Postcard From Cannes
The other weekend 2 blokes called Mark, and Jenny went to France in a Renault for the weekend. We decided that we would go down on Thursday night and stay with Jane & Paul in Hillingdon. It gave us the chance to catch up, do a few geeky things, talk into the night and perhaps start the holiday with a drink or two. Given the state of the roads on the Friday it was a good move!
Mark arrived at Hillingdon in good time and we set off for the coast. We were taking the Eurotunnel, at a reduced rate thanks to our Tesco vouchers. Not surprisingly it was very easy to find with big signs on the motorway taking you straight into the tunnel check in area. Lots of button pressing to do to get automatic tickets etc. We had a cup of coffee and looked around the various concessions - err not very exciting really. There again whenever are they?
We then got into the car and joined more queues, this time for security, passport checking, waiting to get on the train etc. The journey only lasts about 35 minutes but as there is nothing to see it is rather boring really. Then when you do get out of the tunnel all you can see is security fencing. So out we get and we follow the one way system onto the motorway, thus ensuring that before we hit a small road we are at least a little used to being on the other side of the road. We head down country roads with some very soggy fields either side - it looks like they have had quite a lot of rain recently.
What is it about the French and the pharmacies? They are everywhere. Lots of flashing green crosses and some more sophisticated green displays.
We are heading for St Omer for our first evening. As Mark has been there before he just about knows how to get to the hypermarket. It would make life a little simpler if the UK was in the Euro zone but apart from that it was good fun. One nice touch in the fish area was the seaweed in the display - just to make it pretty. The cheeses were in several sections, local, other French cheeses and what was on offer - speciality cheeses of the UK! We went for local French. There were a few things on the list that we had made up in the last couple of weeks like smoked garlic that we wanted. We went to the mustard section as we needed some more French mustard - so get it in France. Mark decided that it was just the place to buy a large amount of French rum. This should be described as rocket fuel really as it comes in at 55% proof!
We drove into the town and had a look around. There were of course more pharmacies but also some shops that you would not see in the UK - like the gun shop. OK so it was a rural area and you might need the odd shot gun to deal with vermin. I suppose that the big gun might have been used for a wild boar or a bear or something like that. What I could not understand was the automatic sub-machine gun with extra bullet clip on the bottom. Even more bizarre was that the shop did not seem to have much in the way of security on the windows to prevent a smash and grab raid.
We wandered around the town square looking at potential places to eat later and then sat in a cafe and had a coffee. Watching the world go by was fun but we had a hotel to find. We were staying in the Formula 1 which is a very basic room, everyone the same so you know where you are - think Travelodge and you won't be far wrong. The difference being that the WC and shower cubicles are at the end of the corridor and they auto clean after every use.
We went back into St Omer by taxi, being driven by a Cambodian who complemented Mark on his French. We found a cafe for an aperitif. We just sat and talked followed by a wander to find a restaurant. We chose one called the Trois Caves as it served local food. Very good it was too. The waitress understood 'pas de jambons' and left out the meaty bits for the veggies :-) . Back to the cafe for coffee and a digestive - or two and the taxi back to the hotel where we sat, drank and talked into the night.
The following morning we sat with French bread and coffee for breakfast and planned the day ahead. We decided to head for Laon first. It is a village on top of a very big hill. On the very top of the big hill is a very tall Gothic cathedral. There is a monorail that goes from the new village to the upper village but it was broken so was replaced by a bus service :-( . Not quite as much fun but Mark was most pleased to be able to correctly request a return ticket.
We wandered around the cathedral as well as the old town. On returning to the car we found a bakery and we had some baguettes - cheese for Jenny and I and ham for Mark. Then it was time to drive on to Rheims. Mark knew the way to drive in so that you turned a corner in the road and there in front of you is an impressive view of the cathedral.
We gently strolled around the cathedral looking at the stained glass windows and other architecture. There was both old and modern stained glass using old techniques ( should that be ancient and modern - oops wrong denomination ! ) It was a fantastic place to spend some quiet time. After looking around the cathedral the idea was to have champagne in the cathedral square but the brickies were in doing whatever brickies do with stone and pavements so the pavement cafes were on hold. We wandered off in the direction of a pedestrian street. There were mime artists a grand roundabout, a modern fountain and lots of people.
Time for a drink of coffee and champagne sitting in a cafe watching the world go by. Time for more chat as well then :-) . We had a look in some of the shops on the way back to the car. Then we headed off for the Formula 1. It was at the back of a industrial / retail estate. You could very quickly lose yourself if you were not careful.
We had a meal in the centre of Rheims, pasta for the veggies and steak for the non. We then went for coffee and cognac in a bar. There was one thing that we had not factored in. Tonight was the rugby semi final between France and England. As it was getting a little noisy and partisan we decided that perhaps it might be a good idea to spend the rest of the evening back at the hotel - well we did have plenty of wine, brandy and rum !
It was quite cool on Sunday morning when we set off from the hotel. We retraced our steps back to the coast. We seemed to see more signs this time to places like Ypres, Vimy and the River Somme etc all associated with the first world war. We were heading for Dunkirk however. Getting to the beach front was a bit of a challenge as there was a road race in the town. When we found the beach there was a large expanse of sand and a promenade / pedestrianised area. We wandered around in the sunshine until it was time to head back to the tunnel for the train back.
The security seemed to be stronger to get out of France. There were quite a few rugby fans there with silly St George flag hats waiting to go back to the UK. The train we were due to catch was full so we were a bit late back to the UK. Followed by the all too familiar slow moving traffic on the M25 back to Hillingdon to get the car and do a bit of website stuff. This was followed by the journey back round the M25 and M11 to Norfolk.
A great weekend away with plenty of new experiences - perhaps next time we will try and miss any big sporting events! ;-)
