Boulogne-sur-Mer

After arriving in Boulogne-sur-Mer last night we took ourselves out for a walk through the old town to find a restaurant, but were somewhat surprised to find most places closed up. In many respects that was fortuitous, as it made us walk a bit further and delivered us to the doorstep of the Brasserie de la Mer Aux Pêcheurs d’Etaples, the restaurant of a fishing co-operative, which unexpectedly served up one of the most enjoyable meals that I have eaten in many years.

Today, we followed that up with a lengthier wander around the ramparts and into the Basilica of Notre Dame de Boulogne, a beautiful building but certainly suffering in places. In the small square outside the Mairie there was a garden display which seemed to be celebrating regional specialities with amusing displays of giant sweets and tins of herrings apparently growing in a small field!

After grabbing some delicious pastries from the nearby boulangerie we drove out of Boulogne to the Colonne de la Grande Armée à Wimille, a column built in honour of Napoleon I and in commemoration of the issue of the first Légion d’honneur at the camp de Boulogne. The museum was unexpectedly closed but we still enjoyed a wander around the outside of the statue and could just about make out a distant view of Folkestone.

Display of regional produce outside the Mairie in Boulogne

The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Boulogne in the early morning light

Monument to egyptologist Auguste Mariette

Who knew that tins of herrings grew in fields!?

The interior of the dome at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Boulogne

Colonne de la Grande Armée à Wimille

After leaving Wimille behind we took a steady drive through Wimereux and back onto the motorway, making sufficiently good time to take an early Eurotunnel crossing. Although we might only have been gone a few days we seemed to have seen an awful lot in that time so a quiet afternoon back in London was much appreciated!