A road trip through Northern France in a sunny June…

In June hotels seemed at way more of a premium than we were used to with our ‘book-as-you-go’ travel style. We decided to book the hotel for the night in Dieppe during on our mid-day French picnic. The wifi wasn’t that great but we actually managed to book a place, and were very pleased with ourselves.Later our GPS, heading to the address of the hotel, led us here. Is this nuclear-tower-looking thing our hotel in Dieppe???? We kept going round and round the round-about, and yes, this was the only building in the vicinity.We finally pulled off onto a side road where we interrupted two Frenchmen gossiping away. One agreeably noted that he had enough of chatting and leapt into his car telling us to follow him. We went back past the cooling towers (or whatever they are) and a little further on an actual hotel appeared. He stuck his hand out the window and pointed to it, and with a friendly wave drove off.

Okay, it was better than staying in a cooling tower. But it was in the middle of an industrial zone with absolutely no shops, restaurants or bars within walking distance, and despite this, the hotel didn’t have a restaurant or any amenities either. When we explained our dismay to the concierge he actually contacted Booking.com. They reversed the charges even though we cancelled at the last minute. So a big YAY for Booking.com and the hotel too!We found another hotel in town which was exactly what we wanted. That organized we did the standard city walking tour which included Dieppe’s magnificent cathedral.Another view of the cathedral. The shadow of the outside tower falls over the window inside the Dieppe Cathedral in France.Of course, this being France, someone famous has done a painting of it.Our dinner was of Peppercorn Steak & Frites.Lit-up glasses in a Dieppe bar, France.Dieppe is on the north coast of France, not too far from the Belgian border.

• More on our 2015 road trip in northern France.
• The Friendly Friday Challenge: Road Trip.