As we will fly into Brussels, we debate about staying in Brussels for a night to ensure arrival of bags and so forth, but decide not to waste time but get on the road – gambling that all will be well! The initial idea was Lille, or even Tournai – but we’ve visited those cities several times, although not staying overnight (not necessary when you’re living in Brussels). The next idea was Amiens, a city with a wonderful cathedral, the largest in France, and edged by a large (242 hectares or 600 acres) area of fruit, vegetable and herb gardens, Les Hortillonnages, which guarantees a fabulous weekly market. There’s a fine hotel there right on the cathedral square. As many travel guides to France do not even bother to include the northern part of the country, we thought it would be reasonably easy to get a room on the weekend (no business travelers then). Not!
Years ago we planned a trip to Burgundy and did not keep a record of our reservation in Dijon. When we arrived at the hotel they denied all knowledge of the reservation, and as there was a large convention of veterinarians taking place in the area, the next spot where we could get a room was Macon, two hours away. (It turned out to be a great stop…but it could have been a disaster) We don’t know what is happening in Picardy/Artois, but we find that a large number of hotels in the area have no rooms at all for the weekend of 3-4 October. (This is the area of the Somme, one of the worst protracted battles of World War I, so it might be an event related to that.) We end up thirty miles/40 km east, in a town called Peronne, which I’ve never heard of before but which also has WWI history. The whole region is fascinating and worth visiting, so we should be fine – and the hotel we get is cheaper than our first choice in Amiens!