On a lighter note.......... we're coming home! (Sun 24th Nov)

Well, our 10 week and 3 day tour of France is coming to end.  We are parked up in the Aire at Calais ready for the early ferry to Dover on Monday morning at 06:45 (!)

You might like to think that we chose that time so we could complete our journey back to Bristol in day light, or so that we could extend our last Sunday in France................well you would be wrong!  We chose it because it was the cheapest crossing we could find! (only £38 !).

Anyway, we have had a fantastic time in France,  The 'Wolf' performed brilliantly, we did a lot of cycling, drank a lot of wine, eat a load of cheese, and munched our way through a mountain of fresh baguettes.  The scenery has ranged from 'rustic' to 'breathtaking' to 'Awesome dude!'  We have climbed  monster sand dunes, walked across mountains, climbed to the top of a volcano.  We have seen Chateau after Chateau, fort after fort, medieval town after medieval town, more vinyards than you shake a stick at.  We have surfed in the French Atlantic and paddled in the French Meditteranean, drank Bordeaux in Bordeaux, ate Roquefort in Roquefort and quaffed Champagne in Champagne.  We've seen Brown Beavers, Pink Flamingoes, Golden Eagles and Griffon Vultures.

It has been an adventure and we return to England tomorrow.........

Where next ???

Vimy Ridge (24 Nov)

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial on Vimy Ridge is also a museum.  Here they have preserved the trenches, tunnels, dugouts and craters from the Battle in April 1917.  It is an eye opener to see the tunnels and trenches, and shocking to note that in some cases the two armies were entrenched just 25 metres apart from each other.  This meant that for the men in the trenches on either side they were exposed and vulnerable to grenades and pistol fire, let alone shelling etc.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge took just 4 days and formed part of the Front Line attack that included the Battle of Arras that I mentioned previously.

For those that are interested......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge

These tunnels were used for the transport or troops and equipment for the 'surprise attack'

Although now in concrete, these were the actual trenches....

This German Bunker is just 25 metres away from the Canadian trenches

This is a photo taken from the Canadian trench looking towards the bunker above

This crater is all that separates the the two sides.......

The memorial was built in 1936

The sculptures are very 'gentle' and elegant I think.....

German Military Cemetery in Neville-St-Vaast (24 Nov)

Today was our last full day in France.  We drove to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial and on the way stumbled across the German Military Cemetery in Neville-St-Vaast.

Upon entering the cemetery, and looking across acres and acres of engraved stone crosses marking the graves of 44830 German soldiers, I was overwhelmed  by sadness and I am not ashamed to say that this sight moved me to tears.  I am not a pacifist, nor am I a religious man,  the sheer scale of human misery and suffering that this war brought upon Nations and their people was vast and questionable.  It does not matter that in this case, these were 'the enemy', these dead solders were sons, brothers, fathers.......killed in a most brutal and violent manner.............and all for what?

War is savage, and as Albert Schweitzer (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) said, "The soldiers' graves are the greatest preachers of peace."

This was not an 'easy' visit today, indeed it was quite unsettling, however I do believe that we have a duty to remember those that fought and gave their lives for their nations and their families, regardless of 'which side' they were on.

Plaque at the entrance to the cemetery 

This is just a very small section of the cemetery

Each cross marked 4 named men, the day they were killed, and their bodies

Arras (23 Nov)

Arras is a town in North France famous for its part in the 1st world war particularly (amongst many other things).  The town was virtually completely destroyed in the Great War and all the buildings in these photo's were rebuilt after the war.  The local architecture is very much Flemish.  We visited the Carriere Wellington Museum which shows the Chalk mines and tunnels that were used (and extended) in the war to assist in the battle to retake the front line held by the Germans.  24000 (mostly British) soldiers hid in the tunnels for 8 days before 'popping up' behind enemy lines and surprising the Germans.  The Battle of Arras was expected to be over in 8 days however it took 39 days and cost the lives of 240,000 troops.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7384227.stm

The town hall

Place des Héros on market day

Into the museum

This is a photo of the town hall and Place des Héros just after the battle!

On the way back to the van I was chased by a giant prawn! (this is NOT a foon)

Reims (22 Nov)

Reims turned out to be 'just another French City'............. however the Cathedral IS impressive!  It is quite possibly the BIGGEST and GRANDEST  Cathredral that I have ever set eyes upon.  The photo's do not really convey the sheer size and scale of the building.  If you are ever near Reims you should see it for yourself.

Unfortunately the building is undergoing repairs right now

The attention to detail on these carvings is amazing

It's very high and very long inside

Really really long..........

The other side of the building

Porte du Mars in Reims

Epernay (21 Nov)

In the afternoon we drove to Epernay for our next stop.  For some strange reason we only expected Epernay to be another quaint little rustic village......... WRONG!  Epernay is a small city full of splendour and elegance.  The Rue de Champagne is a road about half a mile long that is just busting at the seams with huge grand elegant Champagne houses.  It would appear that over the centuries, each Champagne maker who has 'made good' has gone out of his way to demonstrate his wealth by building bigger and better houses than the neighbours!  No wonder Champagne is expensive, these houses must have cost a fortune!

Fact:  There are over 110 Kilometres of subterranean cellars in Epernay holding over 200 million bottles of Champagne!

'Where's this Champagne road then?'

The Chateau Perrier.......

'You call that a front door!?'

The new Moet and Chandon building

Champagne Museum (21 Nov)

Today we visited Le Musee de Vigne et de Vin in Le Mesnil Sur Oger and had our own tour guide for a two hour tour around the museum followed by a tasting session!

This was quite fantastic!  The museum is full of old machinery and equipment used for making Champagne over the last 400 years!  The museum is one of the best (of any kind) that we have ever been to.  Our guide spoke little English but between us we managed to understand how it was done!  Our Guide, Nicolas, was really nice and helpful and very informative.

After the tour we tried four different types of Champagne and were so impressed with the taste and quality that we bought a few to take home.  Upon collecting the bottles from the store, Nicholas gave us a 'gift' of another bottle of 'Grand Cru 2006'!  He was very nice.  It was a good job that we had walked from the Aire to the museum after all that wine tasting!  (the walk was 2 miles each way in the freezing cold).

Outside the Museum

A selection of Grape Presses

The 'Daddy' of presses!  an 18 tonne beam press made in 1630

Another type...

These vineyards are worth a small fortune!!

But it didn't stop a 'Champhoon'!!