On our way to chocolates and waffles

We left London this morning for a train ride to Calais to pick up a rental car.

Calais is a very small station and we were pretty much the only people there. We picked up the car at the train station and headed off to Ypres Belgium.

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We arrived around 3:30 our time, and Marty fell in love with the town.

Our Hotel

Typical Buildings in the Town

We took a walk downtown to one of the many the chocolate factories to pick up some supplies. She also dragged me past a store selling waffles. I think I'll be back there in the morning for breakfast.

We will be leaving tomorrow morning so we headed directly to the Flanders Fields Museum. The place is huge. I thought it was a cathedral when I first saw it.

In Flanders Fields

Flanders Fields Museum - the building on the left

There is a large archway leading into Ypres. Every evening at 8:00 pm they have a 'last post' ceremony to commemorate those who fought to liberate Belgium. They do this every day all year long. We walked into town from our hotel to watch. I was surprised at the number of people who showed up! The place was packed! I had to lift Marty on onto a ledge to see what was going on.

Last Post at Menin Gate

On our way back, we stopped at the Poppy Pizza and Steak Tavern. The pizza was delicious! One of the best I've ever had, and compared to the prices in London and Paris, it was a real bargain.

Tomorrow we are going to see where the battle of Hill 60 took place. It is one of the battles I remember my Grandfather telling me about. After that, we will be driving down to Vimy seeing he had his hand in that battle too.  Then it's down to Courseulles Sur Mer to meet up with Kathleen and her family.

See you by the sea side!