Clermont-Ferrand, France

Clermont-Ferrand was the closest major city to Buron. Only about a 30 minute drive. It was our stop for dinner, but we ended up doing a lot of evening sightseeing in this city.

Clermont-Ferrand boasts a 13th century Cathedral and a 6th Century Basilica. The Cathedral was Gothic in style and beautiful inside and out. The Basilica was imposing on the outside, but plain on the inside. However the Basement featured a beautiful shrine. Dave did some romanticing that his ancestors may have come to this very spot for worship on special occasions.

Other than that, Clermont-Ferrand featured many fountains and statues. It is also often sighted to be one of Frances cuter major cities. It had a decent sized mall complete with the obligatory H&M (we've seen them everywhere throughout Europe, even in Serbia and Romania). We also stumbled across a Christmas market. In Romania, we raved about Vin Fiert (mulled wine), but here we got to try the French version, "Vin Chaud". Vin Fiert was sweeter and more heavily spiced. Vin Chaud was a better wine and less sweet but also less spiced (at least the versions we tried). We agreed we'd have preferred the French wine and sweetness (we're not all that into sweet things), but with the Romanian spices. They also had Vin Chaud Blanc (Mulled White Wine), which, surprisingly, might have been the best of them all. It was hard to tell if the spices were the same or not.

In the center of the Market there was a statue of Pope Urban II (pictured). Google maps told us the statue commemorates this spot as where Pope Urban began the First Crusadesin 1095.Read more