August 16, 2023
To Douai
Non touristy France
I am so enjoying being in France. The main reason I think is that I now have a very rudimentary means of communicating with people in their own language. Everyone is so friendly and eager to get into a conversation (and very patient with my French). Today was a 2 PMU day. Ken absolutely loves PMUs - they are betting shops/bars and now thankfully smoke free. They are nearly always full with elderly men putting the world to rights and watching mythical numbers appear on a TV screen and looking at scraps of paper in their hands. Our visit to the second one went like this. We secured the bikes, grabbed my phone from its handlebar mount and in we went, Madam behind the bar said Bonjour and asked me what we wanted ‘Deux cafes cremes s’il vous plait Madam’ An elderly gentleman came in. He immediately came up shook our hands and said Bonjour. Then shook the hands of every one else in the place. By this time we had our teeny tiny coffees (As Ken reminded me I had forgotten to use the word grande). The lady across starts up a long conversation. Where are we from, what are we doing etc etc. I tell her that we are for New Zealand immediately we are Les All Blacks and the possible outcome of the Rugby World Cup is discussed. But then she asks the question she has really been wanting to ask ‘Quelle age avez vous’. Quatre vingt quatre et six she needs to check my ability to count in French by using her fingers. Her reply ‘Les champions !’ Then ‘au revoir, Bonne journee’ and we are off. That is why I like cycling in France it is the warmth of the people
Well back to the ride today we were riding around the outskirts of Lille, Lille is a big industrial area developed close to the Belgium border because of the textile industry. What we were doing was riding from small town to small town, none of them were particularly outstanding and they certainly dont attract tourists but they all have there own charm as you will see in the photos
Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 795 km (494 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 9 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 4 |
Hope you had a good ferry trip. You really have had a good look at theat side of the Neatherlands
9 months ago
Loved your story about the visit to the PMU
8 months ago