Amiens, Ault, Le Tréport FR 14-20 June 2022 The next step of our reunion was to spent time on the Somme river near Moondance, so that the others had a glimpse of our life aboard. We had decided to make Amiens our base. After a full day of travelling on Tuesday we were pleased to get our AirBNB accomodation in Amiens, and then to Moondance where Howard had prepared a meal for us. Everyone was pleased to finally see the boat after reading about her, and hearing about her from me for years. The next morning everyone was pleased to have a slow start, and then we walked the 150m to meet up with Remi, who was taking us for a tour of the Hortillonages. These are sometimes called the floating gardens and are a delightful set of canals and etangs (ponds/lakes). It was mostly market gardens, but now it is mostly holiday homes - without running water or electricity. It was delightful to be floating through the canals. Howard joined us for this, and Remi - who had lived a year in the UK spoke very good english. In the afternoon I had a rest while the others did some supermarket shopping, including buying a couple of fans as the AirBNB had no AC or even a fan, and hot weather was forecast. Later Janet and I returned to the boat to borrow our 2 fans as well as a few other things. Thursday we had a cruise on the Moondance. As the canal is quite narrow there are few places for us to turn around, so we decided to go to Corbie where we would leave the boat. We stopped just past Daours lock and had a nice lunch in the shade. After a nice break we set off for the final leg into Corbie to moor where we had previously. Then the others set off for a walk to the station, via the historical centre of Corbie, while Howard and I did a bit of organising as he would be away for a few days as well. I then took one of the fold-up bike and set off to meet the others. Unfortunately I had a blow-out puncture and had to swap bikes, but caught up with eveyone before our short train ride to Amiens. Then in the evening we went out for dinner at one of the many restaurants within easy walking distance from our house, before Jen and Rachel walked over to pick up the car. The weather was starting to heat up and Friday was quite warm, so in the morning we headed for the Cathedral. Sandy and Rachel walked there straight from their regular morning coffee stop. Janet decided not to go but was kind enough to drive Jennifer and me there. I hadn't yet had a good a look around the cathedral, as I wanted to do it with my friends. It is the largest cathedral in France (by volume), and is very impressive. They had moved all the chairs out, I assume to show off the floor. The scale is immense. And there were a wealth of treasures to see. We picked up audio guides to explain some of it to us. After the cathedral, Rachel, Sandy and I took "Le Petit Train" for a tour around the city. Although it was hot, and the commentary was in French, it was nice to get a view of other parts of Amiens, although impossible to get any good photos as I was sitting in the middle. Following the tour we met up with the others and had a nice lunch in a shaded area. I was still recovering from the full day of travel so had an easy afternoon and evening. After much discussion, we decided to escape the city for the coast on Friday. The forecast for Amiens was 39 C, while at the coast it was going to be 10 degrees cooler. We headed for Ault, which is know for its chalk cliffs. We had a pleasant lunch at a creperie, before a walk around. We heard that there was a parade coming through, and after waiting a while in the wrong place, we eventually found its route just north of the town. We had about 15 minutes wait for it to arrive. It was a very small parade but still good fun. We then headed down the coast to Le Tréport. This town also has chalk cliffs but also had a range of restaurants. We arrived too late to do the funicular. We wanted it cool but in the evening it became a bit chilly, enough for Janet to even buy a light fleecy sweater, before we sat outside for our meal at one of the many restaurants in town. Like at St Valery, the tide is huge here up to 10m. By the time we returned to Amiens, the temperature was a little cooler there too, and the next morning was overcast and showery. Sunday was the annual Hortillonages Market, where we were told they came on boats dressed in traditional costume, to sell their fruit and vegetables. I had asked at the Tourist Information and they said they started at 8am, but when I arrived at 8am, the place was deserted apart from someone setting up who clarified that it actually started at 10am. But I took the opportunity to wander around. The Amenoise sem to have some obsession with statues of people, including the famous guy who is in the middle of the river and aparently gets dressed in all sorts from time to time. At 10am we all came down, me on the bike. It started raining hard before the parade started and so we sheltered under a restaurant awning. The procession had only a few boats with produce, but I was glad we came. In the afternoon the others decided to go to the Australian Memorial and Sir John Monash Centre in Villers Brettoneux. I decided to have a rest, as I had been before, and was still quite tired. Luckily they were able to do a super quick shop at a supermarket on their way before it closed at 12:30.
Rachel was catching a bus at about 5pm, so Janet and I dropped her off before driving to Corbie to drop off the majority of my luggage, the fans, and the folding bike, so that we'd have enough room in the car on the way home. On our return home we had enough time to prepare dinner before Jennifer returned from the station where she had met her husband Jim who was joining us. There was a bit of tidying, cleaning and packing to be done, before we left in the morning, and then another drive to Corbie with our luggage. That was the end of a very plesant (but hot) stay at Amiens.
2 Comments
Pam Kershaw
29/6/2022 11:26:10 pm
Lovely to read about your travels Deb, and great that you are catching up with lots of friends. I’m at Falls Creek this week - great snow and skiing. All the best to you both. Pam
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Karen Melchior
1/7/2022 07:52:17 am
Only in France: a boat parade with fresh vegetables and historic costumes!
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