1936 On the Continent

instance (Hôtel des Postes), at Rochefort (Hôtel Biron), at Han-sur-Lesse (Hôtel des Ardennes), or, if one should wish to get down to the very heart of nature, on the banks of the Semois at Alle-sur-Semois (Hôtel la Charmille).
    This is the heart of the Ardennes. It is the wild Ardenne, more splendid and undaunted than at Spa, and whichever way you turn it is always grand and beautiful.
    “What is the Ardenne exactly?”
    “It is a region that is not very clearly defined. One may consider that it is the part of Belgium that lies south of the Meuse. I should advise you to follow the banks of the Meuse from Liége to Dinant, passing through Huy, Andenne and Namur. Namur is a fairly big town, where one could spend a day. It has, like Dinant, a very fine casino.”
    At Dinant, one should dine at the Auberge de Bouvignes, by the river side, where, amidst delightful surroundings, one will taste the most delicious trout and a great delicacy in the way of chicken, “Malines Coucou,” as it is called.
    Apart from the Meuse, which flows through a countless number of delightful little towns and villages (Yvoir, Lustin, Godinne, which are charming resorts quite near Dinant), there are its affluents: the Semois, the Lesse, the Ourthe, the Ambléve, whose banks lead to many exquisite places, all picturesque and peaceful and lovable.
    Every hamlet is a beauty spot and the whole countryside is a paradise for tourists. The cost of living is very low in all these places and nearly all the hotels are excellent.
    No industries thrive here, the soil is too rocky and wooded to encourage them (stone quarries alone arefound), and fishing is a favourite sport. (All these rivers abound in trout, which are served at every meal.) In fact, all this part of the country has been delved and crumpled by natural cataclysms which occurred in the days when hyena and bear, reindeer and mammoth paced its forests. The rocks that jut out everywhere and the enormous caverns which are still to be found here and there, go back ten thousand centuries, and are one of the most ancient testimonies of the earth’s history.
    “May one visit some of these grottoes?”
    “Several are open to the public and visits are arranged. The most famous is the Grotto of Han. This is a cave stretching for a length of 1,500 metres beneath the earth’s crust. It is an enormous labyrinth of galleries and shimmering stalactites and underground halls, some of which are 100 metres square and 150 metres high. These are crossed by boat and they are lit by torches and a few electric lights. Besides this grotto, there are those of Rochefort, of Dinant and Remouchamps.”
Tobacco is Cheap
    “As to the numberless little rivers that lend their rippling charm to this impressive scenery, they water the tobacco fields that lie along their banks. This is the case especially for the Semois, where is grown what is known as the Semois Tobacco. I, for my part, smoke no other, and I have nought but praise for it. It is less aromatic than English tobacco, but at the same time more mellow, yet of a sharper flavour. It should preferably be used for the pipe. I heartily recommend it to you.”
    “My dear Pierre, I’m not a pipe addict!” said Muriel, rather shocked.
    “I never for a moment thought so. If I said that, it was rather to urge you to tell your men friends about it. In Belgium, smokers are favoured indeed. Tobacco is cheap, cigars and cigarettes at all prices and to satisfy all tastes are found everywhere; for the Belgian is a great smoker.”
    “I’ll deliver your message.”
    “And tell them too that our Ardennes are wondrously beautiful.”
    “You may count on me.”
Grand Duchy of Luxemburg
    “We are so close to the Luxemburg border that it would be a pity not to cross it. We’ll do this by motor, as cars can easily be hired in these parts.”
    “Are the roads good?”
    “To be truthful, our roads are not above reproach. The great highways are very good, of course: along the coast and from Brussels to Antwerp. However, our country is so small that one has soon travelled from one end of it to the other, and so many beautiful places arrest one’s attention on the way, that one is obliged to stop every few minutes, so to speak. However, in order to avoid accidents, it is well to observe that our traffic is kept on the right of the road and not on the left as in England. The itinerary we have traced so far can apply equally well to motor-car travelling as to train