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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 11, 2022 16:28:55 GMT
Boulogne-sur-Mer is one of the seaside cities along the English Channel with up to 50 ferries a day to Dover, but it is not exactly a place of beauty since it was 85% destroyed, particularly in 1943 and 1944. However, back in those days the belligerants tried to spare major historical sites, so neither the Germans nor the Allies bombed the ancient fortified city. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the buildings in the city date from about 1950, which has never been considered a major period for fine architecture. Still, it hangs on to the title of "Capital of the Opal Coast" which stretches from Berck to the Belgian border. It is also the #1 fishing port of France. My purpose of going to Boulogne was not the architecture or the fishing industry. We'll get to that later. I have driven through Boulogne before, but it never impressed me. I prefer Calais, which is not really impressive either. This was the first time I took the train to go there, so my first discovery is that the train station is nowhere near the centre of town. Not a huge problem, but my telephone informed me that my hotel was about two kilometres away. And it was all uphill. I always think that my innate sense of direction will take me where I need to go without having to consult the GPS. Well, yes and no. So I kind of zigzagged even though if I had followed my first impression, that would have been the correct way to go. Walking is good for me. I finally stopped to check the GPS at the foot of this man.
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Post by whatagain on Apr 11, 2022 16:47:55 GMT
There is the citadel, yhen a few streets around the center,with a lot of cafés restaurants.
Then there is Nausicaa.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 11, 2022 16:51:35 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 11, 2022 18:05:16 GMT
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Post by bjd on Apr 11, 2022 18:20:12 GMT
Thanks for this -- I have never been to Boulogne and probably never will go there, so this is all interesting. I see you had nice sunny weather too.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 11, 2022 18:36:57 GMT
Back at the hotel, I briefly watched the traffic roundabout from my hotel window. I wonder if the tree was there before the asphalt circle. Then I decided to take a look at the fortified town as night fell. No hills to climb! The hôtel de ville (town hall) is here. There are lots of bars and restaurants along the cobbled streets. In warm weather, some of the outdoor terraces look quite appealing. Reservations did not seem to be required at most of the restaurants. This is the front of the cathedral, the farthest part from the dismal dome.
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Post by lugg on Apr 11, 2022 19:16:10 GMT
I have a fondness for this place as I have stayed there a couple of times with friends albeit years ago and in the days when we English traveled over to france for a weekend just to go to the hypermarkets. I don't recognise it from some of your photos but when you post about the old centre then that rings many bells. Quite a charming place I thought.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 11, 2022 23:01:56 GMT
While this town may not be anything special as French towns go, like towns in Italy, they mostly do have a special charm peculiar to themselves and I could happily pass a few hours meandering about, soaking it in.
The CBD shops must be an annoyance to the local constabulary, you really can't tell whether someone is smoking wholesome, healthful hemp or devil's lettuce and thus about to go on a raping and murdering spree while poisoning themselves to death without a fussy chemical test.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 12, 2022 11:46:16 GMT
The next morning I decided to follow my nose to go to Nausicaa. This of course lengthened my journey, but big deal! Election day was the following day, so this was the last time you get to see all 12 candidates. There would only be panels for the final 2 starting Monday. No matter how far I walked, the cathedral was always hovering somewhere in the background. And I finally got to Nausicaa. Maybe there will be a report about it in a day or two. This was my first chance to see the ocean since I had arrived in Boulogne.. It is not always possible to be sure from a distance what groups are doing on a beach. You'll notice that the blue sky of yesterday is just a dim memory.
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Post by whatagain on Apr 12, 2022 16:01:17 GMT
I went seceral.times and the sea was always like captured o your pic : dull grey. I think if we look a bit on the left or righy we see industries...
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Post by lugg on Apr 12, 2022 17:34:39 GMT
I do hope you do report on Nausicaa.
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Post by biddy on Apr 13, 2022 4:53:49 GMT
Boulogne looks so clean. Thank you for sharing K2.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2022 5:07:00 GMT
I have never known what this structure is out in the bay. These beaches actually fill up in the summer. I walked past Nausicaa again on my way back to the town centre. I don't think the building would win any architectural prizes. I was amused that the sign for the car parks provided other important information. It was low tide.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2022 11:43:54 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 13, 2022 13:55:17 GMT
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Post by bjd on Apr 13, 2022 14:27:40 GMT
Well, if the big excitement on Tuesday evenings is a crepe with Nutella then the place is definitely not a hotspot.
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Post by htmb on Apr 14, 2022 14:56:28 GMT
I’m intrigued by the structure out in the bay. Were there people on top?
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 14, 2022 15:51:52 GMT
I hunted on the web and even did an image search with the photo and absolutely nothing came up.
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Post by lugg on Apr 14, 2022 20:13:35 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 14, 2022 20:30:15 GMT
Wow, you did better than I did. It says it was built as a navigation aid for boats to know that the water between there and the lighthouse was deep enough for navigation. This allowed me to find some other sites explaining that it was built by the Germans to be the end of a dike on the other side of the port, so that they could close the port if necessary. But the dike was never built due to war complications.
This very unsteady video gives you a complete tour of "le caisson."
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Post by lugg on Apr 15, 2022 19:43:45 GMT
That's great ...glad i could help - I just used a small scale map and saw that there was an object off shore called Le Caisson - the link then followed .
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Post by htmb on Apr 15, 2022 19:48:41 GMT
Interesting! Thanks for figuring it out.
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Post by tod2 on Apr 16, 2022 14:20:33 GMT
I really enjoyed seeing the town. I too am waiting to see what it looks like in Nausicaa.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 16, 2022 15:05:19 GMT
Well that report has been posted in this same section.
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Post by whatagain on Apr 16, 2022 17:09:42 GMT
Well done. I think you reactivated a need for another visit. I like the old town and Marie would love to visit Nausicaa again. (Me too, let us be honest).
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Post by mich64 on Apr 16, 2022 17:24:14 GMT
Happy to see you getting out on some road/train trips!
Appreciating the beautiful handwriting on the menu board.
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