Seeing the history

Back in France and heading for Paris now along the north and then south west. Such a lot of war history in the north. You can only touch on it here and there but somehow the events stick in your mind better if you actually see and sense the place where things happened. Travelled through Verdun, it was a region of a WW1 battleground. They have left large fields exactly as they were in 1916-17 with metal helmets, shells, blown up guns just left there, and the trenches and shell holes in the ground. Farmland all around but also enormous, immaculately kept white cross cemeteries just in the middle of no-where. With all the reminders of it, its hard to figure how there came to be another war.

528kms later, we arrived in Reims about 9pm, was still light and still ...cold. Still no sign of Spring let alone Summer. Woke today and thought about getting a train into Paris for the day as hotel right next to train station and although 150kms was only 45 mins. started to rain though so decided against it...just as well...today there was a massive protest in Paris against recent gay mariage bill...would have been tricky getting back again with that sort of crowd and find the right train!

So...time for some more history lessons..its good, as long as only a little at a time.

Went to the Map room where the Allied Command was based in WW2. (General Eisenhower in command of Allied Forces was based here in Reims). The maps of battles happening, casualties, railway lines, artillery movements, where the German supply depots were in occupied France all the operational stuff still there.
All exactly as it was at the end, as the pics show, the map room was the actual room where the armistice was signed. they have left the room exactly as it was.