We were awakened at an unearthly hour of the morning by huge crashes and bangs outside. I thought at first it was thunder, and then perhaps bin collection, but what it turned out to be, when I opened the front shutter to peer out, was a JCB doing something very noisy off the back of a skip. And meanwhile, hundreds (literally) of Muslim men, women and children were walking past, obviously on their way to worship before work and school, as it is a festival called Eid al-Adha, also known as Eid-Mubarak. We could hear their liturgy very faintly while we were having breakfast, so the mosque must have been very close by.
We didn't linger - the aire was okay, but only okay, and it was getting busy with parked cars and so on, plus this huge lorry with the skip and the JCB, and were away by 10:00. We drove straight to Cité Europe, only stopping because of traffic jams on the motorway - we went via Lille, which was very congested, as were the approaches to Calais. Meanwhile, we were intrigued to see a sign on the motorway proclaiming Tournai a World Heritage Site, as we had assumed it was an industrial city like Lille. So we might have to go and investigerate next time we are in the area!
When we arrived at Cité Europe, our first priority was to do a load of washing. I thought the Swan Whisperer was going to go and see whether the machines were in use, but what he had said was that he was going to go and see if he could find them! So by the time he got back, I had already started the washing (the launderette is across the car park and not exactly difficult to see!) and had begun to get lunch!
After lunch, I did a Last Shop in France, and also walked up and down the mall to see what they actually had - as far as the restaurants on the ground floor, and then back on the first floor, where Carrefour is. Once I had done that, we moved on to the Camping-Car Park, and spent some time trying to sort out the Swan Whisperer's Kindle, rather unsuccessfully (I think I can sort things for him in London), and then he went for a walk and I got supper. It is still hot, but there is a breeze, which means that it doesn't feel so bad!
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