Riom

Oh for the cooler morning this morning. As usual, we took an early morning walk around Massiac - even with a jacket on. The overnight rain had disappeared but the temperature had significantly dropped. 

After breakfast we completed our preparations to depart from our riverside campsite.

We planned our next stop to be in Charroux, a drive of a little over a hundred kilometres - a long drive for us!  Some interesting hilltop dwellings were dotted along this part of the hilly landscape. 

The scenery along the route was very picturesque with the patchwork landscape of summer being very dominant. The cloud covered sky was an interesting change after so much total blue skyline. 

This all changed very rapidly. As we approached Clermont-Ferrand the heavens opened up and it became nearly impossible to see very far ahead.  It became quite dangerous to continue, with heavy traffic on the highway and torrential rain, so we pulled over and took an early lunch. 

After lunch we decided to cut our trip short and drive on a short way to the town of Riom for the rest of the day and the evening. Riom was previously the capital of the province of Auvergne. 

It was still raining! And all through the night.