CHAPTER 11. FRANCE-PICARDY TO ALSACE CONT.

From Breteuil we go by secondary roads to Roye and Noyan. (We avoid freeways and main roads when we can, always finding the back roads are well marked, have little traffic, and are more enjoyable to travel). We stop to see the cathedral at Noyan; the custodian unlocks the cloisters so we can see them. On by back roads to Laon, a magnificent site, high on a hill. We look at the cathedral, then eat lunch at the Restaurant des Chenizelles. On to Reims, circling to the east and south via scenic routes. Phoning the Hotel Libergier gets us a room, and with the aid of maps in the Michelin Red Guide we have no trouble finding the garage next door.

Today there is a cold wind and clouds; we have come to expect better weather in late May. We walk to the Reims Cathedral and the adjacent museum which has many tapestries and statues from the cathedral and also crowning robes and garments as well as treasury.

Leaving Reims we arrive at Moet in Epernay at 11:30 just before the English tour starts; it is mostly walking thru dimly lighted caves with side caves stacked to the ceiling with bottled champagne, then out to tasting - very good! We drive thru cold and heavy rain to Ste. Menehould where we find a room at St. Nicholas Hotel.

The next day we drive to Verdun and see Rodin’s sculpture “Winged Victory” near the old gate to the city, then nearby to Ft. Douaumont and the other major battlefields, cemeteries, underground forts, and monuments of WW I, all in a dense forest.