Blogs from Nord-Pas de Calais, France, Europe - page 33

We headed out of Paris wondering what we had missed. We probably missed some stuff, but I think we hit the major points of interest. Anyways, it wasn’t worth wondering around the city aimlessly getting soaked by the rain. We were driving to the middle of France, to a place called Poitiers. Poitiers had no attractions; it was just a stopping point that looked good. Quite honestly, most of this trip was not planned. Some days we didn’t know where we were sleeping the following night. That was how we wanted it, and it seemed to be working good for us. Which brings me to the next surprise of the trip. Since we had been rushing our tours, due to the rain, we had some extra time. It just so happens that starting on July ... read more

When I was in Bologne sur Mer, I had some trouble with the keyboard and the Internet. My time had shut off and there were some pictures I wanted to post. I had talked so much in my posting about the monument of Vimy, but the picture I had supplied wasn't that great. I'm not sure from these other pictures if you can get an idea of how beautiful it was, but here goes... I also threw in a picture of poppies from Bonnieux (Provence)... read more

One of the most moving experiences of our trip to France and Belgium was the visit to the Newfoundland Memorial Park situated some 10kms north of Albert and opened in 1925. It is a memorial to the armed forces of Newfoundland who were once independent of Canada Along with preserved trench lines there are a number of memorials and cemeteries contained within the park. Always a popular destination for WW1 battlefield visitors, the park was a focus of early pilgrimages by survivors of the war. A peaceful place today, this park occupies the ground over which the Newfoundland battalion (together with British battalions of the 29th Division) made their unsuccessful attack on 1 July 1916. The Newfoundlanders suffered 684 casualties, about 70% of their strength. The original trenches and many shell craters can still be ... read more

Here´s some picks from last nights partay on the cruise and back at the hotel. On the bus back to the hotel we had a raffle. The winner got to kick our tour footy (that the guys played with at every servo stop) off the back of the ferry on the way back to England. Kev won so he wrote his address on the ball and asked to return to sender. Everyone on our tour met up on the back of the ferry to farewell the footy. It was an impressive kick (much better than the one at the footy a few weeks before). Tonight we said our last goodbye´s to everyone we had spent the last 3 weeks with. ... read more

Well, having started my intrepid journey, I have reached the distant shores of Northern France. After 1 week, I have managed to travel to Dunkerque, or more precisely, a small town on the coast called Gravelines (odd name). there is a nucleaur power plant nearby, but people look normal enough. Locals are very friendly. Saturday night there was a big party at a large (very large) house by the camp site. Turned out to be local biker club annual bash. Had 2 live bands and a bar and security guards. Went to have a look, got talking to security who let me in (nice chaps). Music was good (if u like Pink Floyd with an outragous French accent - see gallery) and drank with some locals, nice! Most English campers/caravaners I have come across are old ... read more