That’s a ridiculous title. Guess whose idea it was.
The girls revolted this morning, no more museums for a day or two. Okay, it’s a deal. So, after ditching them at the shopping centre I headed off on my own to Fromelles. It wasn’t quite that dramatic, but let’s not let the facts ruin a good story.
We thought we would catch a bus for a sightseeing tour first up. I have no idea what bus we caught, but it wasn’t a sightseeing bus. There’s a perfect example of the problems with not being able to read the lingo and a bus driver who wasn’t that interested. The bus did do a lap around the centre of Lille and only cost 1€, so no great loss. We walked over to the Lille Citadel after that for a look around. At this point the camera battery went flat, dammit. Not many photos this morning.
The track around Lille Citadel looks like it’s a popular jogging track. We weren’t really in the mood for a 5km jog, so we veered off after a bit and went for a look at the Lille Zoo, motivated by the fact it was free. Usual zoo fare, with special mention to the rhinoceroses, which are the biggest specimens I’ve ever seen, and to the performing kookaburras.
There were three kookaburras in one of the aviary cages and we sidled over and said (literally) “Gidday mate. How’s it going?”, at which all three burst into a prolonged bout of laughter that brought everyone over. We said goodbye, gave them our address in case they get home for a holiday and wandered off.
What next? Apparently shopping. This is the point we parted ways and I went to Fromelles.
The village is about 20 kms south of Lille and an easy drive. The first sign I saw when I drove into town said ‘cemetary this way’. The cemetary was only dedicated in 2010, so everything is new and fresh. We have seen other war cemeteries though and they were equally well maintained, even though dating from the late 1940s. If you want to see a well maintained facility, go no further than a war cemetary.
The museum at the cemetary is also new and very well maintained. The displays are excellent and tell a story about the lost Australian soldiers and the attempts to identify them, rather than display a collection of decrepit equipment. If you have any interest in Australia’s military history, don’t miss it – well worthwhile. Worth Googling in the meantime to get up to date with the story, or follow this link.
Well that’s it for France, the second major leg of the journey is over – counting Italy as the first – and tomorrow we will be in Brussels. Milly’s eyes lit up when she heard that Brussels is a major shopping Mecca. I might have to do the historical sights on my own again.
Au revoir to France and goodbye from me.
Steve J.