| Amiens to Calais |
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| Elephant and Petite Geante relax after a tiring session... |
| No, not just a giant elephant, but standing opposite at around 20 feet in height there was a giant female puppet also - La Petite Geante! I later learned that she had 'arrived' in the rocket and then had 'strolled' from the rocket to her current location. The same red-tunicked entourage controlled movements, only this time, while there were the same tractor and hydraulics for some actions, movement of her limbs was achieved through a series of ropes and pulleys, which the red guys pulled and eased with as much animation amongst themselves as that generated for the puppet!. All quite spectacular. At one point she was placed on a suitably large scooter (the child's type) upon which she completed a circuit of the square and building where this was all taking place. Difficult to get good photos with so many people around, so to complement my selection here you may want to see coverage of the events that took place in both Amiens and Nantes via the links below (plus news of future bookings).. |
| Click on the links below to see webpages covering much more of the Royale de Luxe events: |
| Time to spend in Amiens was limited as I had a train to catch, so after grabbing a quick coffee and crepe, it was back to the station for the Calais Frethun train. A pleasant journey ensued with the chance to speak to some fellow passengers who turned out to be Canadians on a cycling holiday! Once in Calais I managed my usual wine purchase in Cite Europe before Norman picked me up in the adjacent coach park. Overall a much better trip than I had expected down to a number of ingredients. The combined novelty and advantage of the Garmin GPS contributed most certainly, as did the regular injection of unexpected events like polo and puppets. Right at the top, though, must be the congeniality of my various hosts, and the comfort of their hospitality and accommodation. Next year, hopefully, will see the return of Paul and the prospect of undertaking the return trip to the Somme that was originally to be on this year's menu. Watch this space.......!! |
| PLEASE NOTE ROYAL DE LUXE LONDON VISIT DEFERRED TO 2006 - EXACT DATE TBA |