It is good to be back in France again! Waking up at the Ibis Dijon Sud there is a flurry of activity outside. The Brits in the VW California with bikes on the back have already left (good job as the Dad was really grumpy yesterday afternoon). We only have about 3 hours on the road today so we can afford a alte breakfast and, hopefully, time to explore the Cathedral and city centre at Reims. I still find myself mangling Italian and French, though, saying 'Si' for 'Oui' and so forth.
I decide to have a shave this morning, and bump into an old friend! Yes, the moth we lost the other evening in the tent had taken up residence in the shaving kit section of my washbag and is now fluttering around the en suite in my room.
I hope the moth is bilingual, because I am not taking him back and I'm not sure moths have a very good homing instinct. I am actually a little relieved because we once had a moth set off the Landy alarm at night, flapping near the sensors, and they are almost impossible to find inside the vehicle if they are hiding away. This morning I am also very happy with my impulse buy from last night - Cora sports socks.
We get going by about 10:30 (good breakfast at the hotel, by the way) and stop shortly afterwards for elevenses at a Paul Patisserie in the service station - double espresso and a Grille aux Pommes.
There are a lot of people around on the roads today, and we stop for lunch at one of those services where one side has to cross the bridge to use the facilties on the other side. We discover we are back at the Troyes services we stopped at on the way down.
We arrive in Tinqueux, on the outskirts of Reims, but late afternoon and so have time to drive into town. The manager reckons we can park roadside without bothering to pay at this time of day, but we get a bit confused due to some complicated junctions and park near the railway station and pay at the meter. We knew this bit because we had parked here twice last year to drop Sam off at the station.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Reims is amazing - the west door, indeed the whole west end, are quite mind-blowing. We have to walk away from the cathedral in order to get the whole thing into a single photograph.
With questions of conflict going through the back of my mind I was particularly struck by the irony ofthe recent history of the Cathedral It had been badly damaged by German shelling during the First World War and even though restoration began in 1919 it didn't finish until 1938, just in time for the next one. Inside the Cathedral is vast and spacious.
There is also a strong sense of people coming into the Cathedral to pray, not just to take photographs.
The Cathedral is noted as a fine example of the Early Gothic period, being rebuilt in the 13th Century. The emphasis changed from the previous Romanesque style, placing greater virtue on slim columns and greater height, presumably as building methods advanced and some of the problems involved in supporting a heavy roof were solved.
We walk back to the car, but as we have some time stop in an outdoor cafe for a drink. I opt for an Americano a la Maison.
The city centre is bustling on this warm afternoon, but lacks a bit of French charm in my humble opinion.
Back at the Tip Top I am being teased by the boys. We didn't stay here on the way down because, even though we had stayed here twice before, Tripadviser was a bit snooty about it. In partiuclar there is a very small breakfast bar and if a coach party, for example, were in then it would simply grind to a halt. This time I thought we would risk it but booked a Superior Triple room, thinking we could all bunk in together for a night. When we checked in they upgraded us, at no extra cost, to a twin and double. However, the double was at the back of the hotel which overlooked the Norma supermarket next door, and whose noisy air conditioning was an all too ready memory from 12 months earlier. Being hot I had no choice but to leave my window open. I made a short video.
Tip Top hotel Tinqueux from Howard Jameson on Vimeo.
We use the wifi to plan our next day. Since driving down the A26 last year I have wanted to visit the Cathedral on top of the hills to the west at Laon. There was a tourist sign on the peage about V1 and V2 rocket sites, which I think must be La Coupole neat St Omer, but I'm not sure we will go there. The Thiepval Memorial near Albert seems an approriate place to go and pay respects. As we are close we could also go to The Somme near Amiens. T also suggests the crater near The Somme at La Boiselle.
Supper at The Flunch is good as ever, and then we browse around the Carrefour. We find some Breton Cidre, so reckon we can fit four bottles in the back of the Landy. The Tip Top wifi is much better than the Ibis so I can download a full season 2 of Extras, so the boys will have more to watch.
I can also check the weather for the week ahead in Shepton Mallet ready for Soul Survivor. 17C and rain showers, so it looks like putting up and taking down more soggy tents. Looks like back to Blighty with a squelchy bump.
Miles today - 205
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