L'ABBATIALE — Restaurant in Amiens

This was a fly by the seat of your pants trip which was borne out of friends telling us how easy it was to rock around France on a motorbike and find Gites and B & B's all over the place that would be more than happy for you to turn up unannounced and stay.||||This didn't go well. More planning definitely required!||||Having got through the maelstrom of Calais, we opted to go south and picked a route down via Amiens, with the intention of heading to Paris at some point. Ending up in Corbie as the sun went down, we saw this place and desperate to rest, were very grateful when the lady at the bar said there was a room. The only way I can describe it is like a B & B (except there is no breakfast on Sundays - we arrived on Saturday) that you might expect someone who has fallen on hard times to be placed when they are on benefits in this country. It reeked of cigarette smoke, there was a pushchair and loads of toys in the hallway and the room we were offered would probably make even a student freak out. As no food was served that night (???) we had to go looking in town. Saturday nights aren't exactly buzzing here and everywhere was closed except a pizzeria. The people here were very friendly and actually chatted to us like humans rather than English scum.||||The walls were paper thin, the bed had a mattress thin enough to read newspaper through and the smell was reminiscent of a public toilet. We overlooked the street and the room was above the bar, which seemed to have a lock in. Sleep really didn't happen, and just when we thought it might, the bakery next door went into full operation and customers came in and out, having revved engines and slammed doors outside our window - well you get the idea. Rested didn't cover it! ||||We got up early and got outta Dodge as it were. Not somewhere I would either recommend...

This was a fly by the seat of your pants trip which was borne out of friends telling us how easy it was to rock around France on a motorbike and find Gites and B & B's all over the place that would be more than happy for you to turn up unannounced and stay.||||This didn't go well. More planning definitely required!||||Having got through the maelstrom of Calais, we opted to go south and picked a route down via Amiens, with the intention of heading to Paris at some point. Ending up in Corbie as the sun went down, we saw this place and desperate to rest, were very grateful when the lady at the bar said there was a room. The only way I can describe it is like a B & B (except there is no breakfast on Sundays - we arrived on Saturday) that you might expect someone who has fallen on hard times to be placed when they are on benefits in this country. It reeked of cigarette smoke, there was a pushchair and loads of toys in the hallway and the room we were offered would probably make even a student freak out. As no food was served that night (???) we had to go looking in town. Saturday nights aren't exactly buzzing here and everywhere was closed except a pizzeria. The people here were very friendly and actually chatted to us like humans rather than English scum.||||The walls were paper thin, the bed had a mattress thin enough to read newspaper through and the smell was reminiscent of a public toilet. We overlooked the street and the room was above the bar, which seemed to have a lock in. Sleep really didn't happen, and just when we thought it might, the bakery next door went into full operation and customers came in and out, having revved engines and slammed doors outside our window - well you get the idea. Rested didn't cover it! ||||We got up early and got outta Dodge as it were. Not somewhere I would either recommend...

We chanced upon this hotel while visiting the grave of a relative in nearby Villers Brettoneux. The lady that booked us in spoke excellent English (we did start off in French :)) and was very nice and welcoming - unfortunately we didn't take her name. We had dinner there and I have to say that there were no complaints with that at all - everything about the meals was AMAZING from my Lamb Shank to my partner's Dorado followed by one of the best Crème Brule's I have ever had. The room was compact and clean, but as it was a very hot day so had the window open but as we were by the road it was quite noisy - great shower though. Breakfast however was a disappointment and not worth paying the extra - one croissant each, two bits of baguette each with jam plus coffee and orange juice; it could have done with a little more or something different rather than overloading on bread :). If you are visiting the war cemeteries then it's ideal for a night's stay and there is a nice square nearby...