Le Village Gaulois Verdun

... but then we aren't Japanese down under!! It was a bit like WW3 had started for a couple of hours in the pm with several fighter jets and helicopters doing maneuvers above us, just like a free air show. Don't know if we are near an air base or a manufacturing facility, the locals didn't seem to take any notice but for me interesting!!

Number One Son drove today all around the quaint villages of the champagne district. The tastings are not free, at least 5E each and there are hundreds of cellars, but the ladies managed to restrain themselves to just two samplings!! Apparently the champagne tasted good a few bottles were purchased and we ended up at Epernay which has the Avenue de Champagne. Local produce was bought for lunch which included some powerful smelling cheese that tasted good ...

... it only had to surrender weeks after the German did occupy France and the armistice was signed. As a sign of respect the French crew of the "Fort De Fermont" was allowed to parade out of the fort with full military honours.we then returned to Etain for a fast change of clothes to head to my cousin jean-claude for diner. I will not bore you with the menu but a lot was homemade like fois gras etc...Etc...

... husband Michel decided to let go some fire works... it went fantastic for the first 10min, until Michel thought it was getting to loud (lol) Patrice of course was making sure he was letting go the biggest one and Michel repeatedly yelled "no more bang, no more bang" when suddenly we heard Patrice said " too late" he had just lit one as big as a dynamite stick. What a laugh.

... the Jewish and Muslims fighters on each side. Take a look at the windows and be surprise with piles of bones from the unidentified soldiers. Even today when a body is found in the field or forest and cannot be identified the remains are deposited at this sacred place. On the way home we did finally visit one of the WWI fort "fort de Vaux"

So far the weather has been pretty average for Europe... even in spring where it should be much nicer and warmer than what we have now. Unfortunately this morning we have to get up at 0545am to go gat Alex at Frankfurt airport and is raining like the proverbial deluge. So here we go for the next 3 hours in the pouring rain ... too bad as I really love the autobahn. On arrival we are told that the flight from London will be around 45 late (damn we ...

... Etain 20km from Verdun in the Meuse area. On arrival it was amazing... I did not think I left France so popular (lol).the last time I saw them all together was for my mum's funerals. We had a typical French lunch lasting for hours... more conversations than food (thanks god for that) it was a lot of fun to catch up with them all.

03 augustus Daar zijn we weer - 2 Het wordt eentonig, vandaag zijn we weer in Verdun beland en daar waren we een paar weken geleden ook al. Om niet te zeggen een paar máánden geleden ook. What the h.. , kan ons het schelen, dit is wel so relaxed. Bijkomend voordeel is dat we totaal ...

... of the day to tour the ramparts; rest my legs, catch up on email and type up a job application. Verdun never misses a chance to remind you that half a million men from five continents fought and died here senselessly a hundred years ago. However; despite this potential shadow, it proved to be a good place to fritter away a day.

... see the Fort de Vaux. Smaller than Douamont, but still worth the effort. There were still bullet holes inside and out. The Germans had to fight for this one. It took seven days, but they only held it for four months before the Moroccans took it back. One of our favourite wines is called Fleury, and when Lucy saw that there was a village called Fleury, she wanted to go. We put the name into the GPS, and followed the directions. Once there, there was ...