Month: April 2008
Brugges & Luxembourg
Jill &I have been to Rouges before, but this is Ruth’s first time in this charming world heritage city. It took us about 90 minutes to drive here from Arras as I had a hamburger for our last dinner in Arras that was made from horse meat, I was ready to take the reins between […]
Read MoreBelgian Battlefields
Today was a day in the Belgian Battlefields, those in which Australian saw action in their early days in the Western Front. We started with a drive for almost an hour to the north past the cities of Lille and Armentieres. (We didn’t however have time to look for the Mademoiselle from Armentieres). Finally, we […]
Read MoreAnzac Day at Villers Brettoneux
Today was a day of records for us in many senses. The first, and most significant was attending the first ever dawn service at the Australian Memorial at Villers Brettoneux. In the spring offensive of 1918, the German army surged forward, capturing over 40 miles in an attempt to take the strategic city of Amiens. […]
Read MoreExploring the Somme Battlefields
We started our tour of the Somme Battlefields with a visit to a number of National Monuments. The first of these was the Canadian Monument at Vimy Ridge, near Arras. It is an imposing monument on a long ridge that cost many Canadian lives to gain. It features a woman (representing the `Young Canada` accepting […]
Read MoreWe`ve Arrived in Arras, France
After 35 hours of travel, we arrived here in Arras at 3.30 pm, yesterday.This town has a lot of charm and our hotel (Le Moderne) is just across the road from the station. Arras is in the centre of the areaa of the Western Front on WW1 and is a good place from which to […]
Read MoreWilson Family Military Service
As I’m thinking about our forthcoming trip to Europe on Tuesday where we will visit, amongst other places, famous Australian historical sites of the Somme and Gallipoli, my thoughts turn to the experience of my family at war. I recently had the opportunity to have photos and medals of three generations of the Wilson family, […]
Read MoreA Walk Over the Top of Victoria
Bob Neil and I set out for a four day walk on the Bogong High Plains over April 7 – 10th. This area appealed to us at it is remote, scenic and flat! On our first day, we left the car near Pretty Valley Pondage and walked a little over 4 kilometres to Tawonga Huts. […]
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