Amiens

The weather was mild yesterday, and David wanted a break from marathon training, so we decided to take a mini-road trip.

I'd heard a lot about Amiens from the guys at work, and the Tom Tom said it was only an hour and a half drive north, so we jumped in the car and took off around noon.

We chose the "non toll roads" route to enjoy the country drive, and ended up spending more time in the car than in Amiens. Which was ok with us; the scenic French countryside stretched out on either side of us and the traffic was light.

When we finally reached the city, we noticed something we'd never seen in other French towns: row houses. David thought it was "very English".

Amiens is a nice medium-sized, active city. We parked the car and found our way to the Notre Dame cathedral, which is the largest gothic cathedral in France.

Fortunately for us, the cold weather (not quite as mild as Paris) kept the tourists to a minimum and we were able to take some nice photos. We spent some time walking around the interior, but I think it was possibly colder inside the cathedral than it was outside. Finally we walked to a pub we'd seen earlier and warmed up with coffees before strolling back to the car.

We took toll roads on the way home to hasten the trip, and David enjoyed the 130 kph speed limit while I slept.