stuck in a tiny metal box together 🤭.

This morning we climbed up to the Statue of our Lady of France, or Notre-Dame de France. This sits on a volcanic pinnacle that towers high above the town and the chapel on the pointy rock, Rocher Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe, which we visited yesterday. It was a steep climb to the top of the rock, and then another 262 steps inside the statue to pop our heads out at the top of her head. There was only room at the top for 1 person at a time and I think we both had jelly legs on the ladder 😱.

I loved the details on the statue, inside and out, and the little peep holes in her robe, with glimpses of the valley far below. This statue was one of the largest statues in the world until the Statue of Liberty was erected in the US. It’s 22.7 metres high including the pedestal, and was created between 1856 and 1860 using 213 cannons from the Battle of Sebastopol in the Crimean War.

Once we’d had enough of the views from the statue, we wandered back down hill to visit the cathedral cloisters. It’s lovely being able to travel at this time of year. There are enough people around to give places some life, but also plenty of space to enjoy the attractions.

The cloisters are built with lots of different types of rock to give a multicoloured decorative mosaic effect… white sandstone, dark volcanic rock and terracotta. It’s amazing that it was built in the 11th century.

Next we entered Le Puy Cathedral. This is on top of the basilic rock that Le Puy was built on, which has been inhabited since Roman times. It’s also one of the starting points for the Camino Santiago de Compostela. Before moving on we stopped for coffee and an ice cream. I’ve got a sore throat and this was just what the pharmacist (me 🤭) ordered!

The final place we visited, which was part of our tourist pass, was Forteresse de Polignac. This was 10 minutes drive away from Le Puy but we ended up going up hairpin bends until we met a sign saying no motorhomes and John bottled it to go a safer route 😆.

The fortress is another place on top of a volcanic rock. It has belonged to the same family for nearly 1000 years and had an eventful past. We were surprised how much there was to see on the top, and enjoyed wandering around in the sunshine, mostly having the place to ourselves.

There’s a tall keep, which we could see from the statue in Le Puy this morning, and what would have been the viscount’s house, a Romanesque palace and a chapel and cemetery, complete with several excavated tombs.

We’re now on a quiet campsite near Le Puy. My cold is getting worse and I’m feeling sorry myself but I’ve managed an Aperol Spritz and half a pizza 😜. Tomorrow we move on to Vallon Pont d’Arc where John has an adventure planned. I hope my cold has gone by then