Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 20]
Corbeil
28/3/16
Slept like a top through last night's journey and we ran along the Seine up to Corbeil some very nice houses fronting the river but no chateaux as it probably too close to the railway for large holdings. Reached Juvicy on the outskirts of Paris at 0740 and waited there. We shall make a detour round the outside of the city. At Juvicy are fair sized railway yards. We were then backed on to an outer circle through beautiful wooded land with nice houses and at 0945 passed Versailles.
Ladies with jugs of coffee very kindly filled the men's dixies and exchanged small souvenir flags for buttons &c. Passed a very large palace with a large oblong lake in front and fine grounds. Passed a school of instruction in trigonometry working in a lovely place in some woods. The railway here about takes some very sharp curves. At St CYR at 1000. The forest of Versailles is very extensive but there are few very large trees. Most of them being 10-12 years old and well thinned out.
We could a glimpse of an old wall or viaduct and in the distance over the woods could see Paris, the Eiffel Tower sticking up very prominently and catching the eye.
Our impression of France up to the present is one of fruit blossom and bare elm and poplar trees. The villages with their tree lined streets and intensly cultivated kitchen gardens resemble Mr & Mrs Marsh very m.uch.
At 1300 at Eplauches we lunched and in a village shop bargained with some French women for sausages and bread. Argument very animated, drunk café au lait out of long glasses and then got back to train . At each halt they have water and tea ready for the men and sufficient rations were put aboard to keep us fed. At Champagne we saw trenches with wicker revet tinents and plenty of open tanglements good field of fire. Saw a troop of cavalry on a road. This nation must have a great system of forests as the land is heavily wooded & [indecipherable] [indecipherable].