picardy

We had a late afternoon walk around Amiens. Much of Amiens had been destroyed in wars. The first stop was the cathedral, [undamaged] built in the prosperous 1200s and is big. One of the first to use flying buttresses meant the walls could soar and windows let light in at the top. The bell tower was replaced the 1500 after being struck by lightning. Amiens also had tanneries so there were some canals and old buildings and a lively restaurant & club area next to the river.

The next day we drove to Perrone across the plateau and valleys. The countryside was high and open, farmland with some trees. We visited the Historial de la Grand Guerre. This museum was divided into four areas: the lead up to the war, 1914-1916, 1916-1918 and post war. There were both military [full uniforms, kit and equipment], and civilian [plates, books, art] artefacts from Germany, France and Britain. We drove back along the river Somme. The river is wide and shallow, with peat bogs and lots of ponds at the sides. The Somme is fed from permanent springs in the chalk plateaux. The peat colours the water brown and also means the water table in the area is high. We wondered how people managed to dig cellars.

Back to Amiens via Villers Bretonneaux and the Australian War Memorial – an impressive site on top of a hill, but quite dangerous to cross the curving road to see it.

We dropped the car and caught the bus back to town. Tomorrow it's on to the train.

In Amiens we had another afternoon walk along the river where people were walking, exercising and jousting with staves.