Today we are enroute to Amiens on an appropriately grey autumn day, in a region where men fought to a standstill for months and years in the muddy trenches. There are dozens of war cemeteries here, in a long loop, a remembrance circuit, and many more. Today the fields are full of men with guns – and dogs; they are hunting, what exactly we never discover but presumably some kind of bird.
Dick brought his GPS unit, a Garmin nuvi 660, into which he had installed a card with the complete map of Europe. It was very useful, even providing some laughs due to it's pronunciation of French street and road names. For example, "Rouen" was pronounced as "Rowen."
Amiens cathedral has a spectacular floor, full of patterns in black and white and a maze at the center. There is little stained glass – too many wars fought here; nothing left. We found a wonderful bustling bistro, the Jules Verne (in honor of the town’s most famous resident). We arrived shortly after noon and luckily beat the rush. We didn't have a reservation and noted as we were shown to our table that many tables were marked as reserved. Within half an hour the restaurant was full and they were turning people away. The food was great and people watching was too.
Then on to the outskirts of Rouen and the second Best Western hotel. Here there is no choice for dining but the hotel restaurant. Looking for something small – the menus being exclusively three courses or more, and not tempting after our generous Sunday lunch at the Jules Verne – I choose a plate of langoustines. They arrive in a little pile – complete with shells! Dick had the cheese plate, normally served as a dessert course, with a half bottle of red wine.