Europe 2018

A 25-day adventure by Marie & Doug Read more

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Europe 2018
Upton Woods Cemetery, France
June 30, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
This is the area where John's unit broke through the German DQ line.
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Europe 2018
Sains-les-Marquion Cemetery, France
June 30, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
This is in the Canal du Nord area where John's unit was fighting through the villages.
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Europe 2018
Quarry Cemetery, Marquion, France
June 30, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
This was one of the prettiest small cemeteries. It's mainly Canadians and it was built into an old quarry so it's sunken. Doug was telling me that the battle John's unit was fighting in the vicinity of this village was going very badly and they were about to loose it all when British reinforcements arrived. Sure enough we found men from his unit in this cemetery who had died the day of that battle.Read more
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Europe 2018
Le Foucrepes Restaurant, Arras, France
June 30, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
We were reasonably sure this would be our last dinner in France so we decided to walk to the creperie in the Petit Place for dinner. We ate outside facing the square. In the middle of our first course we heard bagpipes in the distance. Eventually a pipe and drum band came around and into the square and stopped right in front of us (they were going into the restaurant next to us). As we finished our desserts they got into formation again and performed a whole show in the square. They were bearing flags from Canada, France and Britian. Amazing Grace was fantastic to hear like that while you stood in the very square where John Kennedy had been. What a fantastic end to our stay in Arras!!Read more
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Europe 2018
Hawthorne Crater, Beaumont-Hamel, France
July 1, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
We attended a private non religious ceremony/reenactment to mark the anniversary of the start of the Battle of The Somme. Numerous WW1 experts were present including Andy Robertshaw from Great Britian. Each participant was given an envelope with details of a soldier you were to read to yourself at the end. Everyone was also given a shot of rum from an original crock from the War that had some original rum in it. We were in the precise location of a British unit right beside Hawthorn Crater that was blown at the start of the attack. We mimicked the movement of the unit at the precise time they moved out that morning. Once this was complete a bagpipe player played us over to Hawthorne Crater and were the first to be given a tour and told what the plans are for this site. Andy Robertshaw with the help of a military engineer told us what all the items we had found in the battlefields were. We then had breakfast in the village.Read more
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Europe 2018
Tea House, Auchonvillers, France
July 1, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
This is where we had breakfast with the military specialists. It's also the tea room with the restored trench in the backyard that we visited a couple of days ago.
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Europe 2018
Lochnager Crater, France
July 1, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
This isn't to far from Beaumont-Hamil so we stopped on our way by. It's all fixed up with walkways etc. but it's a much smaller crater than Hawthorne. It was created by a single underground mine placed beneath the German lines.Read more
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Europe 2018
Beaumont-Hamel, France
July 1, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We stoped in here again as it's just on the other side of Hawthorn Crater.
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Europe 2018
Vimy Ridge Memorial, France
July 1, 2018 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
It was a given that we had to stop in here again on the way past. It is Canada Day after all!!
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Europe 2018
Hotel Sirus, Huy, Belgium
July 1, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
We agree this is the best hotel yet (although it was supposed to have a tub). We were awfully warm in Arras as there was no air conditioning. This place has the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in!Read more
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Europe 2018
La Rive Gauche Restaurant, Huy, Belgium
July 1, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
The restaurants usually close down at about 2:30 in the afternoon and don't open again until 7pm. There was people sitting on the patio watching the FIFA game so we asked if we could get anything to eat. They said no but changed their mind when we went to leave. We had a terrific dinner on their beautiful patio.Read more
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Europe 2018
La Glace Timbree, Seny, Belgium
July 2, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We decided to head out for a drive to see the countryside in Belgium. It's stunningly beautiful! We stopped in at this restaurant in a small village. It was very good but the usual slow laid back service. We were there for over 2 hours but the apple caramel crepe dessert made it all worthwhile!Read more
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Europe 2018
Grande Place, Huy, Belgium
July 3, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Did a little shopping this morning. As you wandered the cobblestone streets the shopkeepers would shout "bonjour Madam". It felt like I was in Disney's Beauty and the Beast movie. Clothes are expensive here.Read more
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Europe 2018
Passchendaele Museum, Zonnebeke, Belgium
July 3, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
We weren't very impressed with this stop. It's not at the location and was a bit to modern for our taste.
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Europe 2018
Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium
July 3, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
This was an incredibly large cemetery located just outside of Passchendale. This was stunning. There's a small museum here and the main cross in the centre is built on an old German bunker that you are still able to see.Read more
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Europe 2018
Grande Place, Ypres, Belgium
July 3, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
This is just down the street from the Menin Gate. There's an amazing clock tower building in the square that housed the Flanders Field museum. Unfortunately it had just closed when we got there.
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Europe 2018
Tongerlo Restaurant, Ypres
July 3, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
This restaurant was located in the Grande Place. We are in the Flemish part of Belgium. This is reflected in the fact that French is no longer the prominent language. The foods are different here as well. Doug enjoyed his pizza but it wasn't what he expected on it. My dinner was the ingredients I expected but a unique format. Everything was very good though.Read more
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Europe 2018
Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium
July 3, 2018 in Belgium ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
The couple we ate dinner beside warned us to arrive early for the ceremony. They weren't kidding. Even though we were 45 minutes early we were down towards the end and there were many British soldiers in front of us. We could hear what was going on but not see it.Read more
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Europe 2018
Hotel Lille Europe, Lille, France
July 3, 2018 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
We had our first minor hitch in pre booking things here. We were supposed to have pre-booked parking. We were able to get a spot through. There's no pictures of this hotel as we arrived late and left early. It wasn't the greatest. The worst was the fact it had no air conditioning. We were glad we weren't staying in Lille as it's too big and busy. Arras was definitely the better choice to base ourselves from.Read more
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Europe 2018
Lille Europe Train Stn, Lille, France
July 4, 2018 in France ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
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Europe 2018
St Pancreas Train Station, London, UK
July 4, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
We rode on the Eurostar which is a high speed train. It went through the tunnel under the English channel. At times its speed was shown on a screen and it was going well over 200 km an hour.
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Europe 2018
Montana Hotel, Kensington, London, UK
July 4, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
This is our London hotel. We had a bit of a hassle checking in. They kept telling us our room wasn't ready. When we got to the room there was no tub. On the plus side it's quite a good sized room. We are located just south of Kensington Palace.Read more
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Europe 2018
Stanhope Arm Restaurant, London, UK
July 4, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
This is just down the street from our hotel. I learned tuna is just not the same in England. Doug enjoyed his fish and chips.
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Europe 2018
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
July 4, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
We just took in a fraction of this museum. My favorite display was clothing through the ages.
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Europe 2018
Richoux Restaurant, London, England
July 4, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
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