Au Revoir Grazac

It was an amazing year and I am so grateful to Fulbright for allowing me this tremendous opportunity to learn, to grow and to share.  As the months and years pass I may forget the details of the famous Auvergne Romanesque churches or the names of the numerous villages and towns I visited but I will always remember the wonderful people I met during my year in France.

Luncheon at Maître Kanter and School Reception

At a farewell lunch with Paola at Maître Kanter

Although I am a high school French teacher I was in the Auvergne to teach middle school
English.  After over twenty years of teaching I had a lot to learn about the French educational system including teaching techniques, evaluating students and classroom management.  Without a specific foreign language department at the school my two colleagues Nicole and Paola (both English teachers) and I worked very well together in discussing our classes, the texts and workbooks, exchanging ides and in the process becoming wonderful friends.  I will always be grateful to them for their warm graciousness and support.

Michèle and Nicloe

The school year finished with a reception for retiring teachers and those leaving for other teaching assignments.

Valérie and Joelle

Julien, Monsieur Arsac and Alain

Final Days in Grazac

I have now completed a year-long Fulbright Teacher Exchange.   With some initial concern for the remoteness of France's geographic center I knew from the first moment I arrived that I could be at home in the Massif Central with the dramatic, awe-inspiring views of extinct volcanoes, spectacular mountains, gorges, forests and wide open spaces. 
My little hamlet, Le Villard, composed of about seven stone houses, has been a wonderful place to live.  From the very first days my French neighbors were so warm, friendly, gracious and helpful.  I was invited, soon after my arrival, to a neighborhood "pique-nique" where I was introduced to many people from surrounding villages.  My neighbors, the Deyrail and Nuel families were so friendly and included me for dinner or an occasional "apéro".  Also, Monsieur and Madame Gilbert were always ready to care for the cat during week-end trips and their grandson Christophe was so helpful with tech/internet problems and appeared at the door with gifts of fresh caught trout.  And there was dear Jeannot who invited me and my visiting friends and family to his home on so many, many occasions.  He even included Roger on wild boar hunts and chanterelle mushroom gathering hikes along with continually stopping by with vegetables from his bounteous garden.

Roger and I hosted our last dinners and "apéros" for our French friends where we enjoyed talking about the year and saying our farewells.

Photos taken around Grazac during the year!

Included in this blog are some favorite photos taken around Grazac.  Our favorite Friday night restaurant, La Chapelette, was great for the Frog's Legs!   We also had a very nice dinner at the Creux des Pierres in front of a roaring fire one winter night. 

A few photos will convey the beauty of the region; volcanic, lush green mountains all around.  We were able to catch some stunning sunsets as we looked right out of the living room window.

One of my favorite stone houses in Grazac

 

Visit with Michel and Martine in Renaison!

Didi

Diane and Roger with Mimi

Martine and Michèl

              We had a delicious lunch in Renaison with Martine, Michèl,  Berengère and the children.  Afterwards we toured the nearby churches and villages.  It was a great day!

Bérengère, Mimi, Martine, Diane, Michèl

The Great Churches of the Auvergne!

Eglise St-Nectaire, constructed in 1160

The Auvergne Romanesque School of Architecture is considered one of the most unusual in the Western world with an apparent similarity and simplicity seen in every church.  The churches in Clermont-Ferrand (Notre-Dame-du-Port), Issoire, Orcival, St-Nectaire and St-Saturnin are some of the finest examples of the Romanesque style in which the beauty is both austere and logical.  The churches were built with an economic use of resources (volcanic lava stone) and give an impression of strength and unity in the design.  The layout of the churches slowly changed to meet the needs of the pilgrimages.  The first church to have an ambulatory and radiating chapels typical of the Auvergne School of Architecture was the one in Clermont-Ferrand, which was consecrated in AD 946.  Only the crypt remains today but the style continued to develop until it finally achieved perfection in the 12th century.

Abbatiale Saint-Autremoine,  12th Century

The exterior of the west front of the churches is remarkable for its bold flat facade and is topped with a central bell tower and two side towers.   This contrasts sharply with the east end which presents a magnificent view of radiating chapels of various levels.  The interior is stark with decorative features on the capitals and small windows built inside enormous load-bearing arches. The chancel inside the church, where the priest celebrates Mass, faces east towards Jerusalem in most of the churches. 

Mushrooms Picking in the Auvergne!

Gyromitres drying

My neighbor Jeannot knows all the secret spots to find mushrooms.  He brought me a big box of girolles, or sometimes called chanterelles, that he picked.  He taught me how to cook them in butter, garlic, parsley and cream.  They accompanied very well the veal chops I cooked to go with them.

Pictured here with Jeannot are two pans of  mushrooms called gyromitres.  They are poisonous until dried properly and then cooked.  They loose their toxicity when processed in this manner.  I hear they are delicious but I have to admit I did not try them!

Chanterelle mushrooms from the woods