So far we’ve progressed 156.6km/97miles in France; 187.8km/120miles total… about a third of the way through already. Here’s the progress on the first French section…
We’re staying in Arras for the next five nights. Unfortunately, after a fantastic Airbnb in Bomy, this new one doesn’t meet expectations. The biggest issue for us is that the advertised “on premises parking” is actually street or public car parks nearby. Street parking is all well and good, but with two cars to park each mid-afternoon, in a central city location, it’s VERY challenging. Not happy Jan!!!
Today is the longest driving day of the trip. We dropped the first car at Bruay-la-Bussieres (our destination for the day, 30km); drove 14km back to Amettes to start the walk… walked 21km to Bruay, then drove 14km back to Amettes to collect the other car, then drove both cars 50km to Arras. Things will get shorter from here.
That said, the walk today was again beautiful, in glorious weather… “same, same but different” as they say in Bali!
From our guidebook: “Here you catch first clear sight of a terril. Dark, often 150m high, these piles of debris are left from 300 years of underground coal mining in this area.
Once considered unsightly, they are increasingly seen with affection as a sign of ancestral labors and their will to survive.”
Morocco Food Tour 