Reims and Verdun

On Wednesday I phoned Renault Eurodrive ( well, their CDG airport rep) to confirm that we would be returning the Scenic as scheduled après-midi on Saturday. We were very concerned that the low fuel warning light was flashing (had started the day before at the next village, about 5 kms away) and the trip computer was was showing a range expected of zero. Although I suspected that we could probably get to the closest fuel station,10 kms away at Epernay, the project of running out on the road had to be considered. Eventually I decided to call the Eurodrive hotline. They rang the Renault dealer in Epernay who advised that we should be able to go another 60 kms, so I went and filled up without a problem. Now we were ready to go to Reims. The locals pronounce it something like "Rance" ! As we turned into the street leading to the famous Cathedral Valerie was surprised to see this large edifice looming ahead. Part of the building has been recently cleaned and renovated and the contrast with parts yet to be done is striking. Don had been here in 1998 but arrived at the entrance just as they were closing for the day. So the interior was new to both of us and very impressive. Especially so was the stained glass, from various eras including late 20thC. Once again we opted to take the Petit Train tour. It was a good choice - this one travelled slower than most so didn't jolt the old bones so much over the usual cobblestoned roads. Near the Cathedral we were charged nearly 9 euros ( about 12 dollars) for 2 cafes au lait, virtually Paris tourist spot prices. We walked a long back down some major shopping streets to our car. It had been another interesting afternoon. On Thursday we got away fairly early to drive to Verdun, about 150 kms east and mostly via autoroutes. We parked in Verdun where the GPS said was "Centre Ville" expecting to find the Office de Tourisme nearby, despite having not seen the usual signs. We did find a very attractive riverside area, with canal boats at mooring and lots of quayside eating places. We decided on which restaurant to grace with our presence. It was busy and and had a long wait before ordering, with a longer wait before our food arrived. Don's was excellent, Valerie's less so. By this time it was getting hotter and more humid, a bit like Sydney can be and a bit of a shock to people from dry old Adelaide. We had asked some other tourists ( you can usually tell ) whether they had found the tourist office. They had not yet but the man played with his mobile and found a vague map of its location. They were from Denmark and staying like us outside Reims. We were surprised to note that most of the moored boats were from the Netherlands, a couple from the UK, with one each from Denmark and France. After lunch Don found the tourist office, with some difficulty and got the usual town map and brochures. By now it was high time to visit the WW one battlefields. Most of the area is heavily forested now, a huge contrast to the wartime photos of a countryside covered in shell craters, barbed wire and a few blackened remnants of trees. We got a village marked as a "village detroyed" but we're surprised to see a number of houses, church etc. It seems that this was the only one of the 9 destroyed villages which has been re-occupied. Next was the Memorial de Verdun, a museum with lots of displays and a 20 minute film. Then we found one of the totally destroyed villages, with a memorial chapel the only building, but with signs showing where the streets were and listing the occupations of the inhabitants. Lastly we got to a major cemetery, overlooked by a huge unusual buildings with a tall tower. This was the Ossuary, built in the 1920s and housing the remains of about 130,000 French and German soldiers. Apparently if you climb the 200 steps to the tower platform there is a great view of the battlefield area. Even Don didn't feel up to it. On the way home we stopped off at one the autoroute service areas and had an evening meal of sorts. Dare I say, again, that it had been a good day? Apart from the sudden hot weather that is.