The short drive to Amiens was followed by the great search for the rental parking lot and a gas station. We finally left the car next to the Budget Car Rental area of the parking structure. None of the pedestrian exits were open, so we had to leave the lot via the auto ramp. Our first stop after depositing the car was the hotel. It was another charming hotel, but with no elevator. We were on the third floor and the staircase was very narrow. Lots of fun for the overpacked traveler! After checking in, we were off to see the cathedral. During the summer and at Christmas, the front of the cathedral is lit by lasers that duplicate the colors that were painted on the statues. We missed this, but the facade is still impressive. This is the largest Gothic cathedral, and you feel the size when you enter. The cathedral was built in 50 years to house the head of St. John the Baptist which was brought back to Amiens by the Crusaders.
| Main entry to the catheral of Amiens. | |
| Arch over the main entrance to the cathedral | |
| The apse is the longest and tallest of any Gothic church. | |
| Inside the cathedral, wood carvings were used to illustrate the lives of saints and famous people buried there. This carving is part of the life of John the Baptist. The choir stalls have over 4000 carved figures representing local trades and biblical figures. | |
After the cathedral, we needed some coffee. The streets near the cathedral were filled with what had to be one of the largest yard sales I've ever seen. There were over 2000 exhibitors lining the streets. We found a bistro away from the crowd, but as we started to drink our coffee, the glass in the bus stop across the street collapsed! People ran in all directions, but no one was hurt. After a brief stop at the hotel, we were off to dinner at a crêperie, "Tante Jeanne." The food was great as it seemed to be everywhere. Terre and I had crêpes with salmon and Jan had Salade Niçoise. We had walked through the Saint-Leu district to get to the restaurant. This area is laced with branches of the Somme river and canals. It is called "little Venice of the North." While there was lots of water in the Somme, that night we found ourselves in the midst of a major storm on our way back to the hotel. We were thoroughly soaked by a combination of heavy rain and high wind.
On Monday morning we were off to Paris, but before we could go we had to get rid of the rental car. We had been instructed not to leave the keys in the drop box at the railroad station, so we went to the rental office. There they told us that we should have deposited the keys and left the car in the lot in front of the the station. This meant we had to pay to get the car out of the other lot. We heard so many different versions of what we were to do, we aren't sure now if we did the right thing.
By the time we got to Paris by train and rode the Metro to our hotel, we were ready for lunch, only to discover that Terre's room was not available. The company that owned our hotel also owned the one next door, so she got a room there. Neither hotel was at the top of our list of "best hotels," but the rottweiler in the lobby was very friendly! He had to be since he always was laying in front of the stairs or the entry to the breakfast room. I was one of several people to step on him. We called him Bruno! In the morning he loved to be scratched!
After checking into the hotels, we went out to explore Montmartre. The Rue Lepic always had a charming small town atmosphere of small groceries, butchershops and bakeries, but now it is nothing but a big tourist trap. Lots of stores selling key chains, soap, and any other item they think they can sell to a tourist. Just as we left the area, a rainstorm came up and we headed for Sacré Coeur. This was the first in a series of happenings that completed the cycle of our trip. When the rain stopped, we went to the Champs Elysees. This swank shopping boulevard held only one thing of interest for us, the Monoprix. We grabbed dinner and went back to Terre's room. There after we ate, we all stretched out over the two beds and just relaxed like we did on our first night in France.
| Eiffel tower from Montmarte just before the rain. |  |
| Arc de Triomphe just after the rain. This is the beginning (or end) of the Champs Elysees. |  |
The next day was very uneventful. We took a taxi to the Air France bus. As we left the bus stop, the fire department had the street partially closed off because a car had hit someone on a motorcycle. Our British Air flights home were very comfortable with great service and food. The high point of the day was spotting the snow covered mountains of southern Greenland. There were glaciers and the snow had slumped off some of the mountain tops. The next day we were all home tired but safe. What an adventure!