Arras - Day 3

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Geo: 50.2918, 2.77002

Today I saw the seedy underground of Arras, well more damp than seedy.

I started the day with a tour of the Boves. Arras is built over an old limestone mine. The mines were used up until the 19th century when the town expanded to the ground on top of them. They were abandoned at this time as the people figured it was probaly not a good idea to mine underneath the town. The Boves are a set of mine shafts under the town square. They go down as far as 12metres. During the two wars the mine shafts were reinforced and used as bomb shelters for the townsfolk. The first level was quite damp as the rainwater from above seeped down into the limestone. Then the guide pointed out layers of flint packed into the stone to make it water proof. The second level down was quite dry, but very small. The doorways were tiny. We climbed one ver narrow spiral staircase which was quite tight for my broad frame. It must have been ver scary down there, with little light, hearing the bombs go off from above. 80% of the town was destroyed during the second world war.

Next stop was Carriere Wellington (Wellington Quarry) I got there just before 1 but the tour didnt start until 2.30. So I decided to go back to my B&B to call the airline again. For some reason my mobile wont call international even though I have international roam on my phone. (Sent an email to Virgin, 2 days until they reply....I am sick if large multinationals) I had called the Air Seychelles in the morning to discover my bag had been delivered. Which was news to me as I still didn't have it. Turns out my bag had been sent to my B&B, but as no-one was here to take delivery, it had gone.....somewhere. Air Seychelles were trying to track it. No luck at lunch time

So I returned to Carriere Wellington, got lost on the way and arrived 2 minutes before the tour. By this stage I'd been walking around for the better part of 2 hours and my feet were killing me. I still had a 50 minute tour to walk through and I hadn't had lunch.

The tour was very interesting. Carriere Wellington was another old mine which had been converted during the WW1. They brought in 500 Kiwis with picks to enlarge the tunnels and dig closer to the front line. It took six months for the Kiwis to dig 12 kilometres of tunnels. These tunnels housed 24,000 men in the lead up to the battle of Arras on the 9 April 1916. These tunnels were much bigger (plenty of headroom) They read out one British commanders description, where he said the tunnels were so big, in some parts the ceilings resembled cathedrals. I think he may have overstated it a bit. I imagine with 24,000 men down there it would have been quite cosy. There were signs painted on the wall directions to the latrine, the mess etc. Black paint for the first world war and red for the second world war when the locals used the tunnels as shelter. The 2 tunnels allowed the allied forces to come up to the ground halfway across no mans land, only a kilometre from the german front line.

The weather is crazy here. On the way home, I started walking home in sunshine, jacket off and sunnies on. Five minutes down the road the jacket was back on. Another five minutes the umbrella was out and I was walking in the rain. I ducked into a little bar and ordered a hot dog (it was the only thing on the menu I understood and the barkeep didn't speak english) and a drink. At this point I'd not had lunch and I was starving and thirsty. After my"lunch" the rain had stopped and I continued my journey home in blazing sunlight.

By the time I got home I was exhausted. I had hoped to see the cathedral today but my feet said no. I stripped of my jeans, which were damp from the rain, put on a dress and just laid down to watch some french TV and get on Facebook and email. I get a phone call from Air Seychelles representative in Paris. After a couple of minutes of hello's the conversation was as follows;

Rep "You luggage has been delivered but there was no-one there"
Me "Yes I know that, where is it now?"
Rep "It is in Arras"
Me "Great. Where in Arras?"
Rep "It is at the post office, they are open until 6.30." I look at my watch, its almost 6.20 "Would you like the address"
Me "Yes please"
Rep "It is only a small office, they close at 6.30, you will have to go in the morning"
Me "I can do that. What is the address?"
Rep "Why wasn't anyone there to take the bag?
Me"Because its a B&B" (for christ sakes woman give me the address - I didn't say that bit)
Silence.
Rep "Would you like the address?"
Me "Yes, Qui, Qui"

I get the address (finally) and I recognised the street name. It was just down he road. I put on my shoes and sore feet be damned I was off, charging down the street. I got there around 6.35. I was checking my watch along the and I knew I wasn't going to make it by 6.30 but I was praying they closed just a little late. No luck. They closed on time, so close and yet so far. Thankfully there was a bottle shop on the way home.

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Comments

[Lou]

wouldn't that be oui oui, put a q there and its more of a que(that would be whaat?) just saying

[Tracie]

Jeez Wease, when did you become a cheese eating surnder monkey?