Gramma comes to France!!

And now the impossible task remains; to record my grandmother’s wonderful visit this past September....

My Gramma arrived Tuesday September 7th, I met her at the airport and together we made the trek back to Arras. It was only a trek because of the national strike that just so happened to be held that day; instead of taking the next train to Arras from the Charles de Gaulle airport we had to catch an RER metro train to Paris Nord and from there wait three hours for the only train to Arras. 

Cafe in the rue piétons 

The next day we spent lounging in the apartment because of the rain, and to get over the jetlag of the long journey from Canada. The weather improved the next day so we did a bit of shopping, took a café on the terrace in the pedestrian street, sent some post cards, and saw Arras’ enormous cathedral. We also had a delicious dinner at the La Clef des Sens. 

The Arras Belffoi lit up after our dinner

The following day was equally as nice so we finished up our shopping and had lunch at Polonia. Polonia is a Polish restaurant that I had really wanted to try. You have to make a reservation because they only cook accordingly and they only serve at lunch. It was a very interesting little spot and in my mind is a precise example of a northern French restaurant even through it serves Polish cuisine!

A Picnic in the Park

Saturday we made our first trip out of Arras. After walking through the market on our way to the train station we took the regional TER line to Cambrai. We had a wonderful time with a picnic in the park, walking around the old streets, having a pint on a terrace in the main square, and of course doing a bit more shopping. 

Clock Tower in the Grand Place - Cambrai

The next day was a Sunday; a good day to rest in France because not much is open! We relaxed for the morning, and in the afternoon we visited the Beaus Arts Musee. The Musee is in the building of the old Abbey Saint-Vaast. The architecture is spectacular and their collection is also quite impressive for a small ville like Arras.

 

After visiting the museum we still had some time to spare before dinner so we picked up some pre dinner desert and hired the local bike tour to take us around. With an ice cream cone in hand we boarded the velo for an excellent tour of Arras.

More to come, next post Geneva!