A Few Days In The Auvergne

This past week Ken and I spent with some American friends in the Auvergne region. We were in a small town called Saint-Chamant which is in the Cantal département. There's a cow's milk cheese called Cantal whose production is centered on the nearby town of Salers.

Entering St.-Chamant.

Our gîte (rental house) was a beautifully restored stone house with three large bedrooms, a huge living room and equally huge dining room, a modern kitchen, and two full baths. Five of us were very comfortable there. The house faced south with a gorgeous view across a small valley.

Our rental house. Can you spot Callie?

We arrived Tuesday evening after about four hours on the road, the last hour and a half of which was spent on small mountain roads through low clouds and rain showers. We arrived and got settled, then prepared dinner with ingredients we had brought from home: fresh garden tomatoes, mozzarella, grated carrots, rabbit rillettes, and other goodies.

The back of our rental house and the view.

Callie was good on the ride, but we could tell she was happy to get out of the car. She settled in as well and we all spent our first night comfortably.