Reims Vimy Amiens Rouen

August 2

What a day! We had a big day planned, which was augmented by the usual unplanned tourist glitches.

I’ve come to love my Citroen C6 and GPS, and not necessarily in that order. What a sweet riding car. Today, we found the buttons to effect cruise control, anti-skid, vice commands from the GPS, and the gas cover. Life is good. It’s some piece of machine, and we haven’t plumbed the depth of all its electronic features, I’m sure.

Thankfully for our collective exhaustion, all but Gerald enjoyed a restful sleep without the air conditioned comfort we take for granted. Gerald woke in the morning from his fitful evening to observe that the windows, hinged from the bottom to open a few inches, also doubled to hinge at the side and open totally!

Because of our planned 0800 departure from the motel, we elected the hotel’s buffet breakfast for something like 5-7 each. Two kinds of (reconstituted) juice (zoot, alors!), fresh fruit, really yummy yogurt, chocolate croissants, cereal, toast and a selection of spreads and coffee and tea.

Our first stop on leaving the hotel was the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, about 15 minutes away. Reims is a maze of 1-way streets, which has been complicated by construction that blocked normally open streets. I can’t imagine what might have happened, had we not GPS. Even then, we regularly went around in circles and consciously had to override its guidance.

Had we known, a 12/ hour mass had been held at 0800, which Gerald would have liked to attend. At that time of day on a Saturday, you could have fired a cannon through most of the area without hitting anyone.

In 1991 Notre-Dame de Reims was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This is one of the three greatest Cathedrals (another one is Chartres) in France, where Charles VII was consecrated. It is also well-known that Joan of Arc attended the ceremony. Lynda’s ancestor, Clovis, King of the Franks, was baptised on this site in 496. The coronation of every king between 815 and 1825 was celebrated here. The construction of the twin towers of the cathedral of Reims began in 1241, at the same time as the rest of the facade. The facade was completed in 1311, while the two towers were not finished until the 15th century. The spire that had originally been planned were abandoned after a fire in 1481; the works had begun, but funds were undoubtedly lacking to complete them. The two towers, and especially the north tower, were severely damaged during the First World War. They were later considerably restored. The cathedral was restored by American donations during the 1920s and 1930s. The town was 80% destroyed in World War I, and extensively rebuilt in the 1920s in an Art Deco style.

This gothic architectured cathedral, renowned for its height, is immensely tall, and covered on its stone exterior with intricately carved figures. The interior is generally plainer than what we have seen comparably with regard to stained glass windows, but that’s a very relative statement. There are a good many clear glass windows, presumably to enable light to penetrate. The inside space has enormous height. Of particular beauty and impact were statue-adorned portals of what I presume to have been huge pipes for an organ on one side of the altar. On the other side was one of its most beautiful stained glass windows, with another in the front.

There is a fine interior west facade with carvings of Biblical scenes; some fine 13 century stained glass in the high windows of the nave and choir; and windows by Marc Chagall (in the eastern chapel). The south transept window shows themes linked with champagne, including a portrait of the monk who invented it, Dom Perignon.

Reims, together with Épernay and Ay, is one of the great centers of Champagne production. Many of the largest Champagne producing houses, referred to as les grandes marques, have their headquarters in Reims. Most are open for champagne tasting and tours by appointment only. Champagne is aged in the many chalk caves and tunnels, some originating in the Roman period, under Reims.

We had a scheduled a 1050 appointment for another champagne cellar this time with Mumm’s tour (8 € each and, unlike Moet & Chandon, a choice of Medium, Very Dry or Dry) in Reims, about a 10 minute drive away. With the available time following completion of seeing the cathedral, we drove to the nearby Place Drouet d'Erlon, which has a very large and nice pedestrian area, full of shops and very reasonably priced cafes, restaurants and pattisseries. With revived energy, Mom declared that she was going shopping - the 3 of them reminded me of a swarm of locusts as they strode through the defenceless retailers. Kim and Lynda scored at a Swarosky (sp?) jewelry store but, veteran shopper that she is, no merchant was able to meet the demanding standards of Mom and release her from her for a 1030 pick up and leisurely drive to Mumm’s.

It took me 20 minutes of running against construction and one-way streets before I found the path through the maze to pick up everyone. Now late by 5 minutes, but still timely, we took off. That lasted until we hit more construction and blocked off roads between Erlon and Mumm’s, not to mention the wrong turn that took us forever to recover from. We arrived about 10 minutes late, but they scooted us into the tour in process that had begun with a film.

This was a very good tour - beautiful grounds, a tour that was illustrated with props and a museum, lighting that promoted good photography, and a knowledgeable and pleasant guide (to whom Kim presented a Canadian flag lapel pin, immediately granting her automatic honourary Canadian status).

We returned to Place Drouet d'Erlon for a leisurely and enjoyable lunch outdoor at Le Gaulois and, after, at a patisserie opposite, pattisseries Waida, a meuilles feulles dessert with coffee/tea. Miam. Restoked with new resolve, he gals relaunched their assault on unsuspecting retailers, committed for 0415 departure for Vimy. I’ll spare you the gory details, but consider the same mazelike motions, less time wasted from the benefi of prior experience, but the same drill when trying to exit the other side of town across contruction, and also immediately recognizing a missed turn on to the highway that took 15 minutes to correct.

Nonetheless we made into the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy. We spent a considerable amount of time at the memorial, including walking down to the limit of the grounds down its slope, on which sheep graze. We then proceeded to a guided tour of the underground tunnels that wre involved in the assembly of troops and assault on Vimy Ridge, the first battle in which Canadians were solely assembled under a unified command. Just the thought of the hardship conditions that one had to endure is enough to turn one’s stomach. We were ery fortunate to learn that the guide’s father was in attendance, having come from the Kitchener area. She was highly effective, and her father justifiably proud.

Now late for the Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, which closes at 1900, we started for the 1 hour + trip to Amiens around 1830.

The Cathédrale was begun in 1220 to house the head of St. John the Baptist, brought back from the Crusades. It houses what worshippers believe is the head of St. John the Baptist. In 1218, lightning burned down the Romanesque cathedral that previously stood on the spot. Just two years later, work began on the replacement, the Gothic cathedral we see today. Most of its main components were up in a half-century, which is unusually fast for the Middle Ages. The two bell towers have different heights and somewhat dissimilar designs. The main-aisle floor tiles are arranged in a number of large, striking geometric patterns. One has a (non-Nazi) swastika motif. Another is a maze representing the path of a pilgrim.

At 141m (463 ft.) long, it is the largest church in France. It is the tallest of France's grand Notre-Dame cathedrals. The interior ceiling is as high as a modern 14-story building. It escaped destruction during the world wars, despite fierce fighting nearby.

By their remarkable symmetry, the two towers of the facade add to the harmony of the cathedral.

The towers are connected by a high gallery above the rose window. The north tower, completed at the end of the 14th century, rises above the door, while the south tower surmounts the door dedicated to the Virgin. The south tower was not finished until the beginning of the 15th century. The Biblical story is prolifically illustrated with stone sculptures on the building's facade and interior spaces, from the Creation to the Last Judgment. The rose window dominates the gallery of the Kings with its 22 colossal statues and a row of arches running across the whole width of the facade.

We arrived at the cathedral in Amiens, too late for the interior, but were able to view yet another incredible, monumental structure. Even though I had communicated an ETA from Canada to our Rouen hotel of an arrival that I estimated to be 2200 vs. its 2000 closing time, they asked me to call that day before 2000 to advise estimated arrival and arrange entry without their reception. I had purchased a France Telecom calling card specifically for such a purpose but, when I went to street to inquire where I might find a telephone to accept them, I was advised that they aren’t that easy to find. He then offered to use his cell, called the number I gave him several times without being able to connect. It was by then 1950. He then called his wife, asked her to look up the number (turns out t be the same), call on my behalf, and find out how we were to get in. I was given an entry code and direction to the keys, so another bullet dodged. It turns out that his daughter is going t Canada on a visit, so we may be able to return the kindness.

It is now 2030, and we proceed to our supper at Tante Jeanne, a crêperie, just minutes away. We, of course, go through what has become a usual routine of having the GPS tell us where we can’t go by virtue of streets that dead end, but were getting smarter, and aren’t too delayed in what, however, is a tortuous path to the place. To save time, I ask all to order for me while I go for gas. Suffice it to say that unattended gas machines don’t accept North American credit cards (unless they have smart chips); that one often can’t find places based on complicated directions in unknown territory; and that problems can arise in he comfort of returning to a place just left when the GPS goes blank without reason for 15 minutes immediately after the gas fill up. I get to supper at 2145 - very nice scallop crepe, followed by a crepe suzette, flamed with Grand Marnier.

During the gas chasing ordeal, one of the fellows from whom I asked directions asked my nationality, and I asked him to guess. He was with a group, and the guesses were English, Swiss, Scottish, American, Australian, to name some I remember. Finally, I said with humour that it was the country that had come to the aid of France in 2 wars, and the one guy answers, “Allemagne”. In fairness, the next guess was correct.

At 30 minutes after midnight, we arrived at Hotel des Carmes in Rouen, naturally with the usual screwing around, going around in circles in narrow streets and against 1-way streets before we find the place. Not the greatest room, and a ingle large bid in each which will result in Mom sleeping with us. Could be worse - could be Gerald, who was the 1^st down to the sheep at Vimy today…