That Special Christmas Gift

There is a perfect replica of the Eiffel Tower, 1/20th scale about 20 kilometers from here in the Village of Ayen in the Correze. The tower is situated on the property of the artist who built it in 1989, Jean-Paul Caudoux. He has a relatively unknown private museum, L'atelier de Vieux Metiers which has a collection of ancient machines and cars. It is a veritable Ali Baba's Cavern.

The Tower stands about 17 meters tall and weighs around 6 tons. Jean-Paul has it for sale in the internet and is asking around 30,000 Euros for it. He is in his late 60's and is interested in retiring. He hopes that if it is bought, it can remain where it is, but it can be disassembled into three sections which could be easily moved by heliocopter.

I would like to see it remain where it is, I bike to Ayen quite frequently and it is the site of one of my favorite boulangers. Not only is the bread wonderful, but they make a special pastry called le Delice de Noix. It's a little tart with a crust made with ground walnuts and filled with a walnut flavored pastry cream frosted with mocha...very addictive!
Ayen is a very historic little place on one of the hills of the Correze with a perfect Romanesque Church dating from the 13th century which in the late 19th century was taken apart stone by stone and reassembled because of a structural problem caused by earth movement. The original foundation of the church dates to a gallo roman structure.
One of my favorite and very challenging bike trips! The little village clinging to the side of the hill with the older Ayen-bas below in the valley. There are some pretty funky Correziene style red sandstone chateaux to discover. Visit Jean-Pauls museum beofre he closes up shop!