In Arras

Piétons and Deviations... Arras 8 years forward! Do I know dislike it. The war is well over?

This heat is ceaseless and it's Friday. 7 days straight of high twenties. I am bewildered. And I am considering Vimy Ridge in the morning!

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Arras feels entirely different, but last time I was here was autumn or winter, and it was damp, Place Les Heros didn't feel to be surrounded by restaurants and bars on all four sides. I didn't spend time in Le Grand Place before, but that is the same on its four arcaded sides. So right sides of food or drink.

As I sat in the bar looking at the Hôtel d'Ville those years ago I felt special as I was about to head to Peronne, on the section of Via Francigena I did between Canterbury and it. The previous time I was looking at the battle sites, the Grande Mine from the first morning of the Somme Battle 1916 and the Thiepval memorial, where I found a Charles Sherburn as fallen at that battle. Part of the 100 years anniversary. But now?

2023 and it feels just like anywhere else. The Hôtel d'Ville was nearly completely rebuilt, so too the Arcades. The one thing I haven't done from here is walk the Chemin Saint-Jacques towards Amiens. That's my plan today as I begin to scrape the barrel for funds. Two more nights. I hope that I will find the generosity of the first two nights out from Amiens on my way back to where I began.