Friday 5 September.
When we went down for breakfast this morning we discovered there was WiFi in the reception area. After we has eaten; cereal, bread and coffee (not great), we obtained the pass word and got online. The first priority was to get in touch with our Internet provider, '3', and find out why we couldn't get connected using our mobile MyFi device. Moira used Skype to phone them on the iPad while going through the connecting operation on the mini iPad while the 'expert' gave her instructions. This took well over half an hour during which a fire alarm testing took place making the instructions difficult to hear. In the end Moira seemed to have been connected but they said to try it out side where the reception might be better. We decided to wait until later. In the meantime I edited my blog, inserted pictures and posted an update of the last few days.
It was nearly 11am when we eventually made our way into town to walk around. We headed back to Place de Heros where the large tower was, you are able to climb to the belfry at the top for an excellent view but at a cost, we didn't bother. Instead we first of all got help at the tourist office for accommodation at Bapaume where we are heading tomorrow. The hotels there were full due to a huge annual market in Lille which attracts millions of people reportedly. She managed to get us booked into a small B&B in a nearby village of Beugny, it will have to do, an extra 3-4 km to walk.
Once our bed was settled for tomorrow we headed for the Cathedral. This was a disappointment, there was structural work taking place and the outside was covered in a mass of scaffolding and tarpaulins. We walked round the perimeter and couldn't find a door open to get inside. We headed back to the main street and picked up some bread, fruit and a couple of beers for lunch then followed the map to the Citadelle. When we got there on the opposite side of the road was a nice large park with benches so we sat there for lunch first. The signal for the Internet on the MyFi was good and Moira tried to connect, no joy. She then put the SIM card from the MyFi into her Smart phone and that got us connected. This is going to have to be the solution to our communication problems.
From the park we walked across a bridge to the walls of the Ciladelle and through an archway. We weren't sure what the Citadelle was, there wasn't any mention of it on our city map. There was a large square surrounded by buildings. At first we thought it might be a military barracks but there wasn't any security. Lots of cars were driving in and out but the only person we saw was a man directing the traffic through the archway. We walked all the way round the square and never saw another visitor and eventually came out the other side none the wiser about what we had seen.
Back to town through the park, Jardin des Allees, where we lunched we headed through back streets to Grand Place another large square next to Place de Heros. There were some beautiful buildings around the square but the view was spoilt by a large fun fair that had been erected in the middle. Another large tower could be seen at the top of the square and we went to investigate. It was the Eglise St Jean Baptiste and this church was open. It was lovely inside with a high vaulted roof and magnificent stained glass windows.
After leaving the church we had had enough of sight seeing and went to the seats outside the tourist office to make use of their WiFi which was good strength. We downloaded all the newspapers of the days we had missed. I sent an update to Eric Baxter at the Greenock Telegraph and got a reply that he would write an article. We sent a few more emails the made our way back to the 'Maison'
On the way back we bought a packet of ham for dinner. So tonight we had ham, tomato and sweet corn for our main course. This was followed by bread and goat's cheese, an apple and off course a bottle of red wine. Before dinner I had written out the route for tomorrow then afterwards the rest of the evening was spent reading before bed.
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