This morning it was still hellishly hot out, and with one eye half-open around 6am, I thought, “alright, let me take advantage of the cool morning air (68°F) to catch up on the international press” and shake off the hangover that Spain’s incredible team handed us at the World Cup… So I opened up the New York Times and right there in the headlines was the Tour de France, which I honestly couldn’t care less about unless it’s for the pretty scenery or when it rolls through “our neck of the woods” (you know, the region where we roll our R’s, like Aveyrrrron, Auverrrrgne, Lozèrrrre, Rrrrrouerrrrgue…) and lo and behold, they were talking about none other than the Cantal! (which doesn’t have any R’s to roll, but we love it like a brother anyway). And there it was: the epic landscapes, the gorgeous mountains, the grueling, character-building climbs, everything singing the praises of Cantal… when suddenly: Bam! Catastrophe! We’re not up to snuff!!! Up to snuff on what, exactly? What’s the deal? Well, it’s the hotels! Our ego just took a nasty hit… long story short: dirty, uncomfortable, hotels straight out of the 19th century, etc.
Ah yes, “American” standards must reign supreme worldwide! And that’s exactly what we love — the “run-down” hotels bursting with character, where the owner does whatever it takes to keep the lights on, simple home cooking, sometimes the kind of place where if you tell them you’re coming back late after a night out, they’ll leave a plate for you in the fridge, or tell you where “the keys are hidden” when you roll in at 2am — basically, real France, not the bland, cookie-cutter chain hotel version. The kind of place you actually remember, because when you’re old, what’ll stick with you are memories of stuff like that — like the veal head you scarfed down at Le Rendez-vous des Pêcheurs, right on the banks of the Truyère. Bottom line, what we’re after is the EXTRAORDINARY, not food that tastes the same everywhere on earth, or hotel rooms that all look identical with a view of the same parking lot whether you’re in Cucuron-les-Olivettes or Kuala Lumpur!
So here’s an excerpt from the Times article, as they say. Danish cyclist Magnus Cort writes:
“It’s got an incredible view and looks pretty nice from the outside,” he said about the hotel, located near the summit of Lioran, the finish of Tuesday’s stage, an accommodation he’d already stayed at before.
“But honestly, it’s one of the worst places I’ve ever stayed. This time it wasn’t completely soaked through, and there was only a slight moldy smell. We also had the luxury of dry toilet paper. I had a sink in the closet, which was actually handy so I didn’t have to go up and down two flights of stairs during the night. It’s hard to say much more that’s positive about the place.
“It was dirty, no air conditioning, no WiFi. It’s been used a lot (too much), with plenty of stuff broken, like the toilet paper holder and the showerhead. Even though it was better than last time, it still only deserves one star out of seven.”
Well, all that’s well and good, but our thing is fly fishing! And in the Cantal, there’s the Jordanne, and honestly we couldn’t care less where we sleep as long as we can go dunk our flies in there with our buddies! (And chow down on one hell of a sandwich with some Salers cheese and good ham!)
Subtitles are available on YouTube