Day 23. Pareid to Bieuleau en Argonne

Day 23. Pareid to Bieuleau en Argonne. 85 km. 5h11.

No wind and a clear sky as we set off from our charming Chambre d'Hote. The host gave us directions along small roads to the battlefields. We passed through cherry and mirabelle orchards, and a few small villages before turning up into the forests of the Verdun plateau. Jen's gears were playing up so we had to stop a few times few roadside maintenance.

The plateau north of Verdun was the scene of the most protracted single battle of World War One. 300 days, 300000 lives lost, over 450000 seriously injured. This madness happened exactly 100 years ago, and there are still areas where nothing grows, and nobody lives here. Most of this large plateau is forested, but is still covered with the remains of trenches, shell holes and unmarked graves. There is very eerie atmosphere about it. 

We stopped at Fort Vaux, which was the site of a protracted French defense. There is a new Verdun Memorial, which is a museum with audiovisual presentations. Here there is a huge painting of desperate scenes in the trenches. We moved on to the Douaumont Ossuary which houses the remains of 130000 French soldiers. Stretching out in front is a vast cemetery of 16000 graves with white crosses each with a red rose bush. It gives some indication of the scale of things. A somber but worthwhile experience.

We had a rapid descent off the plateau, only to get caught up in the traffic of the rather dismal industrial area and small towns on the outskirts of Verdun. We eventually found a sparsely stocked supermarket to buy rolls and tuna for lunch. We found a good picnic spot next to yet another national cemetery from WW1.

There is a confusing network of roads through the surrounding hilly countryside. Garmin was put to the test and passed with flying colors (the GPS and I are now on first name terms) as we were directed along quiet country roads through very pretty villages. We had a quite a few honest climbs, and long sweeping downhills through large expanses of wheat and ripe canola. There is an amazing sense of space.

We then had a good climb through a forest before reaching the attractive village of Bieuleau and our overnight stop with its incredible view over most of France. A lovely restaurant owned by a Belgian couple - could not resist the steak tartare, which for some reason was called Boeuf Americaine, accompanied by a very agreeable Cote Du Rhone.