Belgium

Vimy Ridge and the Somme, Wednesday, August 29, 2012

How can you describe this day. It was not just the sites, but a veiled glimpse into the realities of war. We crossed the border into France and visited the Canadian Memorial at Vimy. You could see the memorial from miles away. At shortly after 9:00am, the day was sunny and we had the memorial practically to ourselves except for some hawks that hovered nearby. It was peaceful…so peaceful. …

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Brugge, Tuesday, August 28, 2012

We finally made it into Brugge, despite having to change our course a few times due to road construction. We started out in a gorgeous square. The architecture is just so gorgeous. We first went into the Basilica of the Holy Blood. We watched a short service where they took out the holy relic. We next visited the town hall which had a museum. The museum mostly consisted of …

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Passendale & Ypres, Monday, August 27

Today’s weather was much improved. It felt like a warm fall day and we were comfortable in short sleeves. Did I mention that there are a lot of cows in Belgium? Sometimes the cow’s fragrance wafts into the car as we drive by, causing unjust accusations that someone is let a stinker go. Our first stop was at the Canadian monument at Passendale. It was so green, peaceful and …

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Gorgeous Ghent, Sunday, August 26

It was raining this morning and cold. It felt like the end of October. Cameron had a tummy ache and was not in the mood for touring. The rain didn’t help his demeanour. Church bells rang out around us in the pouring rain as we ran to St. Bavo’s Cathedral (Which has the Van Eyck brothers “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” alterpiece). Unfortunately, being Sunday morning, a service …

Read moreGorgeous Ghent, Sunday, August 26