Chantilly

Today we visited the Domaine de Chantilly, something completely unplanned when we set off this morning. 

We woke to the sight and sounds of the canal barges plying their trade along the River Oise. We were fascinated as to the bevy of swans cruising around in front of us as the barges passed - they took know notice, just bobbed up and down a few times in the wake of the barge. 

We found our way to the local tourist office where a delightful young woman was able to share many aspects of the surrounding towns. Our target was Senlis but instead we were taken by what was in offer at Chantilly.  The Château seemed the best option. 

We arrived at the Domaine de Chantilly just as the rain began to settle in, but not deterred we set off to visit the second best French art collection after the Louvre. 

Once in the Château we took a tour of the apartments that were the living quarters of the last Duke of Aumale (his last 23 years of his life were spent in exile in England), the son of King Louis-Philippe. 

The Duke was a great art collector with over 500 paintings throughout the galleries. The great artists of Italy, France and the Netherlands are represented here in great numbers. 

We later walked over to the The Cour des Chenils - the Great Stables. The building itself is considered a master piece of architecture. It housed horses and hounds for the princes of Chantilly to satisfy their task for the hunt. Today a team of horses and riders put on an equestrian shows twice a week. Today we were able to see a dressage demonstration as part of the preparation for the more formal show. 

The famous Chantilly race track is adjacent to the stables. 

Four hours later,  and we were still exploring different aspects of the Château, and a little leg weary too!  We thought we had better make tracks for our over night St Cry sur Morin.  

Other photos:

The Somme

Sunday morning means market! And, yes a very large market was in the streets around Grenay. After breakfast we sauntered along and then realised how extensive the market was - snaking around the streets of the centre of Grenay. 

When we returned to the van we found two Frenchmen calling the Gendarmerie because a car had parked over the gateway to where they, and us, had parked. If the driver  was at the market I could see us blocked in for the next hour or so! In stepped the mayor who introduced himself and he suggested another exit point which meant removing some posts. We complimented him on the renewal happening within the village. We left shortly after. 

We drive south of Lens to Arras, Bapaume, Albert and then Villers-Bretonneux. 

Arriving at Villers-Bretonneux the new John Monash Centre was our focus. We parked up and the experience started with a visit to the loos! Very swish! 

The Centre is designed not to detract from the cemetery and memorial tower, with grasslands growing on the flat rooves of the constructions. 

The story of the Australian involvement in WWI is told through a very high tech exhibits which are very effective and moving. Well worth the detour to see this  Centre. Pity, though, that a map inside the door representing the contribution of troops to the Allied’s commitment missed Tassie off the map! 

We later drove on to a very scenic overnight stop on the River Oise at Pont-Sainte-Maxence. A number of Dutch folks in vans have selected this site as  well.