Reims to Albert

Saturday 30th May
Today's journey was from Reims to Albert. After another excellent breakfast, including large bowls of hot chocolate, we made our way out into the countryside again. We had no real plans for our destination.

In the town of Guise we visited an interesting complex of nineteenth century buildings created
by an industrialist, Godin, the maker of stoves and heaters. He created what he believed to be an ideal living environment for his workers, a utopia, which he called the Familistere. The complex of apartments included a theatre, swimming pool, gardens, all across the road from the massive factory complex.It is looking very shabby inside and is being restored but we can imagine it becoming luxurious living space again.












Our lunch stop was St Quentin. It was near here that my father was wounded in WW1. The city suffered terribly during that war but much has been rebuilt including the beautiful medieval Hotel de Ville in the massive central square. We were not able to see inside as there was a wedding in progress. All marriages in France are conducted by the mayor. We did visit the cathedral (as we always do, in every town) and enjoyed a baguette filled with jambon cru ( prosciutto) sitting in the shade (brilliant sunshine) listening to the regular sound of the carillon from the town hall.

We then drove to Villers Brettoneux, a town which celebrates its liberation by Australian soldiers during WW1. There are many references to Australia throughout the town, but we found it otherwise deserted and nowhere to stay. Just outside the town is the massive Australian War Memorial, in a splendid location on a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside.
It is here that the names are engraved of all those Australian soldiers who died, but have no marked grave. Interestingly in the cemetery itself, many of the gravestones indicate Canadians, Scots etc, although it is regarded as the Australian monument.



Our stop for the night is Albert, a town which is now the centre for much tourism, including guided visits to the WW1 battlefields. Our hotel, The Basilique, is opposite the massive ornate basilica which is richly decorated and very colourful, inside and out. Curiously it looks somewhat like a mosque with inlaid patterns in coloured stones in marble.
We dined at the hotel: an entree of a pancake stuffed with ham and covered with melted cheese, followed by rabbit with prunes and various vegetables and a dessert called 'chaud froid pomme' which consisted of a hot baked apple topped with apple-flavoured icecream. Very full, we staggered to bed.