Reims et Verdun
Alors. We made it to Reims, which is a beautiful city not far from Paris. It is in the Grand Est region and is considered the unofficial capital of the Champagne region. It was first settled by the Gauls, so it’s been around for a while. (More info: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims.) We found our lovely apartment not far from the train station and set out to discover the city.
Of course, we started in the wrong direction, but we came across a carousel, smack dab in the middle of a small square. There was nothing else other than shops and cafés around it, but here it sat. We both immediately thought of Flora, of course, and sent her a photo.
After our tour, we had a lovely dinner of moules (mussels) cooked in cream and champagne. How could that be bad? And I had the following horoscope on my menu:
Translation: Something very important will have happened, which will clarify some important points in your view. The morale is very good.
Huh.
On Tuesday, we rented a Citroën C3 to drive to Verdun. I get to drive in France, because I cannot understand the signs or directions. This makes Dan crazy, because I drive faster and more aggressively than he, but as I remind him, I have never had a wreck that is my fault, nor have I ever totaled a car. (His number, I believe, is four totaled vehicles.) The speed limit on the A4 is 130 km/hour - about 80 mph - and I didn’t go too much over that. Maybe I got up to 153 km/hr, but I was being passed as if I were parked.
(Note from Dan - 153km is 95 mph. If she ever has a wreck, it will be her only one, and she is taking me with her! And here, I can’t close my eyes, because I am navigating!)
ANYWAY, we got to Verdun, and I have to say, having been to Normandy and other northern battlefields as well as several battlefields in North America, that I expected to be moved by the experience. But it was not moving. The citadel “tour” was cheesy, and the monument to the battle, which waged for almost 10 months and cost an estimated 700,000 lives - 70,000 per month of the battle - did not really convey the enormity of sacrifice of the people who lived in the area or of the soldiers. There were some interesting things to note, including that French and German soldiers would care for each others’ wounds, but I didn’t get the impact that I had expected. On TripAdvisor, we saw that there was a battlefield site, but having driven on both paved and unpaved roads into the forests north of Verdun, we arrived at the spot to find absolutely nothing. I sure that it was a battlefield, but there was nothing to note it as being any different from the rest of the countryside.
Back to Reims we went, to return the car and to meet with Walkers for dinner. We started at our apartment with a bottle of Vieuve Clioquot, provided by our host at a reduced cost, because she provides grapes for them and gets the champagne at a reduced price. We then had a fun meal, where Dan ate something called winkles. Do not ask.
(Dan’s note: This are winkles in shell, and a winkle ready to pop in my mouth. Tasty.)
Of course, we started in the wrong direction, but we came across a carousel, smack dab in the middle of a small square. There was nothing else other than shops and cafés around it, but here it sat. We both immediately thought of Flora, of course, and sent her a photo.
Once we got turned in the right direction, we headed to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims. It is on the site where Clovis, considered the first Christian king of France, was crowned. For thousands of years, other kings were crowned here as well. It’s beautiful, with a lovely rose window, two large pipe organs, and three stained glass panels by Chagall. I’m sure that Dan will have more and better photos, but here are mine.
 |
| Chagall windows |
 |
| I’m going to guess that anyone who breaks one of these really big candles would be in the dog house. |
Translation: Something very important will have happened, which will clarify some important points in your view. The morale is very good.
Huh.
On Tuesday, we rented a Citroën C3 to drive to Verdun. I get to drive in France, because I cannot understand the signs or directions. This makes Dan crazy, because I drive faster and more aggressively than he, but as I remind him, I have never had a wreck that is my fault, nor have I ever totaled a car. (His number, I believe, is four totaled vehicles.) The speed limit on the A4 is 130 km/hour - about 80 mph - and I didn’t go too much over that. Maybe I got up to 153 km/hr, but I was being passed as if I were parked.
(Note from Dan - 153km is 95 mph. If she ever has a wreck, it will be her only one, and she is taking me with her! And here, I can’t close my eyes, because I am navigating!)
ANYWAY, we got to Verdun, and I have to say, having been to Normandy and other northern battlefields as well as several battlefields in North America, that I expected to be moved by the experience. But it was not moving. The citadel “tour” was cheesy, and the monument to the battle, which waged for almost 10 months and cost an estimated 700,000 lives - 70,000 per month of the battle - did not really convey the enormity of sacrifice of the people who lived in the area or of the soldiers. There were some interesting things to note, including that French and German soldiers would care for each others’ wounds, but I didn’t get the impact that I had expected. On TripAdvisor, we saw that there was a battlefield site, but having driven on both paved and unpaved roads into the forests north of Verdun, we arrived at the spot to find absolutely nothing. I sure that it was a battlefield, but there was nothing to note it as being any different from the rest of the countryside.
Back to Reims we went, to return the car and to meet with Walkers for dinner. We started at our apartment with a bottle of Vieuve Clioquot, provided by our host at a reduced cost, because she provides grapes for them and gets the champagne at a reduced price. We then had a fun meal, where Dan ate something called winkles. Do not ask.
(Dan’s note: This are winkles in shell, and a winkle ready to pop in my mouth. Tasty.)
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