France and Belgium

The following morning the weather was horrible and it rained all day so we decided to drive south to France as the Christmas Market has started in Lille and we had planned to go and visit it for a couple of days.  We found a camper stop 16km outside of Lille at a snail farm where they also have deer, rabbits, chickens and a donkey. After saying hello to the animals we retreated back to the van to avoid the rain and relaxed for the day, while making preparations for our return to the UK.  We had planned to go into Lille for the Christmas market today but due to the rain we decided to wait and go tomorrow and spend the whole day and evening in the city as it was supposed to be a much nicer day.  We also found a local too good to go from a local bakery so we decided to get it as it was only 3 euros. Rich cycled off in the dark and raining night to go and get it while I stayed warm in the van. We thought we might be able to use whatever he got to go with dinner but little did we know what he was getting. He arrived back in the van about 10 minutes later with 3 French sticks, a large flat bread, two loaves, a half loaf, some chocolate and jam filled rolls and some croissant. I think we will be eating bread with every meal until we head home! 

The following morning we got up early and cycled into Lille without getting lost. Once there we walked around the centre and went into the small Christmas market. We walked around the Grand Place which is the historic centre before traveling out to the working class area of town where there is a large food market. While there we saw a programme of some sorts being filmed and the presenter was walking in and out of the food market with a bag stuck to his foot. It was very entertaining but weird. After that we decided to head to a military fortress, called the Citadel, the other side of town where the NATO Corps de réaction rapide France. We couldn’t go in as we had not pre-booked a tour 7 days ahead but we walked around the star shaped fortress and the surrounding park. In the park there was also a zoo which appeared to be setting up and which we avoided, especially once we saw they had tigers in a cage which looked far too small for them. We then headed back into the old section of town and wondered around the shops for a little while before it got dark. Once it was dark we headed back to the market for a drink and some dinner, with a little shopping thrown in for good measure. Once finished we got on the bikes and started the 45 minute cycle home, again without getting lost.

The following morning we got up and headed north towards Belgium, stopping to buy some wine and champagne before leaving France. Afterwards we headed to a little town called Ypres which has a significant history in WW1 and now has a gate, Menin Gate, which is inscribed with all the names of soldiers who have no grave. There are thousands of names all over the gate from all over the world including the UK, Australia and Canada. We walked around the town which had a Christmassy feel especially as the cathedrals were all lit up against the black sky. At 7pm we went to the Menin Gate to watch the Last Post Ceremony which happens every night. This basically entailed two men playing bugles, a short reading and then a minutes silence while people laid wreaths to the fallen soldiers.  It was interesting to watch and it has been going since 1928 but we had expected a little more as it had been heralded as one of the must things to do in the area.

The following morning we got up and continued our journey north to a town called Gistel where we spent a little time walking around the town and sorting out some admin as we have booked the ferry back and are leaving in less than 2 days’ time. We then continued north to a little camper stop outside Bruges where we will spend the night. In the morning we plan to drive to a car park closer to Bruges where we can walk into town and explore the area and the Christmas market, which starts tomorrow. We will then head back to the van in the evening for some sleep before getting up at 3am in order to drive south to Dunkirk where we will be getting the ferry at 6am and will be back in the UK on the 25^th November and ready to drive to Somerset.