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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 3:22:31 GMT
Calais is one of the least popular cities in France and has suffered even more during the last decade due to the "jungle" of refugees trying to cross the Channel to England. It lived mostly off British "shopping" tourism for most of the last 50 years, but even that has dried up with the irrational fear of the migrants and also the recent drop of the value of British currency. Nevertheless, 10 million people pass through Calais every year to take the ferries, which make 50 crossings a day to Dover. Another 10 million travel through the nearby Eurotunnel by train or by car shuttle, often without seeing Calais at all... or wanting to do so. I have been through Calais lots of times in the past, because I have often driven along the lovely national highway that hugs the northern coast, but I have been rather guilty of never really stopping to see Calais either. I decided that it was time to investigate Calais for myself, so I took the train from Paris the other day. The trip was lovely and sunny with a brief stop in Lille.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 3:34:54 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 3:46:31 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 3:55:07 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 2, 2017 6:04:30 GMT
Your pictures make it very hard to understand why Calais is not more popular. But the pictures of people lined up at the food places make it look quite popular. Were they all locals? Perhaps there are tourists there all year round. I love all the dock and boat pictures, also the one of the church with Japanese magnolias in the foreground, and the blue hour ones are lovely. Speaking of the church, was it rebuilt? If not, the fact that it still has a steeple is amazing. The Tour de Guet is impressive and gives a nice feel of anchoring the city. Can you say "Flemish flourishes" three times real fast?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 12:12:58 GMT
There were no tourists out by the pier that night (except for me) and a lot of the people were speaking ch'ti (the local dialect) among themselves. However, at my hotel there were a number of British and Dutch people.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 13:38:28 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2017 14:06:39 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 2, 2017 23:11:27 GMT
So I'm reading this thread, right, and everything is going really well. The images of Spring are dazzling and I love all your architectural shots -- great angle on the hôtel de ville! -- and the captures of street scenes. Then, then the blow fell. You went to the lace museum without me!!!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 4:01:55 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 5:33:48 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 10:17:09 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 16:16:34 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Apr 3, 2017 16:21:06 GMT
Where are the cliffs?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 16:30:28 GMT
The cliffs are not in Calais -- which is why it is a port, I guess. But Cap Blanc Nez is only 10 kilometres from Calais. After Cap Blanc Nez, everything flattens out at you go east to Calais, on to Dunkerque and "le plat pays."
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Post by lagatta on Apr 3, 2017 16:37:12 GMT
Yes, it looks a lot like the Flemish coast, where I spent a week as a volunteer interpreter (my travel and stay were paid, so it was worth my while). Bleak in a way, but a table companion said, a "rather pleasant bleakness". Though of course we couldn't help thinking of the damage caused by the World Wars.
I did love the Kusttram there.
Is Calais directly opposite Dover, or is that Cap Blanc-Nez? They are similar cliffs.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 16:38:36 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Apr 3, 2017 16:40:46 GMT
Bait?
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 16:43:17 GMT
Nobody needs that much bait. He probably eats them instead of spaghetti.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 17:04:43 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2017 17:30:28 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 4, 2017 7:23:18 GMT
Excellent report as ever K2.
Actually the Afghan cricket team is quite decent.
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Post by mossie on Apr 4, 2017 13:14:40 GMT
Cap Griz Nez, or grey nose, and the white cliffs of Dover were once part of a continuous range of chalk hills. The English Channel was formed when the melting ice from the ice sheet which covered most of Britain formed the North Sea and then flooded over them to break through to the Atlantic.
I may not be 100 % correct, but that is roughly what happened.
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 4, 2017 18:03:47 GMT
Sorry to see this report end! There is so much that's enjoyable in it and I love your comments throughout. The flower pictures are wonderful, as are the specifically seaside vegetation -- the moss revealed when the tide goes out and the brilliant captures of the seaweed and sand patterns. I really appreciate how much you show of people in Calais just going about their business, which is every bit as interesting as the historic sites. It looks like it was quite chilly in the early mornings there, although the people lined up at the nightly food stands aren't warmly dressed.
One of the things I appreciate most about this -- well, really, about all your reports -- is how much you appreciate everything there is to see. That comes across so well and I find it a good lesson in looking for interest in places that might initially disappoint. (That is certainly not to say that Calais is one of those places!)
Fascinating geological background, Mossie -- thanks!
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Post by tod2 on Apr 5, 2017 15:47:04 GMT
Your report made me so happy Kerouac. I love it when you visit a place I have 'partly' been to! The 'partly' was getting off the P&O Ferry from Dover and trying to find how to get to Calais-Fethrun as that shuttle was not in operation. Eventually we managed to get a taxi. Your report is just wonderful - full of flowers -WOW! and so many lovely buildings.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2017 16:12:05 GMT
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Post by patricklondon on Apr 6, 2017 14:40:01 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 23, 2017 6:04:47 GMT
Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the final dismantlement of the "jungle" in Calais, and it appears that they have succeeded this time. The number of migrants in the region trying to get to England has dropped 90%, and there are no longer any shanty camps along the coast.
Calais is now facing the challenge of luring back the British tourists who used to come for day trips (and binge drinking) or who would at least stop for the night when disembarking from the ferry or coming out of the tunnel. Baides the park that I saw under development during my trip this spring, there are some really big projects coming up next year.
Calais is obtaining a 52 tonne giant dragon from Les Machines de l'Ile in Nantes, the people who operate the giant elephant there. It will walk through the city and along the beach, mixing with the road traffic with passengers on board just like the elephant. More important, its "home" is going to be in a big glass-fronted hangar on the port, totally visible to all ferry passengers. Just imagine what families with children are in for when they see that. This will all begin in autumn 2018 when Calais will hold a big festive event for the inauguration.
The city will also be sprinkled with statues of monitor lizards (komodo dragons) and huge iguanas, some crawling up the walls of the churches or the town hall. A new campground is being developed and there are also plans to move the casino from its sad location downtown to the seafront. In the tacky department, there are plans for an amusement park called Heroic Land devoted to superheroes.
Wait and see...
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Post by patricklondon on Oct 23, 2017 10:39:24 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 23, 2017 11:03:09 GMT
The jungle housed up to 10,000 people at the beginning of 2016. The current count of migrants in Calais is now 500-800. There have been only 24 "motorway swarms" on the A16 this year compared to several thousand last year.
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