For a change of pace we decided that we’d check out of our
little cottage and head to Northern France to Vimy Ridge (Arras, Fr). I have to say that the size and solitude of
Vimy is rather impressive. You really
don’t get a sense of the imposing memorial in pictures, but I hope that the
pictures impart some of it. Also note
that the land around the memorial is cordoned off with electric fence as even
though the battle was fought 100 years ago, the earth was carpeted with
unexploded ordinance…so they have sheep and goats…I wonder if they get hazard
pay… the Earth is pock-marked and yet lush and green. It creates an impressive landscape…Peter kept
asking me if I wanted to go for a walk…LOL…he might want to sleep with one eye
open tonight…LOL!
From Vimy, we drove to Belgium…and after a few wrong
turns…nothing like getting lost in Belgium without internet to make for a fun
trip…eventually on the third try we located Tyne Cot (Passendaele). A colleague at work had recommended we go see it, but neglected to mention how hard it might be to locate...lesson learned...next time google map it before leaving Canada!!!!!
Tyne Cot Cemetary is the largest commonwealth
cemetery in the world and is the final resting place of many commonwealth
soldiers from WWI. Now, while we had
seen a number of cemeteries in Normandy, nothing prepared us for the size of
Tyne Cot. Sadly, many of the buried men
are unknown, even to this day. Some they
were able to identify their country and in some cases even the battalion but
many are simply unknown, no idea even their nationality. The walls surrounding Tyne Cot are inscribed with the names of 35, 000 missing service men.
After a frigid day at Vimy and Tyne Cot, we continued on to
Brussels, where we checked into our hotel and were recommended a fabulous
Argentinian restaurant (Toma Mato). It
was delicious; the steaks were so tender you could cut them with a butter
knife.
Tomorrow we head back to Paris for a couple of nights.
Bonne nuit!
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