Mother's Day, 2011

Verdun, France. Lots of secret activity. The result: a Mother’s Day to remember!

I have had a great day, today, on my 14th Mother’s Day. I was woken up by the church bells nearby and then receive somed pressies, (including slippers and chocolates – Mother’s Day staples!) and had a breakfast of croissants and cereal. My card (which Michael had brought with him from Australia and carried all this way – impressive!) was particularly touching, especially the picture Aidan drew of us all at a mother’s day disco, complete with mirror ball!



We went into the village and wandered around – the city was a major Gallic, Roman and Medieval centre. We then went towards the battlefields. Lunch was a picnic at a picnic spot by the side of the road. We sat down to eat (a very yummy lunch I might add) and noticed we were surrounded by grassy trenches – leftover from the war. The boys had fun playing there after lunch!




We then went and saw some of the sights of Verdun. A major battle of World War 1 was fought here. The statistics are devastating. In the 10 month battle, 700 000 men were killed, wounded or missing. We went to the ossuary which has the bones of 130 000 unidentified soldiers, and saw a short movie about the war. We also went to the museum which had information about the battle here and also the war in general. In France, Verdun has the same mythical status as Gallipoli has for us.



It’s very sobering, and moving. So many women sent all their sons to war and never saw them again. Whole generations were killed and wounded. On this Mother’s Day I was especially thankful to God for my four sons.

Karen

Tour De France - Viva Le Spain

The German AutoBahn is more exciting with speeds exceeding 180km/h and their rest rooms might include toilet seats, but the French and Spanish countryside is more beautiful to drive through.

Draw a line from Strasburg to Belceon to Bordeaux to Biarritz and you have crossed the country west to south east through ever changing countryside so lovely you’ll want to do it again. Spectacular bridges and ravines, castles and villages, verdant green valleys, white cows and well maintained roads all come together to make it thoroughly enjoyable. Take a detour off the main highways and you find yourself travelling through farmlands and tiny villages with cobbled streets, sleepy squares and gorgeous architecture – you might even find yourself driving through the grounds of a castle.

The north coast of Spain, from the border near San Sebastion west across to Gijon is nothing short of spectacular. The road is rarely straight, the tunnels are up to 1.5kms long, the bridges over ravines are spectacular and the mountains are on all sides, except for where there is a cliff side run along the ocean. The mountains to the south tower into the sky and change shape continually. The little towns are either nestled in valleys or hug the coastline. The entire stretch of coast is a feast for the eyes magnificent driving experience.

Michael

Camp Municipal

In France, there are three types of camping we’ve done – in a rest stop (amazingly well set up for campervans and caravans to stay overnight with full bathrooms and shops, it’s free but you share it with many trucks and traffic all night!); standard van parks with all the usual facilities (except toilet paper or toilet seats, grrr! But that’s another story!) and finally, Camp Municipal. As far as we can tell, these are run by the local council.

We stayed in a Camp Municipal three nights ago at Dange-St-Romain. We knew roughly where we wanted to stay the night and so looked in our book of campgrounds and found this one. The trusty GPS (nicknamed ‘Babette’, she speaks in English with a French accent!!) got us there and this is what we found

The warden spoke basic English, there was no internet, the men’s showers were basically a hose in a small room, but we were in a meadow, by a river, with only two other couples there. We camped under a willow tree and sat on a rug under the tree for our meals. The playground was awesome too! A lovely, lovely place to stay. Cost : 10.20 euros. Memories: priceless.

Karen

Purple Pants in Strasbourg

Strasbourg is a picturesque university town in France, right near the border with Germany. So close that the land has changed hands many times in the last few hundred years and so the locals are both French and German solidly mixed. It is famous for all kinds of things like being the capital city of the European Union. On the tourist end there are also the lovely cobbled streets, and many small bridges across split canals of the Rhine river. The streets are old, the houses are old and the city is a mix of quaint, intellectual and international.

Now every city has its unemployed yet perhaps none are as hard working as the two men we met today. Whilst driving around these very narrow streets trying to park our RV so we could stop, eat and look around, a shabbily dressed young man suddenly shouted at us from the street “Parking” and gesticulated wildly off to the left where another man was standing near a whole bunch of parked cars. Was this a Valet service? Were these men seeking to rob us? Was there really a parking spot there amongst 100 other cars arranged haphazardly on a side road?

Having few options we decided to take the adventure before us and try our luck. The second man was about 50 years old and was wearing the most wonderful pair of purple pants. The last time we had seen pants like these was on Gene Wilder playing Willy Wonka. And just like Willy Wonka, these purple pants promised much and boy could they move! Purple Pants and his younger mate were off shouting instructions in French and running down the street to where we might be able to park.

Through a maze of side street vehicles, over a gutter, back onto the main road and then left down another side street. We couldn’t believe our eyes, Purple Pants was 50m in front and the younger guy was 20m in front of our vehicle running along the road occasionally weaving through oncoming traffic to take short cuts. The boys and Karen were in stitches and I was wondering how much these guys got paid for their fantastic service.

Finally they found us the perfect spot and in we went, they however did not leave. Purple Pants and his mate carefully guided me into the spot and then stood at the drivers door waiting for … what … a pat on the head? Not knowing what would come next I locked everyone in the RV and went to thank them. They were well pleased with themselves and were both speaking at once giving me instructions about something. Was it French? Was it German? Was it something else? It certainly wasn’t English and they weren’t asking for money as far as I could tell. I eventually worked out they were telling me it was a free parking spot for the next 2 hours, they had done it and I was grateful.

Two Euros each was a small price to pay for their kindness – only double that of what the spot would have cost if I’d paid for it! However the entertainment was more than worth it but I don’t think they will be declaring this on their tax returns.

Michael