You’ll not be surprised that we’re on a path northwest. On yet another return visit, this time to Arras in Haute de France. It’s a side effect of being tied to ferry crossings – at some point repeating yourself is inevitable.
Along the way we spot a grocer featuring local farm produce, charcuterie, cheese – all the good stuff. I do my best to limit purchases. Since the UK brexited, the rules of what can and can’t be brought back from the EU are confusing at best. No-one thinks to take down old information online, or for that matter, date anything. So depending on what you read, you can either a) bring most things in, as long as they’re for personal consumption or b) bring no meat/dairy + limits on alcohol or c) bring a varying number of kilograms of meat/dairy + litres alcohol per person. And all the amounts/details differ everywhere. Hmmmm. Helpful. I think I’ll do a Scarlett on that and think about it tomorrow.
It takes a good part of the day but we eventually arrive in Arras and walk in along the water.
Ah yes, it’s all coming back to me – the flamboyantly gothic 16th century Hotel D’Ville, beautiful Flemish styled houses set around grand and petite squares and a gleaming gold lion overlooking it all. If you squint and look hard, that’s him sitting in top of the spire.
And look! Shops! A little tip between friends: July is an excellent month to shop in France – all the sales (soldes) are on. I can’t resist a pair of Tommy Hilfiger sneakers with an emerald green trim. Packing’s going to be fun. Just as well I didn’t buy the two outdoor bunny chairs..😂
I’ll be the first to admit we’re on a go slow today. The last time we were here, I shimmied up the Hotel D’Ville tower while Himself toured the underground tunnels used on WWI. The view from on high was fabulous! I’m cheating below, with a photo from our first visit.
Today we settle for a ground floor view – the local giants have popped into the foyer (they feature in festival celebrations) and huge lion casts, the city’s emblem, are on display. Fierce aren’t they?
We wander for a while without purpose before settling for drinks. The architecture is rather mesmerising. Cloud occasionally lifts to reveal blue skies.
When we finally settle, I break with tradition and have a liquor coffee, heavily laced with cognac. Fabulously good, sleep be damned. I manage to resist the tart, not sure why. It’s looking good in retrospect.
Later, we pop into the Eglise Saint Jean Baptiste which has a beautiful sculptural depiction of the stations of the cross. Remarkably, it has a painting by Ruebens depicting the descent from the cross – very impressive.
We probably didn’t do Arras justice today, but it’s nice sometimes, just to wander without purpose.
Miss Baci Travels 