May 3, 2012.
Curse this bad weather! In the cities it wasn’t too bad – one could always find a museum (or ten) to go to. In the countryside there are all these tempting walks and bike routes but mostly we just drive on past.
46 km Westhoek Bike Route
Windmill in Belgium
Our last stop in Belgium is this creaky old windmill.
Cemetery in France
Then into France where everything appears well-fed: there are fat-bottomed cows, fat-breasted pigeons, even fat snail escapees from the escargorie. Our first stop in France is this moody cemetery.
Lunch
Even though we had a fairly large breakfast, we stop for lunch early. Since we don’t feel like much we just order a salade de crabe surimi. We’re not sure what ‘surimi‘ means but figure it’s French so it has to be good…
French Menu
Well, at least it looks pretty. And tastes okay too. But it turns out surimi isn’t some exotic French/Japanese method of preparing crab but instead translates as ‘simulated’.
Canola fields: fake sunshine and they smell nice too!
We pass by fields of canola, bless their little genetically-modified hearts, they are like fields of sunshine on this grey day, and their pleasant floral scent invades the car.
canola fields fly by
Eventually we arrive in Arras, France. We hadn’t planned up on ending here – one could say that the weather drove us to it. At any rate, tomorrow we will be exploring the nearby Vimy Ridge and the WW1 Memorial, and hoping for better weather.
OUR TRIP SO FAR:
SOME VISITS TO A FEW TRADITIONAL BARS IN BRUSSELS:
- a 300 year-old bar in Brussels
- a la Becasse, a traditional pub in Brussels
- a la Mort Subite, a historic brasserie in Brussels
MORE ON FAIRYTALE BRUGES (BRUGGE):
- lunch at the Cambrinus
- tour of the Brewery in Bruges
- t’ Brugs Beertje in Bruges
- dinner at the Cambrinus
- warming up a chilly day in Bruges
- the Verdi B&B
RAMBLINGS ON GHENT:
- beer and museums on our first day in Ghent
- beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 1
- Ghent SMAK exhibit, the conceptual Bulgarian artist Nedko Solakov
- beer, food and museums on our second day in Ghent – Part 2
TO THE BELGIAN COAST:
- off to a Photo Exhibition in Knokke-Heist
- a delicious (but soggy) evening in De Panne
- a morning tramping through the Belgian Dunes
Albatz Travel Adventures 
my favorite is the field flying by. so COOL!
Al wouldn’t stop the car so I could take a picture so I shot them as we flew by (I think it was pouring out by then). I was very surprised by the result, and like it a lot!
Where on earth did you get that map? I would’ve sold my children for one!!
No need to sell your children – unless you really want to, of course. This is a photo of one of several bike route signs we passed in Belgium. They have a website, with some English on it, where you can plan bike routes. This is a pre-planned 33 k windmill route somewhere (well, maybe not quite enough English as I need…): http://en.routeplanner.fietsersbond.nl/#route?marked=marked%2F316%2Fdepartures%2F342337%2Froutes
I just found this huge pdf brochure (in English) about this particular bike route called: ‘Flandersfields Country & the Great War’. It is full of photos of sights, food, beers (and breweries) – it appears to have been written for you and me!
Click to access The%20Great%20War%202011.pdf