Now that we were firmly ensconced in our beautiful nook in Hardelot (see the list of previous posts on our epic trip to France, a micro side trip to Bruges in Belgium and tour finale in Amsterdam) it was time to explore the larger neighbourhood. We had wanted to visit the South African War Memorial in Delville Wood at its centennial in 2016 and had not had the chance, and on the way was the historic town of Amiens with its imposing cathedral. To the tourism chariot! Arm Waze (because the GPS still refused to speak in English, and what the heck, our local SIMs had 10GB of data on them)! Leave at the crack of 11:30 (again)!

What were we expecting?

We really didn't know what to expect as we had done precious little research. We knew from Madame Google that Amiens had an extraordinary cathedral and to expect gems such as this clock tower.

Amiens clock tower - detail

On the way

We enjoyed the rolling, woody, pastoral hillsides dotted with wind turbines and patted ourselves on the back for mastering the French toll road system. Emma was chuffed that French pop radio stations play the same, er, quality pop radio she's used to listening to in South Africa. Eh bien, c'est la vie....

Arrival in Amiens

This beautiful sight greeted us as we got out of our car. Look at that fabulous clock and the finial on top of the spire.

Amiens church tower

We fiddled and faddled with the parking meter, but couldn't understand why it was saying if we paid our few euros it would let us park there until about 13:00 the next day. A savvy local, stifling laughter, suggested it was unnecessary to feed the meter on a public holiday.

Public holiday?

Yes. Assumption Day. It turned out it wasn't just the parking meters which took a break on that particular Tuesday. More on that when we get to Delville Wood in the next post.

Towards the cathedral

It wasn't hard to figure out where the cathedral was. We walked past this central square and were delighted to find it decorated with origami birds above and colourful deck chairs on the ground. L'art de savoir-vivre - the art of knowing how to live! Anyone could sit in those deck chairs. What an inspired idea. Is this how Amieniens (if that's what they're called) live year round?

Amiens town square

Here's what the origami birds looked like closer up.

Detail of town square origami birds

The local tourism information booth in the square was open and we picked up this brochure - recommended for giving an overview of Amiens and some good memories.

Amiens tourism brochure

We walked past this extraordinary clock tower - extraordinary not only for its appearance, but also for the accuracy of its time-keeping.

Amiens clock tower

You can see the cathedral looming down the street. To get there we had to walk past a myriad of little cafes and restaurants, all selling delicious-sounding lunches. Many patrons sat at small tables outside on the wide street, dogs sitting peacefully at their feet.

As we reached the end of this cafe-lined street, this simple, elegant house took shape before us.

House on cathedral square

The cathedral exterior is simply spectacular. This is the view from that house as we emerged into the square.

Amiens Notre-Dame cathedral

And here are a couple of closeups to give you a sense of the detail which went into the construction of this building.

Amiens cathedral - above the door

The sculpture work is worth much more detailed study than the few minutes we had.

Amiens cathedral main door

Inside Amiens Notre-Dame cathedral

Spectacular architecture - soaring arches, inlaid mosaic floors, sculptures, artworks and stained glass windows throughout the building - would have been an incentive to worship in times of yore.

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There's a lot of gold in them thar hills

There isn't a tactful way to say this - there is no need to worry about the future of the Catholic church if the amount of gold in this cathedral is in any way representative of other cathedrals across Europe.

Amiens cathedral - artwork 1

Amiens cathedral - artwork 2

Amiens cathedral - artwork 3

Spectacular spectacularis!

Walking on dead people

You get used to it. There are a lot of graves in these churches, and it's not like there's anywhere else to walk than right on their graves. What was the thinking at the time - that it would keep the deceased uppermost in hearts and minds if they were forever underfoot? Personally, I'm not convinced.

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Clearly an important person at the time.

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Another example of a grave in the church floor

View from the cathedral entrance

This is the view you get when you leave the cathedral. The house on the far left is the one I pictured earlier; I took the first photos of Notre-Dame's exterior from the sidewalk in front of it.

This square did make me wonder whether the families that live there now have lived in that location for centuries and just rebuilt as needed....

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Apologies to those salivating in expectation of photos of food

No food was harmed in the making of this excursion. Not. A. Bite.

Images by Hive account@kiligirl, Hive account@tim-beck and Emma Beck except where otherwise credited.

Day 6 - The Beck Trek hits the north of France - Amiens