Thiers

Travelled : 196km
Stay: Montluel with family
Visited: Thiers

Today our quest was to head East to my cousins. There is a autoroute that goes directly there which we have taken before but as we had all day we thought we would save the €25 toll and enjoy the countryside at a slower pace. We stopped to have a walk around Thiers which is known as the largest knife producing area in France. They are doing lots of work to improve the streets, however we are not sure if it will be enough as many shops are closed and abandoned with only a couple of streets giving life to the town. Unfortunately the knife producers cannot compete against cheap imports. Always an issue. There was also a lovely view of the valley except for the low cloud. We then left the black rock behind and crossed over into the next valley and drove through villages of Roche Dore (golden rock). It's one of the things we love about France...the diversity of its villages, in looks and local products. After a brief shop we arrived in Montluel and enjoyed a pleasant evening catching up.

Nice view.

The abandoned streets.

Lots of different architecture happening here.

Just one of the f the many shops still open selling lots of knives and loved the door opening in the left.

Very modern designs made for specific purposes. One knife was even for Nutella!

Back in cow country 

Over the Loire.

Beautiful valleys 

Golden rock.

Ahhh. The Beaujolais...

Sante!