Blogs from Nord-Pas de Calais, France, Europe - page 14

- history: tied between Roman ruin Volubilis, and the Fes medina, in Morocco - beautiful architecture: Glaoui Palaces in Marrakesh and Telouet. Those Glaouis had some cash. - bizarre architecture: Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's cathedral in Barcelona, a truly extraordinary sight, albeit not necessarily a beautiful one. - unusual sight: tannery in Fes. - view: glacier blanc, French Alps. - beautiful journey: Tizi'n Tichka between Telouet and Marrakesh. - hotel: Perle Du Dades in Morocco. Beautifully put together place, wonderful hospitality. - food: La Lanterna in Riomaggiore, Italy. - hospitality: wine and snacks in Pat and Alan's garden in Treignac. - enclave: Gibraltar. - meal on a boat: at the marina in Barcelona. Nothing on a boat that was moving (i.e. from Tanger to Genoa) was anywhere near. - touts: Marrakesh. Steer as clear as possible. - ... read more

Last day today, off to Calais in readiness for our ferry home. Not a good night’s sleep as large family occupying the static behind us, as the night before, made a terrible noise, banging and shouting until 4am. I promised the lady from the caravan across from ours that I would report at reception so did as we left. Felt very sorry for the other people in the statics round about if they get that every night and we wonder if that is why the family left us their pitch ! As it is so very built up, motorway wise, round The Hague and all points south we decided to go with the flow and take the motorways. Through The Hague and round Rotterdam where on one stretch we counted 14 lanes of motorway. At some ... read more

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and ate lots of turkey and sweet potatoes for me. There wasn't even a hint of the holiday here, so it was a bit sad. Life here in Douai is far from exciting, but I suppose I can scrape together an update for you guys. School has been going okay, I guess, when I actually have classes to go to. I only have about eleven hours of class a week, and they keep getting cancelled for various reasons (teacher strikes, bike safety classes, storytellers, etc). It's often quite frustrating. The students are only required to have two forty-five minute classes a week (but obviously that's not even happening), and homework is never assigned. Not many people around here speak English, so it's not like their parents can help them, ... read more

I was up bright and early with my nose out the window to see what the weather would be like. It was grey and overcast, but I wasn't going to let that get me down. This was a big day for me. One of the only two days on the trip that was pre-planned. Today I would be going on a guided tour of some World War I battlefields. Most important of them to me, as a Canadian, would be the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. While it had little tactical value in the over all conflict, it had a significant impact on the morale of the Canadian people as a whole. Some would say that the recognition the Canadians garnered on that bloody hill is what fueled our national identity. It's impact on ... read more

Well, I've been in my new French hometown for a week now. I am proud citizen of Douai, which is located in the département du Nord in the northernmost region in France, Nord-Pas-de-Calais (the French really love to divide things into lots of categories!). There are about 43,000 people here, and it's roughly one hour from Paris by TGV (high-speed train) and about 25 minutes from Lille. I was a bit concerned about moving here after spending a week in Paris. I would excitedly tell people I was moving to Douai, and they'd make a terrible face and say something like "oh, you're SO unlucky" or "why ever would you want to go there?!" They said it was cold, ugly, rainy, the people were poor and uneducated, there was nothing to do there, I was going ... read more