We declined the lovely but expensive breakfast buffet at our hotel and made our own in the room. We used the thougtfully provided kettle and coffee - so no need to bring out the trangia stove.
It was difficult to leave our air conditioned suite as the morning temperature was in the mid 30's already.
Looking around Poperinge this morning reinforced our impression that this is a special town with much to merit a visit. The town square is beautiful. During the war, Poperinge was neutral territory and soldiers would come here for R&R. A museum, Taylor House, is a place where 2 priests created a place of rest and fun for soldiers of any rank - this is now an interesting museum to visit. Also of note, is the Hop Museum - a most important attraction for a visitor to Belgium. We rode through farm fields, hop fields and took a route to visit the village of Watou, the home to more breweries. Mary Ellen thought that one of these was a Trappist brewery, but this was not the case. Nonetheless, we enjoyed stopping here (had no beer today!)and enjoyed making our picnic lunch in a bit of shade by the church. The town has a focus on art and literature and we certainly saw interesting sculptures as well as an unusual art installation in the church.
When we crossed the border in to France, it was a curious experience as the fork in the road showed that we were sitting in France eating an ice cream bar while our bike sat in Belgium.
The local Gendarmes pulled up - were very friendly to us - but were in full uniform, heavily armed. They seemed to be looking for something as they stopped cars that were coming through this small village.
The temperatures were in the high 30's today. We shopped at a new supermarket, SuperU - a modern, air conditioned store and then headed on to a campground situated on a farm. It is a lovely place to stay.
A side note about today's ride: we haven't been in France since 2012 and we hoped that our positive memories would still stand....and we have not been disappointed. Drivers are more patient and considerate, and most people say "bonjour" as they pass. We like the civility and friendliness of people waving and greeting us as we pass. It seems to be a big surprise to them that we are from Canada. Clearly few Canadians come here - they assume that we are from Great Britain. We do have a Canadian flag on our trailer, but we are thinking that on our next trip, we should bring the iconic (Molson Brewery) t-shirt with their logo on it: "I am Canadian!".
Hotel Recour - a lovely place. It is first thing in the morning and it is so hot already that we are wearing our Polar scarves. They are icy cold when soaked in water and snapped for activation. They are life savers when it is so hot.
Service men from WWI came to Poperinge for R&R as it was never occupied. This statue memorializes the much beloved Ginger who served drinks and was noted for her kindness to all.
As part of Watou's artistic heritage, the Cathedral was hosting a few art installations, including this. The soccer balls were made out of papier mache with paper printed with religious writings.
As we have travelled through Belgium, we have realized that there is so much for us to learn about its culture and history. This is one of the many things we have learned about in this fascinating, small (in size) country.
Even though we are becoming accustomed to seeing these beautifully cared for cemetries dotted throughout the countryside, it is still startling to come across one beside a farmer's field on a quiet road.
Now this is interesting. As we are very close to the French border, we are seeing cycling route signs with blank circles. This means that the route goes in to France. So, at this intersection, we are now on 74, heading to France (forward) or turning right to 54 (Belgium) or turning left in to France. The system truly makes sense as you know where you are...where you are going...and where you have come from. If only life was that simple.When we tried to buy a cycling map in Belgium which included France, the clerk told me that "no map in Belgium includes France as they don't follow our number system".
