Vichy -- and Barbie!

Dear friends,

My day trip to Vichy on Thursday was a success! The town is lovely, with lots of Belle Epoque architecture that reminds me a lot of Nice, just not quite as Mediterranean. The weather was amazing and warm, and I spent most of my 4 hours there just wandering around the town. There’s not a whole lot to see, but it was very cool just to be somewhere that has served such an important role in history. Interestingly enough, I did not see one single mention of Vichy’s role as the WWII headquarters of Pétain’s government. Apparently there’s a small monument to the citizens of Vichy who were deported during the Occupation, but I didn’t see it. France has a very complicated and uncomfortable relationship with this part of its history though, so it’s not really surprising that Vichy chooses not to emphasize its role in the Occupation.

I visited the Halle des Sources, a pretty glass-walled building in the Parc des Sources where they have all of Vichy’s healing waters (les sources) on tap. Anyone can go in and walk around in the Halle, but you have to have a swipe card to get through the barrier to where the taps are – people have prescriptions to drink from different sources to cure various ailments. Apparently they all taste pretty terrible, but there were still a surprising number of people going in and out!

Very randomly, one of the stores along one of Vichy’s main shopping streets had a Barbie exhibition in their side windows. I’m not sure exactly why it’s there, but it was to commemorer les cinquante ans de Barbie (to celebrate Barbie’s 50th anniversary). It was very cute and had a rather extensive display of Barbies from the 1950s to the present.

I’ve gotten to do even more exploring of Nevers and am getting a really good feel for the town. The centre ville (the main part of town) is just darling, and it’s very charming. It’s also super pedestrian-friendly, which is a plus!

That’s all my news, au revoir for now!