[And yes, I’m finally getting around to getting these things written up and uploaded…]
We weren’t in France or Belgium for very long, but the main impression that lingers is that of very tasty food. Very very tasty food. Waffles and pain chocolate and bakeries and chocolateries and icecream and bread and cheese and …. mmmmm.
Arriving, we cycled off the ferry, then out of Calais as quickly as possible, not wanting to get any stab wounds. We had a Benelux map which includes the top corner of France – all we had to do was try and cycle onto it. Forty kilometers later and no luck, so at 10pm we started hunting for somewhere to camp. We were stuck in dead flat farmland though, and it was nearly midnight by the time we found something even remotely possible. Lying out in the open in our sleeping bags, we listened to fireworks going off as it struck midnight, and realised that tomorrow is Bastille Day.
The next day brought a street market (which had all sorts of interesting things for sale, including pupppies and bunnies and chickens), and we tracked down our first French food- a bread roll and some bananas. The bananas don’t taste particularly French, but the bread was tasty. Wandering town to town we saw Bastille Day celebrations and old fort towns and bakeries. Soon enough we were crossing over into Belgium. We hadn’t quite gotten over the shock of being in France, and suddenly we were in another country! Europe is amazing!
It’s decided to head to Ypres, where we ended up spending an extra day wandering around in order to see everything (and eat all of the waffles and icecream we need to).
Leaving Ypres, we visited Paschandael and the Tyne Cot Cemetry, taking it in turns to go and walk around and look at the museum and graves, or alternatively sit and clean our drive train while listening to a small child recite the names and ages of everyone buried there. Both fairly sobering options.
Zooming along the flat roads, soon we were in Hooglede and then Brugge (where we marvelled at the historical buildings and statues and throngs of tourists). Then it was time to flee along the nice bicycle-friendly canals past Damme (where we saw our first windmill – wind turbines don’t count) and across the border into the Netherlands at Retranchement (second windmill). We were disappointed by the complete lack of signs regarding the fact we’re in a completely new country.
Distance cycled: approx 213km
2 replies on “cycling: france and belgium (13 – 16 July 2009)”
yay! if i hadn’t know you were looping back into france, i would have gone, what? you went straight from ferry to belgium?! :p
Heh, yep, it would have been a bit odd. I still wish we could have seen more of France though – and more of France when it wasn’t freezing cold and raining would have been nice too!