I was told by many travellers that France would be a challenge for someone with no French language skills. All of the the other eight countires I had been through fell back into english speaking for me without effort. It confirmed to me that english really is the primary international language for relations, business and tourism. No surprise, given I only spent my time in EU countries.
I was fortunate enough to have a 'soft' introduction to French life while staying with a young family in northern rural France. Again as in Germany the younger family members acted as translators for me and their parents. I was impressed with their effort to try and find the correct words in English which was better for them than for me to make an insulting attempt to speak in French.
The father of the family was very keen to know everything about Australian life despite the fact he and his wife think it's too far away to travel. One of the young cousins of the family is currently on an agricultural exchange in western NSW and recently survived a triple roll over in the car after being hit by a truck on the wrong side of the road. Welcome to Aussie rural car accident statistics! They also took me to a local farming musuem so I could appreciate French rural life in the Flanders region in the last century. I soaked up the stories and the beautifully presented displays of farm equipment, and how dairy products were made and sold in the local regions.
Some battle locations of the Somme - Northern France
Breakfast was typically, untoasted bread and jam and tea or coffeee drunk in a small bowl, surprising not to see croissants on the table. I have a high fibre diet so finding the right food has been a challenge in Europe. A typical breakfast for me is muesli, fresh fruit, squeezed orange juice, multigrain rye toast (especially with vegemite) and black tea. The European diet is heavy in cheese, red meat and processed food but you can find healthy alternatives here too if you're prepared to make up your own meals which for most of the time I've done. The bread in Germany is wonderful, especially all the different ryes and the cheese in
Storm rolls in 97 years to the day of this battle of the Somme in 1916
I stayed with the second family on their farm where they grew canola, winter and summer wheat; peas, and their main crop of potatoes. They also grew a crop to produce linen and politely joked that the cotton shirt I had just bought at the local market in Frevert was such an inferior product to their linen.
They took me for what I thought was a casual night out into Amiens to see inside the 'local' cathedral. I was not aware that this cathedral is the biggest in Europe and the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris could easily fit inside this one - incredible. Add a high class symphony orchestra inside playing Stravinsky's Firebird suite for free and then you have one reason I went to Europe.
The northern part of France also interests me from a historical perspective - of what happened here in WW1. The areas of Fromelles, the Somme and Pozieres bare witness to the horrors of war by way of many cemertaries, monuments, land channels and craters now to the hundreds of thousands of men who lost their lives over the four to fives years of 1914-1918 ending on armistice day Nov 11.
As I reflected on the unimaginable experience for the men on both sides a storm appeared adding to the 'atmospherics' and would you believe this battle in the Somme occurred during the same days in July in the Summer of 1916.
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment