I find that photos of places in the north of France taken when the skies are overcast tend to show towns and cities not at their best. People are indoors so normally 'public' places appear deserted and the light is not kind to gray stone or to the bright brick buildings. Were the lighting better (nothing you can change, obviously) and re-populate the streets and squares and places that appear only 'so-so' might offer more incentive to look further.
I am so used to the construction used in le Gran Sud that I had to force myself to see beauty in the north and west (La Rochelle heading north) because I was judging it unfairly. So now I check my preferences at the start of a new 'visit' and it helps me see beyond.
The "Hotel de Bruxelles" looks intriguing and I can almost imagine what the rooms look like...and mentally start the plot to a story of someone staying in a seedy rented room there while waiting for....no, haven't gotten that far. But the New Wave of French cinema has made me a believer in the idea that there is a story worth telling in every nook, cranny and corner of France had one but the eyes to see, the ears to overhear, the mind to suppose.
I did find the restaurant downstairs from the hotel has a good reputation:
The Plat du jour for Feb 28:
Poultry Waterzoï with Vegetables and Potatoes 12,90 €
March 1:
Roulade de porc au lard fumé et Maroilles, 12,90€
polenta et carottes Vichy
March 2:
Carbonnade flamande à la bière de Jenlain, 12,90€
pommes de terre croustillantes et bâtons de
carottes glacées
Well that sounds interesting enough to make a stop worthwhile. Here's their
site should anyone want to know more:
www.lunico-valenciennes.com/other, incl. reviews:
www.lafourchette.com/restaurant/l-unico/59244I looked it up because I wanted a street address to see if there was anything about the hotel upstairs...
Seems it is now flats/apartments. The entrance is to the side of the resto...one can see through the glass in the door stairs (very simple ones) leading up. Enlarging google, the windows closest to the stairs on the premiere etage have lovely white curtains with a cut design, very art nouveau (full windows, the kind that open outwards and the curtains obviously cotton or linen by their drape).
Sign on the door: STOP PUB. I'm guessing it's instructions not to leave advertising circulars (which do clog up the small French personal mail boxes, or so I've experienced in places I've rented).
So I've enjoyed your and my visit to Valenciennes. A local hotel Puss in Boots (but in French) isn't far away and it looks very nice and under 100 euro the night (prorating from earler rates on the website. They have a listing of local places of interest including a museum and such, not to mention the most useful train station (should I ever come back to France I will have to take some trains somewhere...
I think this is one thing I really love about your travels Kerouac, they make me want to explore more, if only in my own mind. Should I ever win the lottery I might escape to France for the 90 days and see if I really could find a strange place to stay and see if I could get an actual story out of it. But until then, what I imagine is usually better than what is available on US tv....