Then home for more scrumptious food...Coq au vin.. a bottle of bubbly and the naughtiest pudding ever!
Thursday 10th April 2014
After a breakfast of croissants and coffee...something we hope to become accustomed to...we said yet more farewells and pointed our little blue home in the direction of the Channel Tunnel.Our departure time was 10.50am. We made good time, picked up a coffee and boarded the train.Within what seemed like minutes we were in France...I (Billy/Yvonne) would try some french out here but my mum, and sister, who have both been to french classes would fall off their chairs laughing at my attempt ..and I don’t want to be responsible for any harm coming to them both!
All we can say is “Thank goodness for Tom Tom” and a big thank you to Steve and Pam for recommending we treat ourselves to one before we left home. We naively thought we could navigate our way around Europe without one...the truth is we probably wouldn't have been speaking to each other right now if we had not indulged!
Our first stop ...thanks to Tom Tom ... was Dunkirk harbour where Simon wanted to re visit the site of a boating accident he was involved in when he was 18. (The skipper lost a finger!!!)
Ypres was our final stopping place for the night. Before we had left home Simon had read several travel blogs and found a great place for us to park up, for free, along the canal side just along from the Menin bridge.
We were sited along a tree lined road with an amazing view of the canal. A little way along the road was a leisure centre where we were able to use thier facilities and have a hot shower...luxury!!!
We grabbed our bikes and had a cycle around the city...just as well neither of us wear dentures yet...we would definitely have lost them due to the bobbing about on the cobbled streets!
It’s a much bigger place than I imagined, lots of little side streets with gorgeous houses, the canal snaking it’s way around the city and a fantastic square right in the centre. After visiting the tourist information and beginning to read some information and look at old photos of Ypres during WW1 we were staggered to discover that the city was virtually raised to the ground. The British had wanted to leave the devastated Lakenhall (an impressive building) in the centre of the square as it lay...in ruins...but the Belgians wanted to rebuild...what an amazing job they have done!
Whilst at the tourist information we bought a cycle route map for the following day, which would take us on a 35km route around many of the British WW1 cemeteries and memorial sites, including Hill 60 and Hill 62 and Sanctuary Wood.
Since 2nd July 1928 The Last Post has been sounded as a tribute to the fallen at the Menin Gate. Today was no exception. Along with a crowd of 1000 or more people we stood silent for 10 minutes whilst the Post was sounded and dignitaries and relatives laid wreaths in respect of their lost.
It was a truely moving moment that brought us both to tears. Tears of sadness at the huge losses, tears for the mothers and wives whose loved ones were lost and in many cases never found. A solemn end to a wonderful first day abroad.
Friday 11th April 2014
Thanks Ingrid!! xx
Today we set out on the 35km bike ride tour of the cemeteries. Here are some thoughts about what we saw and read that day...
If you’ve never visited the First World war battlefields it’s difficult to appreciate the shear scale of this tragedy . On the face of it things seem very calm, tractors were ploughing fields and sowing crops, the sun was shining, it could be a scene from almost anywhere in Europe. For the most part the physical scars of war have all but healed but the human scars are everywhere to be see. On every street. On every corner. In every field there are cemeteries to the fallen. At first one feels that one wants to read every headstone and mourn each personal loss, but as it unfolds, you realise that this is absolutely impossible and you don;t think you can cry anymore. you find yet another memorial and another and then another.... The numbers are staggering. Some 37 million people were affected by WW1. 16,000,000 dead, another 20,000,000 wounded. We saw the largest cemetery at Tyne Cot ...the final resting place for 11,954 souls. The sight of its uniform graves stretching into the distance is utterly humbling. At Thievpal stands the largest British War Memorial in the world. At 45m high, it’s towering sides are covered with the names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave. In a single day of the Battle of the Somme, the British recorded 58,000 casualties, of whom 19,000 died.
Our visit here has left us with extreme emotions. The pleasure of meeting new people and being the recipients of much human kindness and the tragedy of seeing how badly we can treat each other. We leave with deep sadness in our hearts and a true gratefulness to those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Saturday 12th April 2014.
Our final visits to WW1 memorials, Tyne Cot and Thievpal Memorial saw us leave Belgium and head to France. We again managed to find a lovely spot right by the canal in Corbie to stay overnight.
Sunday 13th April 2014
Time to hit the road and get some miles under our belt...heading off to Caen and the D Day Landings and more tears!!! A bit of a heavy start to our travels but we wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Our trusty Tom Tom showed us the way, missing out the toll roads, and with a few BT detours on the way...like crossing an enormous bridge twice and always heading towards the sea...we made it! We stopped in Honfleur for an ice cream and a walk along the river. What a beautiful place this is....lots of tiny weeny slices of house crammed next to each other around a little harbour.
Lunch by the river Seine
More soon….when we find the next McDonald's!!!
xxxxxxx
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