Faded glory

During the Belle Epoque at the turn of the twentieth century, the village was a thriving spa centre for the English rich and leisured classes. The likes of Rudyard Kipling and Princess Beatrice came for treatments (as well as funding the local Anglican church) and at one time the Times of London gave the international weather forecast for Paris, New York and Vernet les Bains. All this declined after the First World War and the great flood of 1940 sounded the death knell for health tourism when most of grand hotels were swept away.  Only the Hotel de Portugal and the Casino survived.  You can still lose substantial amounts of money in the Casino in the foreground and the Hotel de Portugal is now owned by the Ministry of Defence to provide summer holidays for its staff.  The Thermes are now housed in a modern building and used mostly by those with a prescription for bronchial problems.  Treatments usually last three weeks.
The day has been spent mostly catching up with some work developments and doing some jobs before my return next week.