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Published: April 26th 2019
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Wednesday 24th April
This morning we boarded our coach for the trip to Amiens for Anzac Day. We first went to the town of Corbie to find some lunch. Before the French Revolution Corbie was a very important place, with a large monastery which had been there for centuries. It was a centre for writing, transcription, etc. Most of the monastery has been demolished, but a large church which was once part of the complex remains.
After lunch we visited the Victoria School in Villers Bretonneux, which was rebuilt by Australian soldiers after it was destroyed, along with most of the village, in 1918. Funds were raised in Australian primary schools (particularly in Victoria), and even materials were sent over. The school hall is lined with Victorian timber. The attic of one wing of the school is a museum of WWI and the links between Australia and Villers Bretonneux. This museum has been enlarged and modernised since my last visit here in 2015.
We then proceeded to the Australian War Memorial and visited there the brand new John Monash Centre, an interpretive centre with a lot of video and audio elements. The tour makes use of an app,
smartphone and headphones. As one moves around inside, different video and audio resources become available on the app. Quite interesting but rather graphic at times. Being the day before Anzac Day, there were many Australians there, and also a number of French people. Our tax dollars at work.
Following that visit, we went to see the memorial at Le Hamel, Monash's first and most famous strategic triumph. I should mention how cold and windy it was throughout the afternoon, especially on these low hilltops. My cold has had a good freshen up as a result of this and the Dawn Service! We then checked into our hotel in Amiens and had all of ten minutes before leaving for our dinner restaurant. Another confused effort by the chefs at gluten free food – for example, they thought potato contained gluten. As we retired for the day, we were not looking forward to our 2:45am alarm tomorrow morning!
Thursday 25th April
A 2:45am wake-up, meeting the bus at 3:15am for the ride to the Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial. There were about 20 coaches and buses proceeding there. We went through the tight security and
took our seats. The forecast rain arrived, luckily just part-time drizzle really – they issued us with plastic ponchos upon arrival. There was pre-ceremony entertainment from a military band and a civilian choir. The ceremony was impressive and moving. The best speech was that by the French Minister for the Armed Forces, which came across as sincere and inspiring.
Following the ceremony there was a ridiculous wait for the buses to take us away. The delay was over an hour and there seemed no reason for it – very frustrating for the hundreds of us waiting. We returned to Amiens for breakfast and to pack up for our return to Paris. This was the end of our group tour – the bus took us to airport CDG. Part of the group was returning to Australia, some flying to other destinations (e.g. Prague, Munich, London). I took the train back to Paris and have checked into a hotel at Montparnasse. After a rest I went out looking for dinner – there is a huge number of restaurants in this area, and several good GF options – Indian, Turkish, Vietnamese. I stayed French and went to a crêperie for a buckwheat
galette.
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