On the road to Maroilles
restaurants, and knowing that there will always be a dollop of maroilles in the vicinity.
The landscape is defined by hedgerows, meadows, farmland, cows and lots of rain — the ideal conditions for creating the perfect cheese.
And it is cooked into all sorts of dishes such as soupe au maroilles, tarte au maroilles and you could have a cheese platter and grapes to round off the experience. Some wash it down with the locally brewed La Dreum beer and bizarrely, others dip it in strong black coffee.
An overnight stay at Auberge de la Vieille Maison in Pont Sur Sambre was charming enough. It has five pleasant bedrooms (and free wi fi) . But its piecede-resistance is the magnificent mural on the ceiling and walls of its breakfast room which the owner, Claudie Pean, says she painted herself.
Artist Felix Delmarle was borne in this town and his later (1950s) works were influenced by Mondrian. I mention this because dinner that night was at the gastronomic restaurant Aux Berges de Sambre and, as a point of interest, many examples of his Mon- drian-style work are on display there.
Nearby is the city of Bavay, home to Europe’s biggest Roman excavation. It’s 2000 years old, 240 metres long and 110 metres wide — the same as four football fields. That’s impressive but even more so is the technology used to depict the history of the town. An interactive 3D film called Return to Bagacum 11, combined with a tour of the excavated site, is a sensational way to learn this history. Archaeologists found the complete foundations of a basilica, the Roman “town hall”, an underground gallery, and porticos of other buildings making it one of the best finds of Roman remains in France.
Romans did not drink beer, considering it too down market. But what if they could visit the micro-brewery at Au baron restaurant in Gussignies on the banks on the river Hogneau by the Belgian border? They produce three types: blonde,