Bruges, Flanders Field tour

Thanks to all who responded to my desperate cry for readers. Also, my excuse for faulty spelling right now is the foreign keyboard and no spell check. Anyway, enough about me and on to Flanders Field. Took a tour with a local, Nathan, at www.visit.bruges.org. I knew little to nothing about the military battles that occured here during WWI but I learned a lot today. Millions of lives were lost over a very short period of time in the battle between the Germans and the Allies. This was partially related to poor strategies (thousands of German students with no training who thought they were too smart and superior to lose were all killed in a matter of hours)and partially to changing technologies. An is example is chemical gases were used for the first time, so 8,000-10,000 troops were damaged beyond repair within minutes until gas masks started being used en masse. Currently,there are many trenches and bunkers still in good shape. Also, unexploded munitions are plowed up by the farmers on a daily basis and put by the side of the road for pick-up by the local bomb squad. Of course, human remains are also frequently found and delivered to the proper authorities. Just driving through the area, you would never know it was a moonscape of total destruction for several years: what shows now is beautiful green farmlands and sparkling blue lakes and canals. "Sigh"--we humans are capable of so many things. Anyway, included pics are of trenches, rusty live munitions and a shot of a Canadian flag at one of the cemeteries--just because I liked the look of it!

Bruges, second day

We started out the morning by taking a walk along the canal. I snapped a picture of Anne standing in front of a bright, red windmill. It may seem a little early to start in with the windmill pictures, but--there you go. We went to a Salvador Dali collection and found it, well, a little bit surreal. Next came a climb up the bell tower and I am posting a nice, gothic-looking shot from the top. We toured a chocolate factory and got our sweet reward. By afternoon, Anne decided she had to sample the frites, so have a picture of tasting the local cuisine. We took a boat ride through the canal, the guide providing the tour in English,French, and German. Our dinner involved Anne checking out the Belguim beers and me eating the seasonal white asparaqus. We topped it off with another local favorite: Belguim waffles with strawberries. Tomorrow we are scheduled for a tour of Flanders Field. Nighty-night zzzzz.....

Bruges, first day

We took the train to Bruges today (FYI, it is about the same distance from Portland to Seattle but takes half the time on the light rail). Bruges is a quaint, old town in Belguim that claims the fame of being the origin of the french fry (or "frites")and even has a museum dedicated to it. Sounds pretty lame, huh? Well, after making my snide comments to Anne, we started exploring and found a great Dutch art museum that had wonderful pictures from Jan van Eyck and hospital scenes from the 1500s (Memling). Also, we had the best meal we have eaten so far on this European trip. I can hardly wait for my next couple of days here. Bravo, Bruges! Attached is a picture of the town canals and entree from dinner: sea bass and rice.

Paris, finale

Anne and I spent our last day in Paris going to visit Monet and the sewer. This was our second visit to a Monet collection and we liked it the best. It was housed at a private residence that had been donated to the city for the purpose of maintaining the previous owner's collected works, named Marmottan Museum. No pictures to show you, of course, since was not allowed. However, Anne and I highly recommend it because it is much less crowded and easier to view the pieces. A visit to the sewer, do you say? Well, after all, it IS Anne's profession. The picture is Anne in front of the entry sign. It may have been down and dirty (smelly, too!) but interesting, nonetheless. The second picture is of a row of rental bikes provided by the city. I had heard about this being done by the new mayor of the Paris in 2007 and was quite excited about it. There is a bank of bicycles every 250 yards throughout the city. People can purchase an electronic card to scan and unlock any bicycle, then leave the bike the at any other bank in the city. The money required is basically a deposit that you can get back at any time. Otherwise, use is free. It has been a great success, and other big cities are looking at duplicating it. Lastly, there is a picture of a bit of artwork I saw in a store window that just made me smile. Au revoir!

Paris, part three

Anne and I started out the day by doing laundry at a local laundry matt. There we met a couple from Perth, Australia and had a lovely conversation with them. We also went to a nearby garden during the wash cycle and Anne took a nice picture of spring flowers: we are hoping there will still be some tulips left when we get to Amsterdam next week. We went to the church at Montmarte and visited the cathedral on the hill. We joined the many sweaty tourists as we reached Sacre-Coeur. We also had lunch at the Café des Deux Moulins, made famous by the movie “Amelie”. You can see that Anne and Amelie became fast friends.

Paris, part two

Today, Anne and I went to see the Sainte-Chapelle, one of the churches that had been featured in the The DeVinci Code. It has incredible stained glass windows that rise so high that you cannot see the top of them from the main floor. I told Anne that I would hate to clean those windows! We also took a walk in the Latin Quarter (named for all the Latin-learning students who lived there in the Middle Ages ) and strolled through the Luxembourg gardens, where the children still float their toy boats in a pond. Of course, some of them are now have electronic motors. Lastly, there is a picture of you-know-what during a night-time light show.

Paris, part one

(post by Peggy)
Well, I am a little late starting my posts but we have been on the go since our arrival to gay Paree. One of my posts is a picture of a cruise we took down the Seine. I love being around the Seine because it is so used by people; actually, the outdoor space is thoroughly enjoyed here. People are hanging out by the river and at the parks, talking, eating, drinking. It is also very clean—everyone picks up after themselves and the city provides trash sacks with frequent pick-ups. Another picture is of one of the neighborhood fruit and vegetable markets. All are beautifully arranged and with adorable oddly shaped fruit that you know is locally grown and very tasty! Next pictures are of our class at the Cordon Bleu. We received a lecture from the chef in the morning and then tried our hand at preparing the lamb and vegetables in the afternoon (the pictures are NOT of our preparation—only the chef’s ). Lastly there is a picture of Notre Dame. I was ho-hum about the site of it but loved the bells! Later…

Heading to Europe

We are up way before dawn in Seattle, heading to the airport to fly Europe. We'll be posting from Paris, Bruges, and Amsterdam, and the north end of Holland on our bike barge tour. Stay tuned, we'll be in Paris on Thursday.