Les Chevaliers was our Laon home for the night and the 2 young Frenchmen were the personification of its title. These knights cared for us from the very start, offering both of us carriage of our luggage to the very top of this dizzy staircase. They carried on their chivalrous ways by offering us the choice of rooms, early entry and anything else we desired. Their lucky hotel is receiving the same attention as they [...]

Tergnier is a town still rebuilding after the war but mostly around the edges. Not far from our hotel, Le Paon, is a silent, unpeopled square. There are no cafes, no residences, no shops, so nobody. Instead it is graced with substantial red brick buildings reflecting its brutal past. None of these places dominate the other but almost seem to stand side by side in stubborn resistance. And it is the Musee of the resistance [...]

The idea of a camping ground appeals to neither of us for so many reasons. A tent is okay but getting up from ground level is becoming very difficult, especially when the loo is an outside walk away. But these grounds often have chalets, your own little 2 storey house - in this case, a long fishing line cast to the river. A small grocery store, doubling as a boulangerie, meant we could cook our [...]

The kitchen was huge, an enormous stove in one corner, our large table looking out on the grand courtyard off the horse stables (an aside, I didn’t realise at the time but in my horse photo, the other horse and driver were blocked out by the other). Another table was by the stove. In between there was yet another table for our hosts’ children and grandchild. The hosts joined us for dinner and English was [...]

St Jean the Baptiste was responsible for our small ‘by donation cottage’ last night. It was quite austere, clean and warm, however he only provided us with single beds and no tea bags. His apartment was much more lavish. Besides the usual pews, this 1525 grand ‘Gothic flamboyant’ structure contained three large spectacular frescoes which we sadly did not see because the only church we’ve found open was closed. Across the square however our timing [...]

During tea I asked Odile why all the churches are closed and the main reason she gave was vandalism. It’s easier said than done but it sounds like the vandals have won out and surely they can address it in a way by having retired volunteers to watch over them. I don’t think it does much for church participation to have people shut out when the people want to go in, just a thought, Odile [...]

The tourist information office in Arras is quite exquisite. It is in the Hotel de Ville, those special buildings you find in most larger towns, with their gorgeous architecture and a tall bell tower that can be seen from afar even at times before you see the church. In my experience you have to hang in there with the info. officer and don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, especially in France when asking anything to [...]

Big decision - Walk another long wet muddy day or take up our hosts’ offer of a tour of what a lot of the north is famous for. No chance to visit these enormous memorials to the English, Canadians, New Zealanders, French who died defending freedom. There were also graves for the Germans who had little choice other than disobeying orders. We decided to be kind to ourselves and were driven to these very emotive [...]

Our Chambre d’hôtel within a beautiful courtyard was just what we wanted as we were entertained by Lulu the poodle who performed a few steps for us on his back paws, as we searched deep for our few French words so we could chat a little with Collette. Dinner at the ‘dancing dog’ with the farmer and his wife was fun and informative. Jean Baptiste spoke English so it was a chance to educate ourselves [...]