Four different hotels, four different experiences!

In Saint-Quentin I stayed in a lovely hotel called the Florence.  I had an upgraded room for the first
night (a double in other words!) for the sum of €41.  There was no vacancies for the next night other than a tiny room and I could have it for €35 which of course I took!  He gave me a pelerin discount including petit déjeuner for €37, again which I took!  I stayed there for another 3 nights before moving onto Tergnier where for €35 I had the hotel from hell!!

This hotel was rustic to say the least!  The toilets were on the floor below, one with what looked like a still of blue tack tied to a piece of string to flush, the other, with no lid on the cistern and you had to guess which button to press!  There was only a hand basin in the room and when I asked about "la douche" he gave me a long winded desctription of the heating system. As there was no towel provided I can only surmise that he expected me to drape myself over the heater to dry!!  The sheets were a horrible nylon, and I wasn't sure if they were clean!  I had already parted with my money and I didn't have the skills to demand it back, so I decided I would stay, sleep in my smelly clothes because I wasn't about to put clean clothes on a not so clean body,  and leave at first light!  All night long there were people banging doors, shouting, and footsteps leaving rooms after a dubious amount of time!  I didn't get much sleep, but my body got some rest lying down.

Then last night I had a beautiful room with a pèlerin discount bringing it to €55.  However this included demi pension - a lovely four course dinner and a huge breakfast.  My hosts were gorgeous, though we could only communicate in my pigeon French!  I walked up to the restaurant that they also owned and had a meal fit for a king! Mind you it was about time because I haven't actually been eating properly due to a variety of reasons - a salad, beef (on a giant skewer at least a foot long!), cheese, and desert -  wonderful! 

Tonight I am in a gorgeous little hotel in Reims.  It is full of light, has a lovely comfy bed, and madame is a delight - she lives in the rooms downstairs, right next to the entranceway.