Meeting Ross' Grandfather

We have had a wonderful stay in Belgium and are now with our friends, Lee- anne and John in Leran, France. Belgium was such an emotional and incredible experience with the village of Ypres completely ruined in the first world war and now rebuilt in the style of the original town. It does seem obvious that the village is rebuilt but it has become such a centre for the recognition of the war, not only with the Commonwealth troupes but also with the Germans. Part of our package from the Albion Hotel was two nights accommodation, a tour of the battlefields and a three course dinner at a local restaurant. The hotel was gorgeous, very classic with lovely gladiolies in beautiful vases everywhere.



Each night in Ypres the last post is held at 8.00pm. On our first night we were lucky to enjoy a beautiful school choir from Canada. Their incredible voices without musical instruments were very haunting and added to the poignant atmosphere of the service. Many different groups laid wreaths, army men and women, school groups and families coming to pay their respect.



The Menin Gate before the 8.00 pm service, a quiet place for reflection. At about 7.15, the crowds begin to gather. Luckily the Albion Hotel advised us to get there early to secure a place. We could not believe the size of the crowd that was there for both nights that we attended the ceremony of the last post.



The next day we went on the battlefields tour that was taken by a passionate English girl who has lived in the region for over 16 years. She was interested in all of her guests on the tour and made sure we all covered the areas we wanted to see. On our tour we had a New Zealand and a Canadian couple who were tracing the history of the war. The tour started with the explanation of the frontline, the Commonwealth and German armies were so close to each other and that the conflict lasted for over four years. She talked about life in the trenches and the use of gas, there was no glossing over in this tour, Jan explained how terrible the "the Great War" was. This photos shows the dug outs where the soldiers came in for medical treatment.


After this we visited many memorial sites for the different countries, New Zealand memorials are scattered around as the New Zealand government wanted their memorials built where the soldiers had fallen rather than altogether at the Menin Gate. 100,000 men from New Zealand went to war, out of population of 1,000,000, just over 30,000 returned. The statistics are shocking.

Part of the tour took us to Polygon Wood where Ross' grandfather was killed in action. Jan our tour guided gave us a poppy on a cross and recited the commemorative words for the returned soldiers. She was able to explain to us the conflict within the area and gave us some understanding of what Eric might have experienced in this terrible war.



The Australians who do not have a marked grave are recognised on the Menin Gate and this is where Ross' grandfather name appears, Eric Carter.
We visited him quite a few times over our stay, and did leave him with a poppy.



Our time, in Belgium was very emotional but we were able to still enjoy our time there, especially partaking in some rather delicious Blegium chocolate.


We also saw this wonderful suitcase in a shop window in Ypres, very hard to resist but absolutely no reason to buy it, other than it being just gorgeous!



We had an easy Air France flight to Toulouse, shuttle bus into the main train station and then a local train to arrive at Pamiers where John came to pick us up. Chez Furness will be the next blog entry, it is now time to relax enjoy the company of our wonderful friends in their very beautiful home.

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Location:Rue du Temple,Léran,France

Life in Belgium

We have now left Paris after a wonderful week. Each day brought incredible sites and so many things to see and do. We had mastered the Metro and impressed with the efficiency of the trains. Arrive at the platform, miss a train and another will arrive in 2 minutes, a little different to the old Balaclava train! The apartment in the Marais district was perfect, so well positioned and very well set up. We were expecting small as told by many friends, but it was quite big, especially the lounge area that looked out onto the main street. We met many French bulldogs in the street which was lovely for us as we miss our baby! We did however do a little French couture shopping for Bonnie and bought her a beautiful new collar.



We had a great tour out to Versailles, in the pouring rain but still didn't dampen the beauty of the place. Nick our Irish guide was a great story teller and we heard about the Kings and all their strange habits, great calf muscles being the important look of the day. Tights were invented during this time, tights with limited stretch so it was hard for the men to move around. The gardens were particularly beautiful, even in the pouring rain, the Chalet amazing but the crowds were overwhelming!



We have eaten some very delicious meals, I have enjoyed lots of yummy salads and Ross has mistakenly had to face some very rare meats! The croissants are delicious and we have enjoyed our American coffee each morning with a yummy croissant! Ice cream shop near our apartment was truly memorable, flavour and even the way the girls filled the ice cream cone.



We have done lots of window shopping and I think there will be many craft days coming up. An amazing handbag shop across the road from the apartment kept me creatively inspired all week. Way out of our price range, but all handcrafted so that should be something I could do!



We left Paris on Tuesday and arrived in Ypres, Belgium in the afternoon. Wandered the streets and even had a little tasting of Belgium chocolate! The Menin Gate towers over one end of the town, Ross was able to see his Grandfather's name on panel 23. He was very excited to be there, being the first of his immediate family to see his name. The Last Post is played each night at 8.00 pm and it was such a moving ceremony. Each night it is different as different groups lay wreaths. Last night we were lucky to watch a Canadian school choir sing and lay a wreath. Their voices were beautiful, it made the ceremony even more poignant.
Today we are off on a tour around the town and region to learn more about the Commonwealth involvement in the first world war.



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Life in Paris

Just lost the last blog I had finished with photos! I am so over technology! This is the street that we live in, busy one way street but very quiet at night! The apartment is in an amazing position, near beautiful shops and cafes! I have made sure that I save this blog so I don't lose it!




We have seen many french bulldogs, including this little character in an Antique Shop! This was in a huge antique complex near the Louvre! We haven't done the galleries, but just enjoyed wandering the streets absorbing the beautiful street scenes. Everywhere you look is beautiful!





Ross' Absinthe experience! When in Paris, try the drink that all the Artist's drank, incredible procedure of placing a cube of sugar over the glass and then iced water dripped through the sugar into the liqueur! Ross survived to tell the tale without side effects! We have discovered Coffee American, short black and delicious. We have been enjoying our morning croissant.



Now I think I have the blog under control, finally, I will down load some more photos to share! Today we are off to Montmartre and Sacre Coer so will have plenty to share in the next instalment.

Location:Rue Vieille du Temple,Paris,France

Our first real blog from Paris

All the testing at home, my first test here, and now I have found that I cannot upload my photos!!!! Technology is not working for me!!! Why can't I bore you with 10 million shots of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and all the other amazing sites we have seen in the last 2 days! The apartment in the Marais district is amazing, incredible position looking out over a very typical Parisian street. We are right in the Jewish district, fond memories of Balaclava on a Friday night! First night in Paris, falafel for dinner, how French is that! Our Dubai experience was amazing, from the massive airport to the incredible architecture, 40 degree heat and a very interesting tour around the new buildings through to the old city. Our journey to Paris was on an A380 plane, massive aircraft, lots of leg room, individual TV Screen with a camera placed on different parts of the plane so that you could view landing and takeoff! Our first tour yesterday, Paris highlights in a vintage Citroen, we were picked up from our apartment by the lovely Matthew, a business and marketing student. He was dressed in the obligatory striped t-shirt and had incredible control of the his little car, until we ventured into the roundabout of the Arc de Triomphe where we were hit by another car! Not quite Princess Di accident in Paris, we lived to tell the tale but we did have a long walk home along the Champs Eylsees! Will hopefully work out how to upload some photos so that we can share our wonderful experience!

Life in Paris

We are having some problem with technology!! Not able to send emails, but we are trying to do a test blog and see if that will work! No need to write down everything we have done if it doesn't work! Here goes!!!