Drifting around the beautiful French countryside – in the Ardennes – stopping at picturesque Montcornet to take in a tidy amount of fresh Spring air and to go for a long walk in the bright sunshine … it surely doesn’t get any better.
I feel like I’m ambling through a series of impressionist paintings; and once I’ve left the impossibly pretty village behind, I could be in the 18th or 19th century, the only structures visible for miles around being church spires.
The locals are watching every step I take, every move I make.
It’s a relaxed pace of life which is immediately surrendered hours later on arrival in Tournai, Belgium.
Where I seem to have stumbled into a wealth of culture and imposing architecture. And a ridiculous amount of people in fancy dress, here for the Carnaval and a general piss-up.
Even the statues are getting in the party mood.
When night falls, the drinking elite appear.
This is a costume drama.
I dart into a small restaurant just off the Grand Place for dinner and a beer – a white hot tartiflette and a local ale – while a group of locals in traditional Wallonian dress surround me and sporadically burst out into song while swigging back the strong stuff.
When I escape the scene to meander back to my digs, I find myself being followed by three bright stars, and Ronald McDonald.
I am overnighting in Belgium, and it’s slightly bonkers.
An Outside World 