Lazy Day
I left Steve and Margaret at the farm; I programmed the GPS with the "short route" to Peronne and set out for an adventure through the fields and farm tracks.
I stumbled across a memorial in the middle of a field and enjoyed becoming totally lost in France. The lady on the GPS kept telling me to turn around but I was having way too much fun.
I turned off the annoying voice and continued to "wing it" into Peronne.
I have two words of French - Merci and Au Revoir - but I still managed to make myself understood with charades and purchased a SIM card and other groceries.
French supermarkets are much like our own except all the self-serve checkouts only take credit cards. I'd processed all my shopping before the kind lady told me this gem of information.
The other thing to remember is not to leave your shopping bags in the car because they charge a small fortune for a plastic bag.
I'm trying to memorise more French words so that I don't have to rely on the pictures on the front of the cans to determine the flavour of the soup. Even the meat has helpful little photos of sheep and pigs but there is a significant absence of "ready meal" jars - like Chicken Tonight - and this is most disconcerting for someone who relies on such conveniences.
And for some reason the French don't like fresh milk. Whereas our supermarkets have a huge fridge full with 30+ varieties... the French have one type tucked away in a corner. They all seem to use this UHT crap which makes your coffee taste funny.
I spent a lovely afternoon chatting with our hostess Kate - gotta say I am seriously enjoying our stay at Orchard Farm and would highly recommend anyone doing a Battlefields Tour to stay here.
In the evening a lovely couple from England, Jacqui and Neil, came to dinner. Margaret has been exchanging many emails with Jacqui for the last year or so to try and solve the mystery of where great uncle Bert and 61 of his battalion are buried.
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