December 25, 2010 - Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas All,

We had a nice lie in as it was well after 1:00 a.m. when we went to bed.  Breakfast this morning was a muffin and coffee for Fred and tea and a whole wheat croissant for me from the hotel's coffee shop.
We walked to the flat enjoying the lack of traffic and relative quiet.  Surprisingly there were a number of people with suitcases around Victoria Station looking to get on the tube.  Everything was locked up tight as all services had shut down for Christmas.  No trains or buses unlike in Toronto and surrounding area that work on a limited service.  Once at the flat we see John and Adrienne had already been hard at work . The table was gorgeous and the turkey was being placed in the oven.

Supper will be around 3:00 p.m.  We had a very relaxing afternoon as we had no duties. While I enjoyed relaxing, I really missed the craziness of preparing Christmas dinner.  Adrienne prepared and served smoked salmon canapes and they were delicious and were all devoured very quickly.  These were accompanied by a very nice Prosecco.

Supper was turkey, roast potatoes, pureed brussell sprouts, fried parsnips, sausage stuffing, port cranberries and gravy.  John spoilt us with four different wines during dinner.  In order, we have a Arnoldo Caprai 25, Anni Montefalco Sagrantini, Montepulciano D'Abruzzo and last but not least a Kurni.  Dessert seems to go on forever.  After a short break, first we have cookies and chocolate while John makes mincemeat filo turnovers that are served with a marscapone/sherry cheese topping.  We took a short break from eating to clean up the kitchen.  With Tracey washing, Fred and Geoff drying and me stacking dishes for Adrienne to put away.  After cleanup duty was done we decided to walk off our meal and to get ready for the last of the desserts.

Geoff, Tracey, Fred and myself headed out walking along the Embankment to Lambeth Bridge for a view of the London Eye and Parliament Buildings at night.  John and Adrienne joined us on our walk near Vauxhall Bridge.  We stopped and took photos while John and Adrienne headed back to the flat.  Once the photo op was done we then walked along Horseferry Road to John Islip Street and back to the flat.  With the lack of foot/car traffic it is again very quiet and peaceful.

Once back at the flat we tucked in again too yet more food.  A nice selection of cheese and crackers with a lovely dessert wine to finish off the evening.  We have had a very relaxing Christmas and said our goodbyes to everybody.  Geoff and Tracey were heading back to Canada early on Boxing day and Fred and I were heading back home to Liverpool.

We hope every one had a very Merry Christmas and wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year!  See you in the New Year once we have some trips sorted out.

Ta Ra for Now,

Sandy & Fred




  

December 24, 2010 - Christmas Eve

Seasons Greetings All,

In the morning we went for a bit of a walk along Oxford Street after breakfast.  We were pleasantly surprised as the stores were not busy at all, unlike on the 22nd when the street and stores were wall to wall people.  Now this was either because we were there before 11:00 a.m. or people were winding down.  We picked up a few small necessities from the drug store and then headed back to the hotel.  After watching a movie The Santa Clause 2 we changed for tonight's event then walked to the flat to meet up with the rest of the family.  We spent the balance of the afternoon catching up on e-mails and Facebook plus downloading pictures.

Tonight we took the car to The Royal Alberta Hall for the Christmas Eve Concert.  The concert this year was even better the last years and even Fred participated in the carol singing.  Unfortunately, I was not a very supportive wife at the concert.  When we sang Once in Royal Davids City which as you may or may not know is sang at a fairly high octave. Poor Fred sang his heart out and his voice actually warbled.  I went into a fit of giggles and tried not to laugh too hard.  You guessed it the harder I tried the worse I got and the tears were streaming down my face.  Fred was a great sport about it though and on the drive back we had a very good laugh about his great ability to make his voice warble.

After the concert we had a late supper.  Once again Adrienne out did her self. Duck lasagna with homemade pasta, garlic flat bread and a fantastic barolo. Dessert was a homemade raspberry roll.  After supper we enjoyed liqueurs.  The limoncello that I made was passable but to me something was lacking.  Adrienne thought that the liquor taste came through rather than the lemon and I also thought it was not lemony enough.

Now its presents time for everyone.  Even the dogs get into the act. Portia has always opened her gifts but Casper the newest addition has caught on quickly.  Unfortunately for him we had to try and keep him from getting too excited as he had just undergone heart surgery prior to Christmas, not an easy task for a 5 month old puppy.  As we opened our gifts Adrienne discovers a wrapping error.  Fred opened our joint gift and we both said thank you and how nice it was.  It was a cookbook that we already have, in fact John and Adrienne gave it to us last Christmas. We are of course to polite to say anything until Adrienne corrects the mistake as it was meant for Geoff and Tracey. We all have a good laugh about it.  We have been spoilt once again this Christmas and after a few more drinks we headed back to the hotel.  As the tube/bus system are now closed down until the 26th of December we started walking back to the hotel and had only gone a short distance when Fred spotted a cab.  So we made it back in under 10 minutes rather than a 50 - 60 minute early morning walk.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

December 23, 2010 - Sake Tasting at Zuma

Seasons Greetings All,

This morning after breakfast at Micky D's we got out and walked through Hyde Park visiting  the Christmas Wonderland. As with last year it contained rides for the kiddies, a beer garden, various food stalls and a German type market with clothes, jewelery and other small gift items.  This year we came across a talking tree by the Serpentine Lake which was frozen this year.  From here we then took the tube to Westminster to walk along the Southbank and checked out the German style market there.  It was much the same as the one in Liverpool and the one in Hyde Park.  The south bank was bustling with people but it was a pleasant walk and one that always makes me feel that I have arrived in London.  We then walked back along the Embankment to John and Adrienne's falt to meet up with everybody.  We stopped for a quick snack at The White Swan before heading to the flat.  We have the best wings we have had since we have left Canada.  Fred wonders if they went over for lessons as other times we have had wings they have been just horrid.  We spent some time at the flat catching up on e-mails and for me posting on Facebook as the fees for Internet access at the hotel are excessive to say the least 20 pounds for twenty four hours.  You guessed it we were not paying that!!!

We headed out as a group to Somerset House to see the Skating rink and Christmas Decorations.  It is a crisp evening and the walk is very invigorating.  A lot of the skaters are skating from board to board but some are very good.  We had a good laugh at one little guy that goes like a bat out of hell along the length or width of the rink but does not know how to turn so crashes into the boards to stop.  I think at some point in time it has got to hurt but he seems to be having a great time.  Oh to be young again at times.  We continued along to Covent Gardens to check out what is happening there. Once again it is bustling with shoppers.  The lights here are amazing and I loved the huge reindeer.  You can see it in the attached picture below.

We then hopped on the tube heading to Knightsbridge and Zuma for our Sake tasting.  Our first Sake is a warm one, Mitani Fujio Yamahai Ginjo.  The second a cold one, Kikiuizumi Ginjo.  While both were good, I liked warm Saki but I think cold is the preferred way to drink it.  John and Adrienne prefer it that way but I must ask Christopher how it is preferred in Japan.  While at Zuma we were entertained by guys hitting on girls in the bar area, it seems tonight that blondes do have more fun. There is a brunette that is fairly attractive who is all by herself and is totally ignored. Finally heard from Christopher Good Saki is preferred cold as it  brings out the delicate flavour or taste, so now we all know.

Our last stop for the night was the Queens Arms for a pub supper.  Three of us choose the burgers, Geoff and Fred have Bangers and Mash and Tracey picks Thai shrimp.  Her dish was one of the choices that I am glad I did not pick, as the shrimp were the full shrimp with heads on.  Very messy to eat.  Tracey and I also picked the Christmas Cider which was a big disappointment.  It was basically spiced apple juice so we drank it quickly and order proper ciders.  We then walked back to the flat for dessert and  a night cap before Fred and I headed back to the Hotel by tube.  We have had a very enjoyable night together and covered a lot in five hours.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred                       

December 21 - 22, 2010 - Christmas in London

Greetings All and the best of the season to you.

It has been some time since our last post.  We have been staying close to home as the weather has turned very cold with snow in mid December.  We headed out to London on the 21st as John and Adrienne once again invited us for Christmas. Geoff, Fred's brother, and his wife Tracey arrived in London on the 18th from North Bay and are staying at John's for the holiday.  We drove down on the 21st and booked into Grosvenor House a J.W. Marriott hotel on Park Lane using some of our Marriott points that we have been collecting for a number of years.  The hotel is located across from Hyde Park and makes for a nice walk to John and Adrienne's flat.  After settling in, we drove to the flat to park our car in the visitor parking  as parking at the hotel is crazy expensive.  Forty-two pounds a day I think not.

Once we have greeted everyone and enjoyed some refreshment we headed out to view the lights in the shopping district.  It started to rain while we are doing our tour and hopped into a pub for a quick pick me up before continuing on.  Back at the flat Adrienne and John prepared an amazing sausage pasta for supper with flat bread.  I decided that we could walk back to the hotel but we only made it to Victoria Station as the walking was cold and damp.  We hopped onto the tube, getting off at Hyde Park Corner and ended up doing a bit of extra walking involving stairs and I was somewhat of a unhappy camper.

December 22 - Fred and I meet John, Adrienne, Geoff and Tracey at Borough Market.  Fred and I visit the market every time we are in London as the produce is amazing and there is always some interesting and unusual new things to be found there.  Neals Yard a cheese store, is also at the market and sells Montgomery Cheddar a rich strong cheddar which is one of our favorites.  The picture to the right was taken at a stall selling fresh turkey, pheasant, goose and duck.  It was not until I got home that I noticed the poor bunny hanging in there as well.  We all had lunch at the market at the Fish restaurant.  Fish and chips for four of us, fish rarebit for Adrienne and fish and salad for Tracey.  Cod, Halibut and Haddock were the fish we all consumed and was delish.  After lunch John and Adrienne headed back with their purchases and we headed off to Oxford Street to check out the stores.  Geoff had some last minute shopping to do so he headed off on his own.  Tracey, Fred and I window shopped together and dropped into Selfridges.  We did not last very long as the stores and streets are jammed with people.  Not my idea of a fun experience at all.  Fred and I made sure Tracey got on the right bus to get back to the flat and Fred and I walked back to the hotel to get changed for our night out.  John took us to his golf club Brocket Hall to the Michelin Star Restaurant, Auberge du Lac.  The menu was amazing.  The chef sent out little tastes of food before each course.  Appetizers were tiny smoked salmon rolls, cheddar crackers and a veg on a tiny spoon with creme fresh.  The bread was to die for with four different choices.  Fred's starter was Teal, a type of water fowl, and I had Foie Gras.  Next came another chef special a tiny Jerusalem artichoke soup with white truffle oil.  OMG this was amazing and for me who is not a soup lover, a large bowl of this could have been the whole meal.  The main course for me was Venison and for Fred Duck.  Then another chef taster,  a raspberry lemon foam, followed by dessert.  It was the most decadent chocolate sampler, warm bitter chocolate fondant, milk chocolate and olive oil mousse and vanilla salt and pistachio.  Fred completed his but I actually left some though small it was extremely rich and over the top. To accompany all of this John picked a lovely red wine which neither of us can remember the name of.  Needless to say we all had a fantastic time and this certainly was a very special treat from John to all of us.

Seasons greetings,

Sandy & Fred

October 14, 2010 - What we have been up to.

Hi Ya All,

A typical scouser  greeting as I am sure some of you know.  With the arrival of October I decided that we had to get out and do more.  I was getting bored after having such a great trip in September and afraid we were getting into a rut of playing computer games, watching TV and generally being lazy.  So on good weather days we are getting out to walk and visit local sites.                                                        

Our first trip was to Formby, where there is a National Trust forest and beach by the Irish Sea, about a hours drive away.  The tide was out as you can see from the picture on the right and we had a good walk along the beach. You can walk on up to 21 miles of trails here or as little as a 1/3 of a mile.  We walked about a mile in total covering the beach, dunes and a small forest trail.  The forest in Formby is an important refuge of the Red Squirrel which is an endangered species in the UK.

Our next little trip was to Rufford Old Hall about a hours drive from home and it is another National Trust site.  This is a 16th century Tudor building were it is believed a young William Shakespeare performed with his company for the owner Thomas Hesketh.  We had lunch here before touring the buildings and grounds.  While at lunch a bus load of wrinklies arrived.  In the Great Hall we were informed that the estate is basically a farm.  The screen  as seen in the picture is made of Iron wood and is supposedly movable.  Fred and I were standing in front of it and were asked to push it back by the commentator.  Needless to say it was an impossible task as it weighs well over a ton but it did give all the old folk a good laugh.  The home and land has been in the Hesketh family right up to 1936 when the family could not sell it so they handed it over to the National Trust.  It is called Rufford Old Hall as the family built a new hall a little further down the road.

Our next walk was right along our own promenade.  Indian Summer had finally arrived  and we were continuing to enjoy the great weather.  The breeze off the river was good and we saw cows flying. LOL
Actually there were a number of kites out ranging from bees, horses and just ordinary large ones.

For our next walk we took a 20 minute drive to Crosby and visited Antony Gormley's Another Place.  The Crosby Promenade has been transformed into an art gallery of sorts.  Iron Men formed in the likeness of the artist  Antony Gormley have been embedded in the sand along  a 3 kilometer stretch of the beach and out into the bay.  The tide was out so I was able to walk along the sand and get up close and personal to one of the men.  As you can see he is for the most part anatomically correct . We enjoyed a nice ice-cream cone with a flake while walking the promenade and get in 6 kms with this walk.

Our last outing on October 13th was further afield.  We headed off to Wales and Holyhead on Anglesey for a full day outing.  We had lunch in Holyhead, but it is basically a little port town (car ferries to Ireland).  We traveled back along the coast of Anglesey, but unfortunately, we missed some of the more scenic sites according to Fred's cousin Mark who just loves this area.  We will have to return to this area but in warmer weather to see if it is as good as Mark suggests.     

We have also been to a couple of concerts.  Well one already The John Lennon Songbook a celebration of Johns life on the anniversary of his 70th Birthday on the 9th.  The man portraying John had a uncanny resemblance to him  and the Philharmonic Orchestra was amazing.  This Saturday we return again to the Philharmonic Hall for the Japanese Kodo Drummers.                                     

Well that updates us for now.  If you have access to my Facebook page there are additional pictures posted there.

Ta Ra,

Sandy & Fred

September 15, 2010 - Hampton Court

Greetings All,

Today we headed off to Hampton Court, a Royal Palace, one of only two surviving Palaces of Henry VIII.  The day started out as a real adventure as we got onto the wrong train.  Fred decided we needed to get off at Hampton and thankfully we were only a short bus ride away from the palace.  The palace is located in South West London in the Borough of Richmond on the Thames.

Thomas Wolsey, the Archbishop of York, took over the site in 1514 and over the next seven years spent lavishly to build the finest palace in England.  Wolsey used the existing manor house to form the nucleus of the present day palace.  Much of his design remains today, the same as when he built it.  The Base Court which is the outer court yard contains forty four rooms for guests.  The inner court now known as the Clock Court housed the state apartments reserved for the King and his family.  King Henry stayed here in 1525 as Wolsey's first guest after completing the palace.  Wolsey only enjoyed his palace for three years ,when knowing that his enemies and the king were planing his downfall gave the palace as a gift to Henry in 1528 with Wolsey dieing the following year.

Henry set out with his own rebuilding and expansion program within six months of owning the palace.  The palace was too small for his court which comprised over one thousand people.  The kitchens were the first to be worked on and they were quadrupled in size in 1529.  He then added the Great Hall. Construction took place between 1532 and 1535 and was the most important room of the palace in Henry's time as it was where state dinners were held.

The Copernican Astrological Clock as seen in the picture was installed in 1540.
The clock still functions and tells the time of day, the phases of the moon, the month, the quarter of the year, the date, the sun and star sign, and high water at London Bridge.  The latter information was of great importance to those visiting this Thames-side palace from London, as the preferred method of transport at the time was by barge, and at low water London Bridge created dangerous rapids.

During the Tudor period the palace was the site of many historical events.  In 1537 Henry's son Edward VI was born here and his mother Jane Seymour died two weeks later.  Four years later Henry was informed of his fifth wife's adultery

at mass.  Catherine Howard is said to haunt the gallery leading away from the Chapel.  The chapel is absolutely beautiful.  Pictures are not allowed so we did the next best thing and purchased a post card and scanned it so that we could share it with you on our Flickr site.

On the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the Tudor reign came to a end.  It was during the reign of the joint monarchs William of Orange and Queen Mary II (1689) that the next major rebuilding of the palace took place.  It was their intention to demolish the Tudor Palace a section at a time replacing it with a modern palace in the Baroque style, keeping only the Great Hall.  Only half of the palace was changed during this time and Henry's state rooms were lost.

The new part of the palace is very different in form to the Tudor style as it is very ornate with huge painted murals covering walls and ceilings.  One would think that these two different styles would seriously clash with each other but they seem to blend together nicely.

Our last stop in the palace was the grounds.  They must look spectacular when everything is in full bloom.  Most of the flower beds have been cleaned for fall or what is left, was on its last legs.  We did head to the maze which was planted in 1690 for William of Orange and covers one third of a acre. We successfully reached the centre of the maze, only making two wrong turns.  As always we did seem to spend alot of time exploring the inside of the palace so we did not cover all the gardens as it is now late in the day and threatening to rain.  A return visit would be in order in the summer when the gardens  would be at their finest.

Before ending the blog I must share that at the Palace today they are celebrating Henry VIII's marriage to his sixth wife, Katherine Parr.  We were given an Order of Service when we entered the grounds.  We were met by guards, greeted and were asked questions pertaining to the wedding. Throughout the day actors toured the grounds in period custom and chat with the guests (tourists).  A rather nice way to bring to life a bit of history.

Well this ends this portion of our travels as we headed back home to Liverpool the next day.  We have had a fantastic three weeks away.





Ta Ra till our next adventure,


Sandy & Fred

September 11-13, 2010 - The Proms & Show

Greetings All,

We are now back in Merry Old England.  The ferry ride back was a bit rougher than the trip over but still rather boring.  Having tried the ferry, which is quite a bit cheaper and slower than the Channel Tunnel, the tunnel is a better choice.  Half a hour and you are in France.

We had tickets for the last night of the BBC Proms (a BBC summer concert program) in Hyde Park. John kindly provided us with cooler bags, folding chairs and a huge umbrella.  We had brought a blanket to sit on and I was happy to have the chairs.  Before we headed off to the park Fred took a final look at the tickets and instructions.  It clearly says no chairs unless you are incapacitated.  We figure my knees can be a good excuse, but being good obeying Canadians we did not take the chairs.  We are no longer going to be nice agreeing Canadians.  There were  literally thousands of folding chairs.  We met a lady who it turns out was from Birkenhead ,which is across the river from us and she said her and her son did the same thing last year, their first time at the proms.  It was one big picnic party on the grass.  The Proms started off with the cast of the Jersey Boys, Serpentine Fire, Nell Bryden and Bjorn Again along with the BBC Orchestra. After this introduction the main start of the prom begins.  While we are waiting a couple of women and I use the term loosely drops their stuff in front off us in what little space there was and started moving other peoples stuff around.  I am standing and Fred is sitting so he moved forward to be sitting on the edge of the blanket thinking she may get the idea that there is not enough room.  After wondering around a bit she came back, sits and asked Fred if he would move back. Unbelievable, Fred said no, that he was quite comfortable were he was.  The lady from Birkenhead asked me if Fred gave her a proper scouse answer.  I laughed and said no he still had too much polite Canadian in him unlike me.  She said she'd tell her in a proper scouse way to bugger off.  Her son chimed in with a "Now Mum".  We had a laugh and ignored the loony tune.  And a loony tune she turns out to be big time.  She started swinging her umbrella around and everyone around us comments and shook their head.  Anyway back to the Proms.  We were entertained by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa a soprano, Jose Carreras, a children's choir, the Royal Choral Society, the BBC Concert Orchestra and last but not least Neil Sedaka .  A great time was had by all and we will certainly do this again.  The video is of the fireworks finale, which we were unaware of so it was caught through the trees.

 

On September 13 we headed to Leicester Square to see what theatre tickets we could get for a show.  We managed to get half price tickets for We Will Rock You.  We dined at a quaint little pub called The Pillars of Hercules.  For those of you who do not know We Will Rock You is a Rock Musical based on Queens Music.  A two hour and forty five minute show that was just fabulous.

Cheers All,


Sandy & Fred

September 9, 2010 - Brugge City of Trade Walk

Hallo All

Today is our last day in Brugge and we did the City of Trade Walk.  In the Middle Ages, Brugge was one of the wealthiest cities in the world.  It was an international cosmopolitan city with contacts stretching across Europe to the Baltic and Russia, the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa.

Once again our walk started from the Markt and we headed north. One must remember that the canal system in those days was quite different and more extensive than what is seen today so some imagination on our part is required when doing this walk.  Foreign traders were allowed considerable freedoms, the right to purchase or rent property and carry arms.  They were, however, strictly import/export merchants.  As a result the trading houses became increasingly extravagant and areas where quartered off to specific nationalities.  They policed their own making sure rules where followed so trading was businesslike, ordered and civilized.  The common language was Latin so trade was trusting and peaceful.  Our first stop was the Stadsschouwburg (Municipal Theatre) built in 1868. The statue seen in the upper right corner stands outside the building and represents the bird catcher Papageno, from Mozart's The Magic Flute.  In this area we saw a number of trade houses from the city of Genoa in Italy.  It also had the First Stock Exchange in the 13th Century where moneychangers, bankers and merchants gathered to conduct business.

Our next stop was the Poortersloge built in the 14th century but has been much restored.  It is one of the few buildings that has retained its tower which was a common feature of prestige architecture in the medieval period.  This was a meeting place of successful businessmen and the Society of The White Bear. Picture of the bear is to the left. This society was responsible for organizing  jousting tournaments.

Almost opposite is the Oud Tolhuis (Old Customs House).  The house has been heavily restored but at the time the location was significant as it was then on the canal where the weigh house belonging to the Tolhuis weighed and levied the customs to be paid on all incoming cargoes.  Our walk took us through  Engelsestraat (The English community).  Here we saw a number of buildings that were once the heart of the English merchants association.  We also saw one of the very few remaining wooden houses in Brugge, dating back to the 16th century.  During this period most houses were constructed from wood and this was important to Scottish timber trade at the time.  Fire was a constant threat and thatch roofs were banned after 1417, and the wooden houses in the 1600's. 

From here we headed into the German quarter the Oosterlingenplein.  It seems that even back then the Germans were somewhat arrogant and disagreeable. While they were one of the first foreign groups to be establish in Brugge they were one of the last to be granted the privilege of building a trading house.  We next found ourselves in the Spanish quarter, Spaanse Loskaai. They remained a part of the ruling elite even after Brugge's decline in the 16th century until 1713.

Our walk now took us to some churches. The most impressive today is Sint-Gilliskerk built in 1277 with additional knaves added in the second half of the 15th century.  The remarkable wooden
barrel vault is original.

The bridge at the canal has stone seats on it that were used by traders to set out there wares, but today it is a nice spot to sit and rest for a bit.  This portion of the canal was also a moat for the old city walls in 1127 of which we see a remnant.  We continued on to see a second of the remaining city gates then headed back to the Markt.  On our way we saw an elderly lady siting in her doorway making lace using tiny spindles of thread.  Boy could she ever move those spindles fast.  Enterprising also as she has a cup on her lap to accept donations for those who watched her.  Our last site to visit was the Sint-Salvatorskathedraal.  I must say we were rather disappointed at first because of the state of disrepair the church seemed to be in.  It did suffer a fire in 1839 but it just seemed things have been allowed to deteriorate.  Still the organ was extremely impressive, dating back to 1682.  You will have to check out our flickr site to see pictures of it as I find I am getting too carried away with pictures in the blogs.  There is so much to share with you. Oh, what the hell, but the picture on the site does show it's beauty much better.

Last we stop form some refreshment before heading back to the hotel. We share a 1/2 litre of red wine where we dined last night. The same waiter who served us last night is on duty and remembers us. He kindly gives us free hors d'orvers of fried shrimp and cheese balls to enjoy with our wine. A very nice gesture that we much appreciated. Tonight we have decided to dine in the hotel as we pack up to get ready for our return trip to the UK.

We hope you have enjoyed reading about our adventures in Belgium and Holland and look forward to sharing our next one back in the UK.

Dag,

Sandy & Fred

September 8, 2010 - Touring WWI Sites

Hallo All,

War what is it good for?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!  Sorry to shout at you all but I think if the 500,000 plus lives that were lost in the Flanders conflict of this war could speak they would agree.  We started the day out in what is very appropriate weather, rain to a major downpour.  Fred wondered whether we should turn back but I said we had umbrellas and the sky looks like it was clearing so lets just do it.  We did miss the first stop on the tour (some of the preserved trenches the Belgians dug along the canal) in Diksmuide as it was raining so hard.  The first grave site we came upon was Bard Cottage Cemetery.  It was one of the many smaller cemeteries that dot the front line area.  Our next stop was Essex Farm Cemetery which was the site where Canadian John McCrae, a medic wrote the poem In Flanders Fields.

This poem established the Poppy as a symbol of the war dead.  The site also had bunkers that were an allied dressing station for the wounded.  It was raining very lightly here and the graves all glisten with rain drops.  A very serene and thought provoking place.

Our next stop was St Juliaan, a Canadian Memorial.  This site commemorates the 2000 allied soldiers, mainly Canadian, who died in the first ever gas attack in 1915.  It is hard to imagine the horrors that we as humans inflict on each other.  The start, sadly, of chemical warfare that still carries on today.  We continued our drive under gray skies passing through towns that were in some cases totally laid to waste but have now been rebuilt.

Our next stop was Tyne Cot Cemetery.  It is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world and an important reminder of the bloody battle of Passchendale.  During the British offensive of 1917 tens of thousands of soldiers died here in a period of 100 days for a gain of a mere five miles or eight kilometers.  Tyne Cot was originally a bunker on the German Flandern 1 line.  On October 4, 1917 it was captured by Australian soldiers and used as an advanced dressing station.  Soldiers who died there were buried on site.  Before long a small cemetery had come into being with some 300 graves. Between 1919 and 1921 specialist units called Exhumation Companies brought almost 12,000 dead  to Tyne Cot from the surrounding battlefields, most of their names are unknown.  The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and was inaugurated in 1927.   It was built and is splendidly maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.  The rear wall is a Memorial to the Missing and bears the names of 35,000 British and New Zealand service men who fell in the vicinity after August 16, 1917.  The picture to the left is of a grave marker of an unknown Canadian soldier, the bottom of the stone say's "Known Unto God"

At this point a brief description of the architectural designs that are so important to these cemeteries is in order.  A typical cemetery is surrounded by a masonry wall with an entrance through wrought iron gates.  In larger sites a stainless steel notice gives details of the respective military campaign.  In all but the smallest cemeteries, a bronze register box is present containing an inventory of the burials and a plan of the plots and rows. Cemeteries of more than 40 graves have a Cross of Sacrifice.  A simple cross embedded with a bronze sword and mounted on an octagonal base to represent the faith of the majority of commemorations.  Those with more than 1,000 burials have a Stone of Remembrance (see first picture) to commemorate those of all faiths and none respectively.  The geometry of the structure was based on studies of the Parthenon and steers purposefully clear of shapes associated with any particular religion.  The lands for the cemeteries are a free gift of the Belgium people for the perpetual resting place of the allied armies that fell in battle in the War of 1914-1918.

Our last stop of the day is the Passendale (Passchendale) Memorial Museum.  Passendale became an international symbol of  senseless military violence in its cruelest form.  The museum experience shows under what conditions the men did battle with movies of the time, artifacts and a reconstruction of the trenches.  It shows how British soldiers had to live underground like moles as there was nothing left above ground.  I had a hard time getting my mind around the conditions they had to survive in.

I wonder what my Grandfather Daniel Hill would have been able to tell me if he where alive today.  He served in WWI and I remember, as a youngster, seeing pictures of him (in uniform) on the wall when we visited.  He was a quiet man and very soft spoken.  Did his experience change him in any way?  I will never know for sure but it must have had some impact on him.

Well there are many more sites to visit but we ran out of time.  We returned to Brugge and had a lovely supper in the Markt.  A three course meal for 25 Euro's each plus wine.  For an appetizer I had escargot and Fred had shrimp croquettes, our main course was Steak and Frites and for dessert Fred had ice cream and I had the most decadent chocolate mousse ever.


Dag,

Sandy & Fred

September 7, 2010 - Brugge Walks

Hallo All,

I have decided to use Dutch greetings rather then French on these blogs about Brugge as it does seem to be the predominant language I have overheard from residents.  We started out early hoping to retake some pictures without the hoards of people around that we saw last night.  The first walk we did was called Essential Bruges in our guide book and we started off at the Markt.  To the right you see the statue of Pieter Coninck a weaver (1250-1333) and Jan Breydel a butcher (1264-1331) who led the Flemish Rebellion against the French in 1301-02.  They became symbols of Flemish independence and pride.  The markt also houses the Belfort a giant belfry, provincial government buildings and numerous restaurants and cafes.  It has been a working market square for a thousand years with a short interruption in 1993 when it was moved to the west of the city.  It was returned to the square and takes place on Wednesdays from 7am to 1pm.

We moved onto the Brug another square that is home to Heilig- Bloedbasiliek (Basilica of the Sacred Blood), which is a two level church.  The lower level is rather plain but the upper portion is truly magnificent.  It is one of the most beautiful works of art we have yet seen.  The paintings on the walls, arches and pillars are colourful and finely detailed.  You must check out our Flickr site to really get a appreciation for what we saw.  I lit a candle here for the Pagazani girls who are special to our hearts.  Also located here is the Stadhuis or town hall.  Dating from 1376-1420 it is the oldest in Belgium and one of the finest Gothic structures.                                                                   
Next to the Stadhuis is the Oude Griffie or Old Recorders House a very ornate
Renaissance building dating back to 1534-1537.  We left the Brug

along a narrow street called the Blinde Ezelstraat or Blind Donkey Street.  There are a couple of stories behind the name of the street, one being that donkeys had to be blindfolded when fully loaded to negotiate the narrow alley and the other and more probable is related to a nearby tavern that sold the cheapest beer in town resulting in its clients becoming as drunk as blind donkeys. We then crossed a small canal and entered the Stonemasons Embankment.  We came upon the Vismarkt (fish market) where the fish from the Port of Zeebrugge is sold on stone slabs set out beneath the covered colonnades. The Vismarkt was erected in 1826 in a neoclassical construction and has a massive water pump in its centre.

Our walk then takes us past almshouses one called De Pelikaan dating back to 1714.  The Pelican is a symbol of Christian charity because female pelicans were though to peck at their own breast to draw blood to feed their chicks. OUCH!!  From here we ventured off to do the Canal and Windmills walk as we had already covered most of the remaining part of the walk the previous night without realizing it in our initial venture out.

We crossed a canal that has many lovely and unique if not somewhat crooked homes along it.  This walk took us past many churches some which are still houses of worship and others that have been converted to museums.  Our first stop was Sint-Annakerk.  It is a a barrel vaulted church that was originally consecrated in 1497.  It was wrecked in 1581 then completely refurbished in 1624 and has retained its 17-18th century interior.  The other church worthy of mention is the Jeruzalemkerk.  It's a very unusual shape.  It has a polygonal tower, two tiers of wooden lanterns and a tin orb.  The structure is influenced by Byzantium.  We did not enter as it was closed and it now a museum to lace making.  On our way to the city ramparts and main canal we passed a crucifix dating from 1760, a street shrine that commemorates a local miracle.  It is said that on a cold winter night a young girl Anna was fetching water for a sick

neighbour, was attacked and thrown down a well.  Her mother set off on her knees to appeal to the famous Madonna at the church Onze-Lieve-Vrouw ter Potterie.  When she returned she found her daughter was safe at home.  Some cynics pointed out that the well was frozen over but as the story says why allow a scientific explanation get in the way of a good miracle?

From here we finally reached the city ramparts and outer canal.  We were in luck and see a 100 foot barge complete with car on the back passing along the canal.  There used to be over 20 windmills on the earth ramparts of the city before they became redundant because of the steam age.  There are now four windmills and only one of them was originally built on this site.  The other three were moved here to make an open air museum.

We stopped for a late lunch at a small restaurant and both of us ended up having spaghetti bolognese as it was the only thing on the menu we could make out as the menu had no English and I didn't want to chance getting a fish dish, and I am not a great stew person which was another recognizable option.  We then continued our walk refreshed and headed to the Kruispoort which is one of the four surviving city gates (picture to the left).  Our next stop is one of the first WWI sites we come across, the Muur der Doodgeschoten (Wall of Executed Prisoners) where 11 Belgians, 1 Frenchman and 1 Englishman were shot by Germans. Bullet marks can still be seen in the wall but to be honest neither Fred or I could tell a bullet mark from normal decay of the wall.

It has been a full day of over 6 hours of walking to take in some of the sites.  We stopped in the Markt for some refreshment before heading back to our hotel room.  My last picture is another thing besides lace that Belgium is famous for, Chocolate!!  These are actual boxes made out of chocolate that you then fill with truffles or other handmade chocolates to present to whomever you wish.  A tad on the expensive side as they were priced at 34 Euros.  Now I don't know if that was just for the box alone or it came full with your choice of chocolates.
On that note we will say,

Dag all,

Sandy & Fred

September 6, 2010 - Back To Belgium

Hallo All,

Today we said goodbye to Holland and headed back to Belgium. We decided to take a route so that we could see the countryside rather the traveling on highways or motorways as they are called over this side of the pond. Fred gave our request to the Nav Chick  and we went on a 4 1/2 hour drive rather than 2 1/2 by motorway.

We saw some beautiful countryside  with canals and thatched roofed homes in addition to some of the most beautiful homes in the various small towns we passed through. The route took us on our first mini ferry ride on the KWF Kanker Best Rijding. I asked the ferryman where we were and he asked were we were going and proceeded to try and give us directions. Not what I wanted but then he was trying to be helpful and was very friendly, something we appreciated. Turns out we were at

Bergstoep when we got on the ferry and Grout Amersbergm Dacht when we departed the ferry. The drive was very enjoyable even with the numerous detours we took due to road construction, which the Nav Chick can't comprehend. We arrived in Brugge (Bruges) in good time to explore once we had checked into our hotel.

Brugge originated as a 9th century fortress built to defend the coast against the Vikings. Dominated by the French and later the Dukes of Burgundy it became one of Europe's most sophisticated cities and an international trading hub famed for its extravagance and luxury. Today it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site with amazing buildings and churches. I personally think it should be known as the City of Churches as there are so many. The origin and meaning of the name Brugge remains a mystery. A favoured theory is that it comes from the Norwegian Viking word bryggja, meaning a landing place, perhaps conflated with the old word for the River Reie, Rugja. The name Bruggia first appears in print on coins struck in 864 AD.

Just down the street from our hotel is one of the first churches we venture into. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady). This is a fine Gothic church that houses one of the few pieces of Michelangelo's work outside of Italy, Madonna and Child.&nbsp. The church itself has works or construction inside that dates from the early 17th century to the 18th century. It was late in the afternoon when we visited here and a man went to the pulpit to make a announcement that the church was closing for the day and as he did not speak English I thought he was saying a prayer so I stopped and respectfully and bowed my head. When he finished I carried on looking around and taking pictures. He watched me but never said a thing. It was not until Fred said we have to leave that he was waiting to lock up.

You must check out our Flickr site once Fred has uploaded the pictures to see the amazing architecture in this church. I will have some pictures posted on my Facebook site by Monday of Brugge and the various churches. We then headed off to the Markt for some refreshment before returning to our room for some cheese, crackers and wine for supper as we had had a late lunch on the road. We then planned our attack for the next day of site seeing in this magnificent city.

Au revoir,

Sandy & Fred

September 5, 2010 - Delft, Den Haag and Scheveningen

Hallo All,

Today we met up with Jenny and Theo, Meaghan’s aunt and uncle who live near Amsterdam, in the town of Alphen aan en Rijn, which is only a half an hour from our hotel.  They showed us a bit more of Holland.  Our first stop is the golf course as Jenny is running a tournament later in September. They are both avid golfers with Jenny learning as she was tired of being a golf widow.  They have both won a number of tournaments and have their names on a number of plaques in the clubhouse.  I tell Theo we did not know we would be going out with celebrities to which we all have a good laugh.

Our next stop is Delft.  On the way Theo takes us along roadways so that we can see windmills up close.  The town of Delft dates back to 1075 and is world famous for its blue and white pottery and is also renowned in Holland for being the resting place of William of Orange (1533-84) the father of the Netherlands.  He led the resistance against Spanish rule in the 80 years war.  His victory meant religious freedom and independence for Holland.  The Markt is still the centre of the town life and we see Oude Kerk and the Stadhuis.  We then walked along the canal and see a house built in the Renaissance Style. 

Our next stop is the beach at Scheveningen, a seaside resort that is just 15 minutes from Den Haag.  To get to the beach we drove through Den Haag, so we get to see a bit of the city, which is a major metropolitan centre.  As with all cities in the summer months construction is the name of the game.  Each street Theo wanted to take to get us to our destination was closed down.  Finally, we arrived and after a short walk we were on the beach enjoying some Dutch hors d’ouvres and drinks.  The day is bright and sunny and the beach is busy.  It is here I see a dyke. Not what I was expecting but a dyke just the same. Holland is below sea level and the dykes and windmills where used to keep the sea out and drain the land.  After our respite on the beach we headed back into Den Haag and stopped to view the Peace Palace.

Our last stop of the day was for supper.  Jenny and Theo treated us to an Indonesian supper in a windmill.  The quantity of food is unreal as dinner consists of two types of rice and 20 other small dishes from meat to veggies. Some were spicy and some were not. A very enjoyable experience, as we have never had Indonesian food before. We really enjoyed our day and can’t thank Jenny and Theo enough for sharing their day with us and showing us more of Holland.

 

Dag,

Sandy & Fred

                                                                                             

September 4, 2010 - Amsterdam

Hallo All,

We were up and at it early, into the town centre and off in the right direction this time. We quickly found our way to the “old side”.  We had decided to walk first and then take a boat tour.  As it turns out this were a big mistake but more on that later.  We first passed through the red light district while on our way to the old side.  I am so busy looking at the old church and buildings I completely miss the women sitting in the windows in their undies.  Fred comments on how ugly one lady was and I ask what is he taking about.  He tells me to go back down the street and walk back look at the windows.  LOL, I missed it all.  The lady’s were all on the large side at this end of town and of mixed heritage.  We continued walking along the street and canal and this area certainly caters to all types of erotica and was interesting but once seen no big deal.  We continued our walk and finally ended up in the old side of Amsterdam.  The homes that line the canals are interesting with varying types of gables and plaques.  The plaques were used in place of numbers as they did not use them in the 15^th and 16^th century.  I must say at this point while the houses were interesting we were somewhat disappointed in the overall architecture.  Houses in Amsterdam were built on reclaimed land and wooden piles were buried deep into the ground where the water would preserve the wood as long as it was not exposed to air.  Today the wood is topped with concrete when structures are built.

Bicycles, bicycles, I want to ride my bicycle is certainly a song very suited to the transportation mode in Amsterdam, or for that matter Holland.  It is the only place that I have been to that you need to watch out for the bikes rather then the cars.  All age groups ride them and even deliveries of some products are done by bike.  Safety does not seem to be a big issue either as we see very few people wearing helmets, not even the kids.

We stopped for a late lunch of pizza in the old quarter before heading off to do our canal boat tour of Amsterdam.  We picked the ”canal bus” which allows you to do three different routes and get on or off where ever you wish.  Our first tour was on the green line, which takes us off into the harbour then back into the canals past numerous gabled homes, Rembrandt House, casinos and the sea palace. We stayed on the boat for the whole circuit. I really wanted to do the orange line that takes a complete tour around the outer canals around Amsterdam. Unfortunately, it doesn’t run very frequently, so we went for drink to kill some time before the next orange line departure. We waited and waited, other lines come and go and we continue to wait. The next orange line boat is now delayed. The delay turns out to be over 40 minutes and when he does arrive he informs us that he is only going part way and he is finished for the day.Some people were pretty ignorant, pushing and butting in. My elbow got some good use as we were waiting but this news was the icing on the cake and we decided to head back to the hotel. Dag, Sandy & Fred