Hostellerie Du Coq Hardi Verdun

Nice country drive throughout the Verdun region to the little village of Stenay, where there is a council platz with washing machines etc, in a picturesque setting next to a canal. The whole area is scattered with monuments to the Americans, and with a large cemetery. It seems as though no Frenchman would need to mouth off at the ...

... vines that produce the grapes look entirely different than the ones we are used to, a lot squatter. Instead of going out for dinner we bought 2 roast poulettes and salad and had a beaut meal at home washed down with champagne and Pepsi Max!! When we got back to the camper about 9 I decided that seeing as we still had at least an hour of daylight we would hit the A4 again towards Verdun and find a nice quieter Aires for the night , which we did about 50 k out

Today after some home work by the kids we leave the house and head for Verdun and as usual it is raining so the tour of the city will be very fast ... a quick bite to eat and for a change of war and we are visiting some fortification from the "Maginot ligne" which is a piece of work dating from WWII it was never taken even after being pounded for days by German 88, 105 and 150 with countless direct hits ...

... re fillet of beef etc...Etc I am just wondering if we ever going to eat again as we have been sitting down from lunch to dinner nearly every day since we have arrived. I suppose as we are not coming that often my family is really please to see us and extend their hospitality. I nearly forgot, as we were getting ready for dessert the kids helped with Patrice and Anne-Marie ...

... Devant Douaumont" one of the 9 villages that disappear during WWI, numbering more than 400 inhabitants it was evacuated and destroyed during the battle for Verdun. Finally we went to the "ossuaire de Douaumont" this place really deserve some respect as over 130,000 people of all religions rest in peace there. Amazing with its monument ...

... have stay in bed longer). Got a park and got out of the car park on the wrong side... that was it for the rest of the day, I was not to be trusted with directions anymore lol. We finally collected Alex; he did not look to bad considering the 36 hours flight and transit time he had to endure. We went back in the car ... back to Etain (yep another 3 hours on the road. Arrive back to base this afternoon where we just chilled for the rest of the day.

Got up this morning a little late as we were supposed to do breakfast with Manu and Isabelle but as we have a big "Bauchet family reunion at lunch we do not have the time so... sincere apologies to everyone I may have offended but we only have a limited time. So here we go on the road again for the next hour and half to a little place ...

... realized that there was an error -- we had paid for a room with a bathroom, but instead got a tiny room with only a sink and a bedet. Not a good thing when you are travelling with a person with food poisoning! The hotelier apologised for the error but said he couldn't move us until the morning. Poor Attila. The communal toilet was in very bad shape with very little privacy and no light. We managed to get a little bit of sleep before hitting Paris in the morning.

... for me, Verdun was a good quiet spot to recharge my batteries and consider the road ahead. After a late breakfast I took a small automatic historical train into the depths of the forts WW1 tunnels. It was dark and chilly, rather than chilling, but definately of enough interest to merit the six euros entrance fee. I used the ...

... each other, but now they lay resting together. Next up was the Tranchee des Baionnettes. It sounded good so we headed over. Apparently, a whole troop of guys were in their trenches when their trench collapsed on them, killing them They were discovered three years after the war finished with their bayonettes in the air, ready to attack. They have been left there. There was a little bit of metal sticking out of the ground, but not much more. We drove over ...