Two days in Paris

Two days in Paris is just not enough. We stayed in a lovely hotel in the 9th Ard. close to the Opera House. We got to Paris via train from Caen which was a very civilized way to travel the 1 1/2 hours. After arriving at our hotel we headed off on an open air bus tour which took us past many of the great sights. We decided that we would tour the city first then decide for day 2 where we wanted to visit. Later in the day we returned to the hotel (via a trip into the Opera House) to recharge our batteries then wandered north up the steep streets to Sacre Couer for a good look at the city from the north. Dinner was at a great Italian restaurant in the Montmartre district.

On day 2 we had a nice sleep in (first in days) then headed off. We grabbed a great breakfast of pain chocolat and bagette then made our way down the La Louvre. We have discovered that this city is where all the tourists have been. It is so crowded. There was no way we would get into the museum so we wandered the Tuilieries gardens (picture of Susan and Iain)up to Place de la Concorde, across the bridge and just before the rains hit, made it to La Musee D'Orsay. After the Musee we had a great lunch on the Left Bank and walked over to the old city to visit Saint Chapelle. The line was long for it as well but I insisted that we stick it out and it was so worth it (see windows...). We headed home again and later went out for our last dinner at a fabulous restaurant recommended by the hotel and full of locals. It was, we all agreed, the best meal of the trip.

We are in the airport now (Sunday am.) on our way home via Frankfurt.

Omaha too!

I insisted that we drive further west and visit Omaha beach. Boy was it a good call. The drive from Juno was about 45 minutes but it was through some of the most amazing little Norman towns that were so quaint I could barely keep my eyes on the road. Chateaus here and there behind these most fantasticly old walls. It was a completely different place around every turn.

We arrived in Omaha and I admit that I expected that there would be a fancy museum and memorial commemorating the American's involvement. Quite to the contrary. This beach is set down low (and here there were actually people swimming believe it or not), there is a high hill that the American's had to get up after getting across their beach (making it more treacherous than the Canadian beaches at Juno which were relatively flat). The site is spectacular from above and again, the Germans had nicely fortified themselves with bunkers and lookouts, which you can still go into (the picture is from within one of their bunkers looking down at the beach and channel).

At the top of the rise above the beach is an understated and lovely monument to the approximately 680 Americans that died on that beach (twice as many as at Juno). The American cemetery is located here as well but we didn't go and visit it, having decided that we have seen enough cemeteries on this trip.

From Omaha we made the relatively quick trip back in to Caen where we are staying tonight. We leave by train at 9 am. tomorrow for Paris. A demain...

Bernieres sur Mer

It was amazing to visit the beach that we feel like we know so well. It is one small town east of Courcelles sur Mer and together they made up code name Juno Beach, Canada's part of Operation Overlord.

The famous house in Grampa's picture still stands right where it was. It is now known as the Queens Own house and there are Canada flags and Queen's Own Rifle regimental flags hanging from the balcony. Outside, along the wall are at least 2 or 3 other of Grampa's photos. As we arrived the owners of the house were just pulling out to leave.

Had I been smarter and quicker I would have gone up and introduced myself to them. They are apparently very fond of Canadians and every year hold a June 6th ceremony at their home attended by Canadians and members of the Queen's Own who come over. They say that this was the first French house liberated on June 6th by the Allies. Pretty amazing. Otherwise the beach is a peaceful place, with sunbathing huts along a sort of boardwalk - how people can actually play on the beach is hard for us to fathom. Not only is the weather so miserable (and it seems to change by the minute) but there is way too much history on that beach for us to imagine being able to relax and play on it.

The internet connection tonight is very sketchy so I can't post pictures but you can be sure I have tons!

Grampa's Photograph

Upon entering the Juno Beach Centre we saw Grampa's photo hanging right outside the doors to the museum. There was a plaque under the photo which gives credit to Grampa. There are postcards and many versions his photograph on books and other things. The guides (all Canadian students like at Beaumont-Hamel and Vimy) were very interested to know that it was taken by my grandfather. They thought he was with the Queens Own Rifles and didn't know that he was a naval photographer.

Inside the museum there was a camera that had been donated by another naval photographer who was at Bernieres sur Mer (must have been on another ship from Grampa). I am sure he would have known him. I think his name was Guy Goulet. We'll have to see if there is any mention of him in Grampa's book.

Juno Beach

We had a very efficient (for us!) drive right from Amiens to Juno Beach - just over 3 hours. En route we passed by Le Havre the huge port on the English Channel at the mouth of the Sienne. The bridge over the Sienne was magnificent, despite the rain.

We arrived at Caen our base for the night and decided to go straight north to the beaches. It was easy to locate the Canadian Centre at Juno set right on the beach at Courcelles sur Mer, one beach west of the beach that Grampa photographed from. Here we were able to visit the museum which was really informative and took yet another amazing tour around the beach area. This included a trip down into a German bunker, still very much as it was back in the 40s. The Germans had fortified the beach so well, having been in the area since the early 40s. It is truly amazing that the Allies got through.

These are a few pictures from Juno Beach (Courcelles sur Mer), Iain going down to the beach, the lovely sculpture they have placed there, and Susan down in the German bunker.

Tomorrow its WWII

Tomorrow we will leave Amiens early for the 3 hour trek south west out to the Normandy beaches. We will be based in Caen for our last night out here and plan to visit the Canada WWII museum in Caen and then of course the landing beaches. We had a delicious dinner in our room tonight, purchased from a little bakery across the street (no more fancy French restaurants!) Its only 7:50 and Iain is already asleep. Seems we have been keeping him busy!

Great Grampa George Gray

Our final stop of the day was the Duisans British Cemetery where we had to look for a while to find Great Grandfather's/Great Grampa's resting place. He has the most lovely grave with many flowers planted at his headstone and a beautiful purple flowering bush cascading over from behind.

It was incredibly moving to be there and to think that if it wasn't for him, neither Iain nor I would exist. So sad that he never got to know his baby Nana and her family. He is resting close to many other Canadians and lots of Brits in a beautifully kept cemetery. The flowers here were truly magnificent and the gardeners were about weeding and mowing. We thanked them for keeping it so special.

As we were leaving Iain and I took a couple of poppies growing on the side of the road right outside the cemetery, in the hopes that we could bring them home. They are so fragile and beautiful. They won't survive the trip home I don't think but Iain got the most amazing picture of his, from right outside his Great Great Grampa's resting place.

Great Great Uncle Charles

Just beyond Vimy in the town of Neuville St. Vaast we found La Targette cemetery where Great Great Uncle Charles Gray is buried. This is a "British" cemetery but there were almost as many Canadians buried here as there are British. By their headstones its pretty clear that most of these men died at Vimy in the spring and summer after the great push on Easter Monday 1917. Charles died in June of that year. He was buried very close to a number of other Canadians who all died on or around the same day. His plot is beautifully tended with a lovely garden in front of it. A rose, still pretty small, will be growing just in front of him in no time.

Beside La Targette was the first French cemetery that we have come across. The British and Commonwealth cemeteries all have real headstones with country or regimental markers engraved on the top and then the name, rank, company and date of death engraved below. For the most part, the stones are all laid in completely straight lines, all facing the same direction. In contrast, the French cemetery is all white crosses, no headstones, no flowers or anything that seems to mark or differentiate any cross from the next. The French have laid their crosses in interesting patterns that seem to radiate out from a centre point. They are beautifully designed.

Just beyond La Targette and the French cemetery was the largest (and only one we have seen) German cemetery which apparently holds the bodies of some 44,800 soldiers. Theirs are marked by black crosses which are very dramatic. This cemetery was huge - at least double the size of Tyne Cot. Each cross marks the place of 4 soldiers, not just one. There are, amongst the crosses the odd headstone which is engraved with a Star of David, for those Jews that fought and died for Germany the first time around.

Vimy

We left early this morning and good thing. We got lost on our way from Amiens to Vimy - a journey that should have taken about 1 to 1 1/2 hours took us about 2 1/2. We struggled getting out of Amiens and then into and out of Arras, when we should have been able to bypass Arras altogether. In any event, we had given ourselves plenty of time and arrived at Vimy by about 10:30.

Though we arrived in sunshine, within minutes it started to pour as we were half way around the Vimy Memorial. Such a beautiful monument. Very moving. I hope that our pictures do it justice. The landscape is spectacular and its clear why this location was so important for both sides to capture.

After visiting the monument we took a guided tour, again by a Canadian student, who was very informative. We were taken down into the subway system (the 8 meters underground tunnels that led from the front line back). Hard to imagine that people lived and operated in there. We came out of the subway (we were in the Grange Subway line) right into No Man's Land with the German trenches about 25 meters away. We were then able to explore the German trench system. Canada has done a great job restoring some of the actual trench systems so that you get a real sense of what it was like right on the front.

Brugges and Beaumont-Hamel

We awoke (a bit late) to sun today and enjoyed a few hours of sunshine in Brugges. We wandered about the streets and then took a boat trip on the canals around Brugges. It was a wonderful way to see the town. Really photos don't do it justice (and we can't upload them anyway so you will have to take our word for it). We are having troubles uploading pix as we go. They seem to take about 10 minutes each which, at the end of a long day, is too long.

After we left Brugge we headed south west into France and towards Amiens, where we are based for two nights. We had a picnic in Arras en route then decided to head south and leave Vimy for tomorrow. This turned out to be a great idea as the Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel is about 45 minutes south of Arras and would have been a long haul had we tried to do it tomorrow.

After a somewhat lengthier-than-expected drive we came upon the Canadian Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel. By far the most impressive site we have seen so far. This is the site that was purchased by the Newfoundlanders after the war to commemorate the Royal Newfoundland Regiment's heroic efforts in the Somme. Canadian students lead you around the battlefield which remains very much in tact and gives you a real sense of the difficulties that these men faced. We lost close to 800 men in 30 minutes and in one day the British forces lost a total of 60,000 troops. Quite amazing.

Canada (and the Newfoundlanders) have made a beautiful memorial to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment here and this was a wonderful place to visit.

We travelled a further 1/2 hour or so to Amiens where we are now based for 2 nights in a lovely hotel with an amazing view of the 12th Century Cathedral literally across the street. The hotel is quite modern and the service is french....we are not impressed. Iain's meal in the restaurant took 3 tries to get it right (and one hour)... it was unbelievable and Miles would have been in his element ridiculing the French service... We got the meal for free in the end but a sad way to end a great day.

We are well based to head back north to see Vimy tomorrow and then take in the inside of the Cathedral across the street. We will not be visiting the restaurant again and have cursed but a few french people today :)

Menin Gate

At the south end of Iepers is the Menin Gate which is a spectacular memorial to all those who died in the Ypres Salient and who were never found or buried in one of the many local cemeteries. There on the wall (along with thousand and thousands of others) is Alfred Judge Gray, Cathy's Great Great Uncle. We found his name engraved on the wall and were able to leave a small remembrance cross in his honour. At 8:00 every night they play the Last Post here and tonight's event was a special tribute to the Australians. In attendance were the Australian Ambassador and members of the armed forces, other dignitaries, school children and lots of people. It was very moving. After a long day, we headed home to Brugge and have settled in for the night. Pictures to come bit by bit, they are slow to upload...

Canadian Memorials

We visited 3 Canadian Memorials today. One outside of Passchendaele, one at Sanctuary Wood (Hill 62) and the last, on our way home to Brugge at St. Julian - the famous Brooding Soldier. All three were very special. They all have great locations with beautiful views over the hills (the best one probably being at Sanctuary Wood). All are circled by mature maple trees and the sites have been very well kept by either the Canadian Government or the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. They are very special. We all agreed that our favourite was the Brooding Soldier at St. Julian, commemorating the losses at Ypres in the gas attacks. The monument itself is lifelike, sad, pensive and beautiful. It was raining fairly hard when we got there so our pictures may not do it justice.

Hills 60 and 62

Driving around Ieper is interesting. The small roads are not very well marked and despite our thinking that we had enough maps to get by, we were regularly frustrated by non-marked turns. Miraculously, we were still able to find everything we wanted to see. Hills 60 and 62 (strategic strongholds for both the Allies and the Germans) were both amazing. Hill 60 (where the Australians are honoured for their efforts in holding the Hill) is a very natural park. You can walk around (and we were the only ones there) amongst the battlefield, with pill boxes still standing, many craters still in existence. You can't help but appreciate the terrain, pock-marked, hilly and treacherous. We had rain on and off today but can only imagine what it would have been like in the day after all the rain they had. Impassable. Hill 62 was interesting mainly for a small private museum filled with artifacts and photographs. But for the smell of cat piss (which was overwhelming) we could have stayed there for hours and hours taking it all in. Outside of the museum is an unspoiled Canadian trench system. It was remarkable. We only got about 10 steps into the trench before having to turn back. So much water and mud, but nothing at all like what our troops would have encountered. Iain was of course blown away by this place.

Passchendaele

A little outside of the town of Iepers is the town of Passchendaele. There we visited another very interesting museum with a very realistic dugout experience, where you descend some very steep steps into a quite scary series of rooms, which can barely be described as rooms. Iain had gone ahead of the two of us and he was noticeably spooked by the environment.

From the museum we went off to Tyne Cot Cemetery and then to the first of three Canadian War Memorials. Tyne Cot Cemetery was the biggest and best cared for cemetery we saw with another informative Visitors Centre. The flowers planted in this cemetery were gorgeous. The cemetery is built around 3 german pill boxes that still stand.

Just beyond the Tyne Cot Cemetery was the Canadian War Memorial for those that died at Passchendaele - about an acre, set up on a rise, surrounded by Maple trees and a wonderful view of the vicinity.

Great Great Uncle Jack

Our first cemetery visit was to White House Cemetery, a small cemetery within the town. There we were able to easily find Great Great Uncle John Robinson Woods' grave, set close by some of his fellow soldiers and his Lieutenant. We paid our respects and left a remembrance cross on his grave. As we were leaving the Commonwealth War Graves staff were coming to mow the cemetery, which was needed. There were few poppies in sight (not their season) but most of the cemeteries have permitted plantings of roses and other perennials which keep them looking beautiful. At each cemetery and memorial that you visit here, you sign in and leave your address and comments. A nice touch.

Iepers and Vicinity

Monday - we left our hotel in Brugges at 9:30 for our trip south west to Ypres and Passchendaele with a goal of seeing as much as we could and lasting until the 8:00 pm Last Post which is played every night at the Menin Gate in Ieper. The drive was easy and uneventful and we arrived in Iepers around 10:30 or so. We visited the tourist shoppe where we got a few maps and books and then went to the In Flanders Fields museum. The museum was a great starting point, it was interactive and very interesting. The museum is in the Clothe Hall, which had been completely bombed out by the Germans (and subsequently rebuilt) in the early days of the war. We then had a quick bite before heading out on our trek around the many sites of the Ypres Salient.

In Brugges

If you haven't seen the movie, you must. Fabulous story set in this beautiful city.

Susan is falling in love with each city we arrive in, one after the other, better than the next. This one is truly magnificent. Built along the river (much like Ghent but not set up for a party), the buildings are so pretty, the canals peaceful and the whole place is magical.

We arrived around dinner time to our tiny hotel on the littlest of streets. Honestly the parking garage underneath couldn't have been tighter. Its amazing we got the car in. The hotel is lovely and will be a great base for our two days of adventuring. Chocolate shoppes abound. We walked into town along the quaintest streets and ate in the main square. Susan fell in love with the horses everywhere "clop clop clop"...

Ghent

On our way from Brussels to our base in Brugges we drove through Ghent, which was so worth the stop. About 3o minutes north west of Brussels, Ghent is a beautiful city built on either side of the river Leie (?). It was bustling with activity in preparation of its July party period. We picnic-ed in the Duster (on Passchendale cheese and chicken baguettes).

The buildings are truly amazing each one different than the next, perched on the edge of the river. There are easily 3 or 4 amazing cathedrals in this town worth a visit. We only got into one of them which was the Saint Barvo Cathedral, dating back to the 1300s (though the crypts date back before 1000). Huge and amazing. Inside houses The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb a gorgeous 12 panel piece by the Van Ecyk brothers which dates back to the 1420 and was stolen by the Prussians, later to be returned by the Germans. It was spectacular. We got rained on 3 times in Ghent and headed for Brugges.

Brussels in the morning...

Woke to the ring of the phone to advise that Iain's bag had arrived. Made Iain happy! Headed off to the Grand Place in the heart of Brussels. What a place. The architecture is spectacular. Met Manneken Pis (the famous peeing boy!) and Iain had another waffle. Cath and Susan enjoyed a coffee in the Grand Place where we met another Canadian boy from Toronto on a month long European vacation. Visited the Saint Nicklas cathedral in Brussels which was beautiful then back to check out.

We are here, sans one bag...

We arrived in Brussels this morning after an uneventful flight from Montreal, all having gotten about 3 hours sleep. Everything was perfect until we went to collect our baggage and realized that Iain’s bag had been sent, not to Brussels but to Athens. Somehow as we had chatted with the Air Canada clerk back in Toronto she had mis-tagged his bag and sent it to Athens. He was none too pleased but we were assured that Air Canada would track it and get it to our hotel. We picked up our car – a Duster – which is going to be just great and slowly found our way to our hotel after several side-trips and U-turns.

The hotel is great, in a good location. We spent the day seeing some sights via tour bus with Iain nodding off. And of course had to try a real Belgian waffle, which was to die for!

When it started to rain we worked our way back to the hotel for naps, and Iain is still sleeping. Cath found the wine shop and a little grocery store with some provisions. We’ll be having an early dinner and bed tonight. Good news from Air Canada, the bag is on its way from Athens late tonight to arrive here by 9 tomorrow am!

First Leg Complete

We have arrived for a brief stopover in Montreal. Cath and Susan are having a drink and Iain is eating junk food. Everyone is happy! A picture from Toronto with Lester B. Pearson before we left (so touristy I know but he's Susan's hero and Iain just wrote an essay about his role in the Suez Crisis, so an apt start to our adventure). The other picture is in the bar at Trudeau International. See you in Belgium!

Getting excited...getting ready to go!

Three generations are heading off to Belgium and France to visit the battlefields, grave sites, and other places where Canada raised its proud head during the two World Wars of the last century.

Iain, his mom, Cathy, and Cathy's mom, Susan, make up this little troupe. We'll keep you posted on our progress.

Now it's off to Brussels and the start of a journey that will be memorable. Stay tuned...