The New Zealand Monument at Le Quesnoy
On Wednesday I started off again! The very nice people at Hotel de France had been great but i think they needed the room. It was in anycase time to move on. I left Cambrai in good order and riding seemed not affected by the cramps (yes Sophie I now know it was only cramp but at the time i thought it was terminal. I did see some signs for physios - kino something).
I made LeQuesnoy in good time for lunch. With bagette in hand, I viewed a perfect Vauben fort which I discovered New Zealanders scaled and liberated the town about a week before the Armistice. I would have stayed at camp. No wonder they play rugby!
From the bureau de tourism i found out a lot about the area relating to large national parks and crafts such as glass making. But it was time to more on!
With good weather I made Bavay (another Vauban fort - he apparently had a bit of a monopoly in the military architect department. Finally I reached Mauberge which is within five miles of the Belgian border. I camped out of town at a nice camping ground because the town centre was very ordinary.
The next day the weather turned bad and it rained and rained. I had planned to ride through small villages on the right bank of the Sambre and thus avoid the big steel city of Charleroi and also the hills of the Ardenne. In theory thiswas right but I hadn't reckoned on the rain and the poor Belgian sign posting. In France every road is numbered and with the wonderful Michelin maps it is very easy to find your way even via very small rural roads. Of course wearing glasses doesn't help in the rain! At lunch time at a town on the Sambre i met a very nice South African couple who invited me back to their boat! They spend 4 months wandering the waterways of europe and 8 months back in South Africa. Had a nice yarn but then as the rain started again I had to be off! It got more and more difficult and by 5.30 I realised I could not make Namur. By good fortune, I found a hotel in a small village. Also, the standard and price where a cut above what I have been used to. However given my condition it was worth every euro.
Today, Friday I had a leasurily ride into Namur and spent the day wandering around. It is a lovely old university town. Perhaps more on it later. I must now pick up my things at the bureau de tourism and ride 20 km to a B and B. By tomorrow I should be in Holland.
Belgium is an interesting country that is effectively dived in two. This is the French speaking area (Wallonia) and all the language is French. Don't bother about Flemish!
The heading doesn't relate much to the post but I wanted to practice saying "regarding"!
Au revoir
1 comment:
Hi Bernie
Are you in Renkum yet. Hope you didn't get into trouble speaking french in Vlaanderen !. Just had late breakfast with Steve & Jess in Errol Street, very nice. Now I'm going to sit in front of the buis (t.v. in slang Dutch) and watch the Pies/Blues match. I'm feeling lousy with a cold so hopefully the result will cheer me up. Sounds like you doing great there en Europe, even sampling the local health service. Make sure you persuade my sister & husbandto come to Melb. for sabbatical that would be fantastic, cheers Linda
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