His mum was there but with no English, so she showed us to our grand room in this ‘2 large courtyard’ mansion renovated carefully back to its original look. Her boy, the mayor, who spoke English, was very engaging helping us with ‘making dinner tools’, and ‘eating dinner utensils’. But before eating, he showed us around his ‘Pan de Bois’. This huge wooden structure which has another courtyard and building behind is made from wood [...]
Another wet night, light rain brought out our plastic attire in the morning. The chicken farmer came back to see us off, after saying goodbye to his 20,000 long term guests 2km away. He will be kinder to us I hope and leave us with our heads on, the others will lose theirs prior to being plucked. A croissant breakfast with our delightful hosts, who joined us for both meals even though they didn’t eat, [...]
Walking the streets of CeC was an ongoing delight. There were crooked houses, many leaning against the other for support (we know how it feels, our empathy now extends to old buildings); rivers, canals and old bridges to the extent that the word - ‘Venice’ - is often whispered; a home made park - ‘Le petit jardin’ - with its own little hills and river in the shadows of one of the many grand old [...]
Dinner with our new Canadian friends was fun. A busy bar became non busy in the blink of an eye as what seemed like a protest march was for a moment more interesting than a drink. So room was made for us as we watched, what was really an entree to a big football game heading for the football stadium. A walk with friends through our first, I think, tram city, (I love the gentle [...]
As you can see from yesterday’s photos, the first grapes have been sighted. A little bit of Tuscany, and lots of champagne as we see the signs of large wine producers appearing regularly. No champagne in the abbey but a good bottle of red graced our table. We met Julie first in the vast dining room. A young French woman, she was studying Psychology, following her degree in Aerospace Engineering which she picked up whilst [...]
Close to the half way mark and I thought it was time to share what is happening for me in the ‘Parkinsons Sphere’. Pathology: It has been obvious that I have slowed down and it now takes a greater effort each day, especially in the morning. On previous walks, covering 25 kms was manageable, now under 20 is my new category, and at 17 it’s really enjoyable and more time can be spent on gazing [...]
Well, would you know? There are people at our place - 5 older French couples and an English couple, the latter had dinner with us, ie they were at the next table. He should have had hearing aids, said she, because he misses out on all the gossip. I agreed and told her mine were so good I could hear everything they said. So when he asked her for some of her wine, I said [...]
Laon seems to mark the end (maybe temporary), of the wide open fields where you can see for miles. Part of the reason this vista exists is because there are very few trees, except the odd narrow forest, the old covered rail line, woods along the St Quentin canal and clumps of trees on small hilltops. Now we have climbed the first real hill, although not challenging from a walkers’ perspective, these landforms provide a [...]
Les Chevaliers was our Laon home for the night and the 2 young Frenchmen were the personification of its title. These knights cared for us from the very start, offering both of us carriage of our luggage to the very top of this dizzy staircase. They carried on their chivalrous ways by offering us the choice of rooms, early entry and anything else we desired. Their lucky hotel is receiving the same attention as they [...]
Tergnier is a town still rebuilding after the war but mostly around the edges. Not far from our hotel, Le Paon, is a silent, unpeopled square. There are no cafes, no residences, no shops, so nobody. Instead it is graced with substantial red brick buildings reflecting its brutal past. None of these places dominate the other but almost seem to stand side by side in stubborn resistance. And it is the Musee of the resistance [...]
