Saturday in Northern France (23 January 2016)

The Somme river area, where the trench warfare of WWI occurred, lies about 1/2 way between Lille and Paris.  On Saturday, which was cold and overcast, we drove down the A1 (130 kmh speed limit, pretty farmland scattered with church steeples and windmills)  and  arrived in the area in less than an hour.  Drivers in France (except Paris) are very good, law-abiding and polite.

We planned to visit a few WWI museums but learned (on arrival) that they re-opened Monday the 25th after the tradition winter break. We walked around the Saturday morning market in the very pretty town of Peronne.  Kat, Kay Tom, I was wishing you were there to see, buy and cook with everything!  And then serve me :)

endives, radishes, artichokes, persimmons



Olives
 

the blue and green cheeses below are gouda




We then walked up to the very pretty square and walked into the gorgeous church there, consecrated in the 16th century but pretty much destroyed in WWI.  The Germans occupied it and then the Allies bombed it.  It was restored in the 70s and 80s.  (Thank you wikipedia for the picture below) It was the first cathedral-like place we have taken the kids and they were very impressed.  The stained glass was gorgeous, but we didn't stay long as it was freezing!






We had lunch at a brasserie on the square, omelettes for A and S, pizza for B and a salad of chicken, potatoes, corn for me.  Belgian beer for the grown ups, too.  I had promised the kids a macaroon from the bakery after lunch, but oops again,  the square was closed down for mid-day by the time we finished our leisurely lunch.


This is one end of the square in Peronne- the vans were there for the market.









After lunch we headed to another museum near a large memorial to WWI soldiers.  It was in the countryside, all by itself, and closed for the winter until Monday.  We made one last trip down very narrow country roads, very pleased to not have any oncoming traffic each time we crested a hill.  Every few kilometers there is a  small town and  near every town a memorial to a specific company of soldiers.  We saw English, Australian and South African memorials.  We also drove by several graveyards with hundreds and hundreds of soldiers' graves near these tiny towns.  The memorialized dead far outnumber the locals.

Our target was the Lochnagar crater, a large hole created by the British burrowing under the German front line and blasting a large number of explosives.   There is a small cross memorializing a Scottish soldier missing in WWI whose remains were found at the edge of the crater in 1998.  The bright blue spot is Amelia, near Scott and Bobby (no jacket).




The weather was chilly as you can see.  We have had 3 freezes at night, but generally it's been milder than Richmond, and milder than is usual here.  The normal low for the entire month of Jan and Feb is 33 and the high in the low 40s, but most of our nights have been in the 40s and the highs in the 50s.  That would be the normal March and April weather here, so we are grateful.  The sun was out yesterday, and today is partly cloudy. Usually it is mostly cloudy, or overcast.  The weatherlady on the radio uses the the word "gris" a lot!  (Check your crayola for translation.)

Next posting must be on food!