Nuit des étoiles, Saint-Nectaire & Le Puy-en-Velay – Road Trip in France #11

Well, for once, I’m going to mix up the order of visits because I don’t want my childhood memories of Lavoûte-Chilhac to be told at the same time as the other visits. Before going to Lavoûte-Chilhac, we made a stop at a producer of Saint-Nectaire, one of the 5 AOP cheeses in Auvergne.

Note: this blog article is part of the “Road Trip in France” made in August 2020. To read the previous parts, click here : #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9 and #10

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

A Saint-Nectaire with too much protein

There are 5 PDO cheeses in Auvergne but we choose to visit a farm producing Saint-Nectaire. We are particularly interested in visiting the very old cellars to ferment the cheese. Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed there anymore because of the Covid and because of the heat wave. Farmers have no desire to open the cellars (and let the heat in), while the cheeses must be fermented at a temperature ideally in the 13 degrees.

We can however attend the live production of Saint-Nectaire (I remind you that it is a PDO). Dairy cows seem to have happy days here, because to have this PDO, a large part of the feed supplied to the cows must be fresh and come from the region. Moreover, this producer is doing everything to ensure that even in winter, his cows have access to better quality grasses, by installing a high-tech barn, allowing them to dry optimally, while making them yummy.

Milking is done twice a day, so the producer makes cheese twice a day too. The fresh milk is mixed with a coagulant product whose name I did not remember. The whole is pressed, then salted and put in the cellars. The cellars are very old so they are already covered with mushrooms which are essential for the maturation of our cheeses.

The cheeses sold at the farm are huge, they are sold at 17 euros and are covered with a grey layer, characteristic of Saint-Nectaire cheeses still made in the traditional way (industrial cheeses would have had a slightly orange layer).

We decide to buy only half a cheese for 9 euros and are too happy to make a sausage dinner with black pork from Périgord + Saint-Nectaire d’Auvergne.

At the time of the tasting, JB tells me that it is better to remove the crust, I offend by saying that it is better with it. He still tries as best he can to scrape some off. And that’s the tragedy: he notices white worms on the paper wrapping the cheese. On closer inspection, a lot of maggots are happily walking around on our Saint-Nectaire. With the heat wave, and the cheese that has stayed too long in the trunk of the car, the cold chain is no longer respected, but hey… I hesitate between fainting or having my stomach pumped

We contact the farmer to ask if we are going to die:D he offers to exchange it or refund us. Finally, everything ends up in the trash and I note to ask my doctor for an antidote when I see him.

As a result of this experience, I will now only eat the industrial cheeses and throw away the cheese rinds for life 😀

Night of the stars

To end this disappointing day, we go to the “night of the stars” organized by an astronomy club (a long-awaited visit), to discover that the sky is half covered.

I’m in a bad mood, because not only did I just eat maggots, but we had to sleep in a Formula 1 car on purpose to be as close as possible to the stargazing spot. Needless to say, the cleanliness leaves something to be desired, people don’t respect anything anymore. Luckily there is a washbasin in every room.

In addition, the heat makes the visibility less optimal. 0 shooting stars were observed, but in exchange, thanks to the telescopes provided by the club, we could see Saturn and Jupiter. It is magic!

The association organized the event very well, putting arrows everywhere for the parking lot, organizing a mini-conference with projector on the planets & how to observe the sky, superb volunteers, disinfecting the telescopes after each use. Bravo !

Anyway, we never had any luck with the stars, we can be in the best places in the world to observe them, in the middle of a desert (Atacama, salt, or Saraha) or on top of a mountain, the clouds or the full moon will always be there to bother us 😀 I think I will stop planning stargazing nights, when there is too much waiting, we are always disappointed.

Le Puy-en-Velay

The next day, to avoid having the sun in my face for hours, I put myself in the back seat, in “Uber” mode 😀 I’m allergic to the sun (if that’s true, ask my doctor) so this new place in the shade suits me much better ahahah

The bobbin lace

During my visit to the Auvergne 23 years ago, I visited a teaching center for bobbin lace. I didn’t know this technique at all, and I found it so fascinating that I absolutely had to come back. Since I didn’t take any pictures of the place, I have no idea where the center was. I have four choices apparently in the area :

• the Bobbin Lace Teaching Center in Le Puy-en-Velay
• the museum of the Manufactures of lace of Retournac
• the National Conservatory of Lace Workshop of Le Puy-en-Velay
• or the Hotel de la Dentelle in Le Puy-en-Velay

For practical matters, we visited the Bobbin Lace Teaching Center, it’s not exactly the place I visited, but I liked it very much anyway. They have a collection of winning entries from lace competitions. It’s a bit difficult to appreciate the technicality of these works when you don’t know how to make them yourself. Today, there are no students, so the interest of the visit is less.

There is a very nice little film that explains why Puy-en-Velay has become the center of lacemaking. In the past, peddlers brought lace from Italy and travelled all over France to sell it. They used to stop in Le Puy-en-Velay, one of the important departures of the roads to Compostela. The demand was so great that the women in Le Puy-en-Velay began to learn the technique and make it themselves. This is an important source of income during the winter months.

In the street, you can see a few shopkeepers continuing to make bobbin lace. They sell their creations by the meter. Don’t hesitate to ask questions, they are very nice and will be able to explain you more: we always work with 4 bobbins at the same time. You always have to look at the drawing and not at your fingers. When you know the dots by heart, normally the fingers will be able to recreate these dots and follow the drawing alone. The “weaving” is done by crossing the spindles, so it is also very easy to correct your mistakes by simply uncrossing them.

For beginners, who start with 4 spindles, there can be numbers 1,2,3,4… and the learning will start with a very simple formula like: 1 out of 3, 4 out of 2, 2 out of 3… etc. The whole thing is fixed with pins (otherwise it wouldn’t have been possible to have holes in the middle of the lace). Twenty-three years ago, during the visit, we had access to precisely this beginner’s model and I was able to weave myself 2mm of lace 😀 now I think that with the Covid, this kind of demo will no longer be available to tourists, whatever the teaching center. The 4 addresses that I gave you above offer internships if you are interested. It varies from a few hours to a few days. In my wishlist, there are courses in carpentry, leatherwork, fabric printing & bobbin lace.

There is a place in France called Château Dumas, which offers full board courses. The best artists and craftsmen in the world come to teach a particular technique all week long.

Ways to Compostela

Le Puy-en-Velay is a popular departure point, among the 4 most famous routes of the Way of Compostela in France. There is even a Ways of Compostela office here. During this road trip, we will pass through several villages on the Compostelle’s roads, but you always have to climb, climb. As soon as there is a path of Compostela that passes by, suddenly, the places aren’t accessible to cars anymore, you have to walk :'(

Fortunately, in Le Puy-en-Velay, we go up slowly. First, from the town center to the Notre-Dame-du-Puy Cathedral, where a Black Madonna lives.

Coming to Le Puy-en-Velay, you can’t miss the Statue of Notre-Dame de France (on the right) and the Chapel Saint-Clair d’Aiguilhe (on the left). From a distance, both places seem completely inaccessible, but there are stairs leading up to the top. I didn’t climb to the top of the Chapel, but for the Statue, as one climbs from the Cathedral, which is already quite high, I didn’t suffer too much despite the heat wave.

Access to the Statue costs 4 euros. Fortunately, one can climb without wearing a mask (considering the physical effort). But you will have to wear a mask when you visit the inside of the statue.

From the top, one can clearly see the Chapel of Saint-Clair d’Aiguilhe and the staircase leading to it.

On the other side, you can see the beautiful Cathedral and the beautiful red roofs of the city. In the distance, we perceive a lot of mountains, it is magnificent!

It doesn’t look like it but the statue is very big. We can go up to the stars. The view from the stars isn’t great, and the staircase leading to it is small.

In the evening, there are illuminations but as Le Puy en Velay is only a small stop on our way to the Gorges de l’Ardèche, I can’t tell you if it’s worth it or not. In any case, it’s a very beautiful town and if you like lace, it’s the place to be.

Our next article, it’s this way

Part 2: Practical Tips

Useful links

• 4 weeks Road Trip in France by car: program & detailed plans here
• These points of interest are part of the +800 tourist places in France that we recommend. To access free Google Maps of the 800 places in question, click here
• More info about our car rental at Leclerc here

Budget

• Saint-Nectaire at the producer: between 9 and 17 euros. Free visit
• Night of the stars: free
• Center d’enseignement de la Dentelle : 4,5 euros
• Access to Notre-Dame de France: 4 euros/person
• Parking: free on weekends

Tips

• We recommend the parkinglot of the Covered Market, there is plenty of shade and it is a few minutes walk from the tourist sites.
• The viewpoint where you can see both Notre-Dame de France and the Chapel is along the Avenue de Bonneville.
• There is another viewpoint (see photo), I don’t know the name of this monument, I have seen many tourists. From this place, you can see at the same time Notre-Dame de France, the Cathedral and the Chapel.