After a teary goodbye at the train station in Bonn, we bid Celine and Petra "auf wiedersehen" and boarded our train to begin our journey to Amiens. This destination was chosen due to its proximity to Paris and a number of WWI memorial sites that Murray wants to visit. Other than the WWI tour, we had very little idea about what we might do in Amiens as we planned to use it as a home base while we explored the surrounding area. We arrived at our hotel, tired and hungry, after riding 4 trains over 6 and 1/2 hours. Showered and changed, we set out to find some dinner and explore the city centre. Amiens is absolutely charming! A block down the street is La Cathedral Notre Dame d'Amiens, "one of the most remarkable masterpieces of High Gothic architecture from the 13th century". A few blocks away, are the canals of Amiens, "Venice of the North", and throughout the city centre there are pedestrian-only avenues filled with outdoor cafés and interesting shops.
We spent most of the morning at the Cathedral, climbing the towers, walking the labyrinth, and marvelling at the details within the sanctuary. After a fantastic dinner (for me it was a pot of mussels and frites) we went back to watch the cathedral light up at night. It was a fantastic presentation using colour, light and sound to highlight the beauty and amazing details of this cathedral.
It's good to be back in France, sampling French cuisine, speaking the language, and enjoying la vie Français. And, of course, there's the wine! C'est magnifique!
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