So... onto Saint-Quentin, it has a great park (Parc d’Isle) and a large buzzing town square... wish we had squares like this in UK!
The Village des Metiers d’Antan there provided a couple of hours of fun, a museum housing a wide collection of objects from past crafts and trades set out like a real village... clockmakers, milliners, laundry, toy shop, mattress maker, schoolroom etc... slightly worrying though when you recognise some objects from your childhood!!!! It also has a great collection of old bicycles and motorbikes. Worth a visit if you are in the area and have even a small interest in history!
Oxen in the cathedral? A few days later, enjoying a cold beer in the shade of Laon cathedral in Picardy we noticed what looked like statues of cows perched near the top of the cathedral...so straight to Wikipedia... and in fact there are 16 life size stone statues of oxen in the upper arcades of 2 of the towers of the cathedral, seemingly commemorating the bullocks who hauled equipment and materials during the cathedral's construction. That’s lovely, really hope it’s true!
The streets in the medieval centre of town were shaded by hundreds of umbrellas and for motorhomers there’s a very handy aire on a quiet road just outside the medieval walls with stunning views across the Picardy countryside... all made for a very enjoyable brief stop!
And now on to Champagne region... once we get there we may never want to leave!! 🥂🍾