9th October, Loire

We visited part of the Department of Loire, to the west of  us, on Wednesday. We skirted around the larger centers like St-Etienne and St-Chamond as best we could to avoid getting caught up in city traffic but were amazed by the spread of these cities. It reminded us of the spread of the Gold Coast.
The country we were in slowly rises from 250 meters to around 1100 meters and forms part of the Parc du Pilat, a National Park. Surprisingly the Parc was scattered with farms and houses. Perhaps they were there before the park was proclaimed. The apple orchards had not been harvested in this area.The scenery was stunning.

Typical scene

Higher Country in light mist

Apples ready for picking