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Published: August 6th 2015
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Peronne
The castle Charles the Bold visited during his time in power. Now the home of the local WWI museum. Wednesday 5 August 2015
Hard to believe this day has come so suddenly. Today we returned our Peugeot 2008, our friend and companion for the past three months. We're not sure how Polly is feeling but we do know she'll have to a quaint herself with new owners. Perhaps that means a change of language.
We have divulged ourselves of all the luxury items we needed to save a euro or two by having our own in-room early morning coffee and breakfast. A nice parcel has been left for the house keeping staff with a letter thanking them for their efforts and hoping they can make use of our portable kitchen. This Premiere Classe Hotel has been exceptional. We thanked the duty manager who informed us that this hotel is a new generation. Hope they get rid of the old generation.
We entered the GPS co-ordinates for the Eurolease depot at Charles de Gaulle Airport and headed off. We had plenty of time so drove at a leisurely pace. We passed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission office for the area. They have quite a large yard full of spare headstones. Headstones are replaced regularly to keep them
Peronne
A French WWI tank at the local historical museum in the castle. in pristine condition. Driving away from Arras we passed many WWI cemeteries, mainly British but also South African and Australian.
We took the opportunity to stop and walk along a street in one small town, Bapaume. On the wall of the town hall is a plaque commemorating Australian soldiers who lost their lives when the booby trap set by the Germans exploded.
We are not far from Amiens, a city we visited when we arrived three months ago. At the time the grain crops were still green and the maize was only about 10 cms high. Now the grains are either being harvested or have been harvested, and the maize is in flower.
Back in early June in Dijon we were acquainted with Charles the Bold. Today we were re-aquainted with Charles in the town of Peronne. This historic town was destroyed in 1918. It was on the front line with the Somme River running through it. The Australians liberated the town. Around one of the many small waterways locals have set up allotments. Watering certainly isn't a problem as these gardens appear to be floating on water. We have passed many reconstructed towns today but as
Peronne
Part of the newly created pedestrian precinct. we travel past the sign indicating the limit of the German front line the buildings change, streets are narrow, and there are no more signs of memorials or war cemeteries.
We don't need to take the car back with a full fuel tank but the risk of running out is too great so we add 10€ worth to keep us going. We have the AC on to keep cool in the 30 degree temperatures. We give Polly one more challenge. Instead of taking the 4th exit at a roundabout leading to Charles de Gaulle Airport we took the 3rd. Not a problem. We arrived at our destination one minute behind schedule. Not bad for a drive through many country towns covering a distance of 165 kms. No sooner had we parked at the depot than a team of attendants were swarming over the car. Checking for damage, checking mileage, removing the aerial, putting our bags in the shuttle, getting signatures on papers, asking if their were problems with the car or GPS. We expected Polly to call out that the only problem was the driver. Before we realised it we were in the shuttle and off to the RER
Peronne
Allotments on the edge of the Somme waterways. Station at the airport. No farewells or tearful moments, just a quick look and we were gone. We have great memories of our two friends who have been with us for the past three months.
The RER took us across Paris to our accommodation for the next five nights. We are in a self catering aparthotel quite close to the RER line that takes us to the heart of Paris and CDG Airport. We settled in and thought about a coffee. What!!! Self catering and no electric jug! No sir we don't supply an electric jug, use a pot or microwave. Why did we leave our jug in Arras?
Tomorrow a city visit of Paris.
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