Auvergne, another discovery

Today, we blasted through Auvergne, a French province that is the home of extinct volcanoes. Its mountains, called Massif Central are old, as they were formed million years ago and are home of a large number (try 450) of inactive volcanic cones spread over 60 square miles. 

We went through some of the few places that are using their mountains as ski areas and also for hiking and mountain biking during the off-season, and are also popular spa places used a lot by French patients. 

At night we stopped at Orcival a tiny village clustered around a huge and massive basilica that seemed out of place in its narrow valley setting surrounded by huge pastoral plateaus.