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Autumn - Winter 2019
| Pitelet Newsletter
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| Hello! Welcome to our latest newsletter. As we sit writing this, outside we have our first snow of the year and it is difficult to imagine the heatwave we were having at the end of June. It was the beginning of our thirteenth summer living in Pitelet and certainly one of the hottest and driest. We are so grateful be living at a little altitude and to the Mountain Ash trees in front of the gîte for offering our guests, human and canine, some cooling shade. Our guests have all gone home happy, the garden has been put to bed for the winter, work on the house has slowed down and winter is on its way, so Andrée can concentrate on making her cards for Christmas and the New Year and knitting a blanket for a niece's baby-to-be and Gary has time to read a little more and pick up his calligraphy pen. But before that we have been giving some fresh thought to this lovely, unspoiled region of France we have chosen to make our home. It has always attracted French visitors looking to avoid the crowds and, since the Puy de Dôme and our chain of volcanoes gained UNESCO heritage status, its popularity is growing. Neither do we attract hoardes of international tourists, but that is only because we are relatively unknown abroad. Here are just one or two of our thoughts. | ||
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 | La Pamparina The word derives from "pamparinar", an Auvergnat word meaning "to have a party" and that's exactly what has been taking place every summer in Thiers since 1998. During the first weekend of July the streets come alive with the sound of music. Emerging talent as well as national and international artists are invited to perform on one of several stages erected in the squares of the medieval town. The streets are lined with bars, cafés and stands selling all manner of refreshments and the atmosphere is amazing! The theme this year was "a musical voyage of discovery" from the four corners of the world.The theme for 2020 hasn't been announced yet, but this great festival will undoubtedly be as popular as ever. | ||
 | And talking of Thiers..... Thiers has been the centre of France's cutlery industry for six centuries and every year in May since 1990 it hosts an international festival of handcrafted knives which is now the largest exhibition of its kind in the world. It is called Coutellia and this year there were 230 exhibitors from 22 different countries in the 2500 square metres of exhibition space. The wonderful craftsmanship in these knives makes them real works of art. It is a three day event and in 2020 will take place on the 22/23/24 May. And if you interested in learning more about the art, you can visit the town's cutlery museum and then assemble and polish your own pocket knife and have your name etched into the blade. All its components are made locally and it makes a great souvenir. | ||
 | And in case you didn't know..... Those of you who have already stayed with us will have certainly visited the village of Saint Rémy sur Durolle, the capital of the corkscrew (yes, it's true!), with its lake, outdoor swimming pool and its Sunday morning market. But you may not know that overlooking the lake there is also now a spa and wellness centre which offers many different therapies as well as sauna and jacuzzi. Also every Tuesday between the 14 July and the 15 August, the village hosts an evening market. At each marché nocturne in the centre of the village there is a different meal on offer outdoors next to the church with live music, many stands and a great atmosphere. Pay a visit to the quaint town of Vichy renowned for its spas. And if you like a good display of fireworks, go to Vichy on 15 August, eat in one of the riverside restaurants and wait for night to fall. The capital of our département is Clermont Ferrand, the home of Michelin and Bibendum, the Michelin Man. It's visitor centre is very interesting. And France's gastronomic capital, Lyon, is only a little over an hour away. | ||
 | So.... If you're looking for something a little different and love peace and tranquility too, we would be delighted to welcome you to our little haven. Comments from our previous guests are available on the guestbook pages of our website http://www.slowholidays-auvergne.com In our Spring newsletter of 2018 we told the story of our friend Dédé who turned up in the autumn of 2017 with a handful of vine cuttings. They are an old variety called Baco and Dédé told us not to expect any fruit for three years. Well one them decided to prove him wrong. It is obviously very happy where we planted it and it produced two small bunches of beautiful grapes. They were only the size of big peas but they tasted lovely. We hope the others we planted will learn from this example and produce next year. | ||
 | Our sincerest best wishes for Christmas and 2020. And finally, we would like to use this opportunity to wish you and those closest and dearest to you a very, very merry Christmas and to all of you too, and to the rest of the world, a 2020 of happiness, love, peace and reconciliation. Until the next time and with our very best wishes to you all. Andrée and Gary. | ||
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