As soon as we were moored up we remembered something very special about Picquigny – the ducks! They really have to be some of the noisiest ducks ever! A real raucous quacking party of ducks.
Thursday 13th is the beginning of the Bastille day celebrations – fireworks! Now I love a good firework display but we were both rather tired. I went to bed and then got up to see fireworks – twice! We really had quite an amazing view from our upper deck.
We decided a small celebration was required on the 14th. A bottle of Moet et Chandon, which Chris and Helen had brought along to toast the arrival of Vrouwe Olive in Calais but we were all too exhausted to appreciate. So we toasted, my birthday, Bastille Day and Chris and Helen’s wedding anniversary. And jolly nice it was too!
There is an impressive ruined castle in Picquigny which we saw from the outside in 2019. So when we discovered there was to be a ‘Visite nocturne aux flambeaux’ (evening torch lit tour) there on Friday evening we booked tickets. What a disappointment. There was one guy leading the tour and basically he talked so fast, without drawing breath, so that it was difficult to understand him and impossible to try and translate for Helen & Chris. We exited after about an hour but the castle is impressive & the sunset was lovely.
The other thing we learned that Picquigny is famous for is the signing of a treaty to end the 100 years war in 1475. Edward IV of England and Louis XI of France apparently signed the treaty at arms length through a barrier in the centre of a bridge over the Somme.
Piedaleau 