So, needing a break from walking everywhere and a change of scenery, we took a short drive to Thiers, France, the capital of European cutlery! A quaint and ancient small town with a population of 11,000, Thiers is synonymous with high quality blades – cooking knives, table knives, pocket knives, you name it! The artistry of the knives was incredible. Truly an art form! (Learn more here) (and here)
Row after row of cutlery shops with exquisite handles and blades! 
The store on the left here is owned by the Ponson family, cutlery artists for six unbroken generations. We had a nice conversation in French with the 5th generation father (artisan) and his wife (in charge of sales!). The short walk around town was fascinating, with many stores having active workshops inside to hand make custom pieces with elk horn, ivory, and exotic wood handles or engraved blades with ornate pictures. These pieces are gorgeous – and not inexpensive.
Early in the 14th century, knives in Thiers were originally made in the river at the bottom of the cliff (you can see how steep the terrain is in the picture) 
by men laying on their stomachs for 12-14 hours at a time, honing the blades in the water on grist wheels that were turned by the power of the current. The knife makers were frequently left crippled by the physical position they had to maintain in terrible conditions, and many died or were maimed due to the wheels breaking. 
We did stop for a lonnnnggggg (French = long) lunch, as evidenced by my caramel dessert crepe. (I didn’t take a picture of the galotte (ham and cheese-type crepe, topped by an egg looking at me (!), which was promptly scooped onto Tanner’s plate.) Tasted great – sans the egg!
The ancient church, Eglise St. Genes, was first built in 575 (can you even imagine the year 575?) and then rebuilt in the Gothic/Roman style in the 12th century. It was amazing….and freezing cold inside. The stones hold in the cold like none other.
Those early monks had to be wearing a lot of woolies under those robes! No wonder the people slept with their dogs! Oh, wait, my kids still do that……
Anyway, it was a good short outing…with storm clouds building around the massive chain of volcanoes on our way back….
We miss and cherish you!
Bisous! 
PS – I did play Bunco last week – and I won. Not sure if I’m invited back now???
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