WW I in Belgium

We visited a trench area from WWI on May 11. This area of Belgium, outside of Ypres, was COMPLETELY destroyed. It was amazing to look around and all of the buildings

were GONE. The farmhouse that we are staying in was rebuilt after the way. The guide called everything "brand new".

We also visited the trench that Hilter served in during WWI. It's hard to imagine that he would want to go through war again after experiencing such destruction.

After 2.5 years of tunneling the UK detonated a bomb one hundred feet under the German command area. This was one of the largest explosion of the war and the landscape was forever changed.

Tinekot Cementary

Artisian Demostrations

We spend the afternoon enjoying watching Artisians demostrating their craft. The artisians represented the same crafts that we have in Wilson, NC.

Musuem in Dunkerque

We spent the afternoon at the Fine Art Musuem in Dunkerque. Having fun in the sculpture garden. Angela has been elected the team "ham"

Dinner Party

Hi All, I'm still trying to catch up. Hopefully I'll get faster, and will be able to do a few days at once.

Wednesday evening we traveled to Dunkique and settled into our apartment. Joy and I were thrilled to find out that we would be staying in an apartment together. We felt very European!

Benedict and Marie-Francoise p

repared an excellent meal. This is where we discovered the “magic” machine. It’s a really cool food

processor that also cooks and chills food. It was really cool, but it cost 1,000E so I won’t be getting one soon.

We soon discovered that our host Jean Pierre was had a sense of humor that transcended language barriers.

Days in the Norde

Hi All- sorry I havn't posted anything. We have been running around like crazy.

Tuesday
Our host Jean Marc purchased tickets for the tour bus. We were able to see many of the Paris landmarks in one day! It was very difficult for Jean Marc, he was host to 5 women in the group, we had to visit every toilette in Paris! I don’t think he understands American women or our tiny bladders! We enjoyed the typical Paris lunch. I had the Salad Nicoise – I learned that you have water, wine, or beer with your meal, but NOT coffee. I also learned about Perrier or badoit water which is water that has gas added to it. It’s much better than it sounds. I was very concerned that I would need a little coffee to get me through the afternoon. I was delighted to discover that the French take coffee at the end of their meal.
The name of the ceremony Ravivage De La Flamme
The name of the holiday yesterday La Jew Deportation in the camp of mauthausen (a town in Austria)
Following our lunch we visited Notre Dame and finished our tour.
We finished the evening with a La Belle Eroca- a cabernet show. I competed with the English in a hula hoop contest on stage. Rachael, I wish would have been there because I didn’t do very well. L
We finished up at 12:00


Wednesday May 6th
Today we are travelling to Lille, we are taking the very fast train. Travelling at 300 Kilometers per hour. Approximately 200 miles per hour.
Story from Jean Marc tells a story of going to the region we are visiting “You will be crying 2 time – 1st time because the temp and the rain the 2nd when you leave - Because of the friendly reception of the friendly people. We were greeted by Marie Francequise.

We entertained with the local club. I stayed with Mike and Chris Polland. A Scottish and English couple. They have a new puppy called Digby. We stayed up late talking. Mike and Chris were very interested in our education and religious views. Chris is an artist, also. She had just finished up a show with an equine theme. views. Chris is an artist, also. She had just finished up a show with an equine theme.

Thursday May 7th
We toured the EuroTrain Chunnel, which is the tunnel that connects England and France under the English channel. We met with the director of Maintenance. Toured the maintenance area and electrical substation.

We spent the afternoon with the spouses of the club members. Anne Marie and Maryse.
We visited the Rodin sculpture in the town square.

Arc de Triophe de l' Etoille

We were privileged to have a special invitation to the lighting of the torch at the tomb of the unknow soldier at Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoille, the world’s largest triumphal arch. Today was a special celebration ceremony, the liberation of the Jewish Concentration camps. I hope to have video later.

"The world's largest triumphal arch, 49.5 m (162 ft) in height, was conceived in 1806 by Napoleon I as a tribute to his Grande Armée and its 128 victorious battles. Surmounting the hill of Chaillot at the center of a star-shaped configuration of 12 radiating avenues, it is the climax of a vista seen the length of the Champs Elysées. Since 1920 it has sheltered the tomb of France's Unknown Soldier. "

Our First Day In Paris

Our trip started a little rough, we were delayed at RDU for several hours. Waited on the plane for much of that time, hoping that we wouldn't miss our connection to Paris. At around 6:15 we took off ( we were scheduled to leave at 2:30) we made our connection with no problems since it was delayed 30 minutes. The flight over was uneventful. I wish I could have slept a little better. I only got a couple hours of sleep.





Jean Mark was our liason for the GSE. He meet us at the airport ready to start our loaded "programme". We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and hit the ground running no time for showers. Hey when in Rome...