Monday, April 9th
Flying into Paris on Norwegian Air, we were met with excitement and love by our dear RigneysKandu family: Leslie, Eric, Bryce and Trent, who had rented a large SUV to hold us all and our luggage as we began our five-week inland tour of Europe. Late that evening after driving for 4 hours, we arrived in Belgium at beloved friends, the Demande’s. It was still daylight outside even though it was 10 PM. Welcome hugs and welcome beds….just what we needed after a day and a half of travel.
Elena, Lara and Mom Sian allowed us travelers to sleep in while they quietly snuck out to find traditional European breakfast yummies: almond croissants, pain au chocolat, and a variety of fruit all served with orange juice and coffee. Hurray, after long awaited planning, we were in Europe. We were saddened that Michel wasn’t present for the two days of our stay as he was off working, yet we were able to connect with him via facetime to catch-up.
Our first excursion and possibly most important was to a nearby Corné Port Royale chocolate factory warehouse.
We were allowed to sample any amount of tasty morsels we wanted! Imagine, 9 of us moving through the layers of samples….digesting incredible amounts of scrumptious calories. Next, we drove into Brussels to explore the “Grand Place,” the central square and community plaza of Brussels surrounded by 16thC 7-story buildings including private homes, opulent guildhalls, the city’s Town Hall, and the “King’s House” which today is the Museum of the City of Brussels.
With the exception of Bryce and Trent, we had been to this landmark before, but I hadn’t remembered that the fronts of the buildings were so heavily decorated with gold leaf. Impressive! It is considered one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. It is truly a festive sight to see, with a cobble stoned open plaza chock full of meandering spectators and a myriad of restaurants with seating areas spilling out onto the square.
Nearby, we made sure not to miss Mannequin piss! With the World Cup in full swing, the little Mannequin piss was attired in Belgian team colors – red and yellow. Groups of young people were also attired in Belgian colors shouting cheers for their team, which would be playing France the next day.
Sian drove Ron and me back home to rest, while Leslie, Eric and the teens went to see the shiny stainless steel Atomium that was constructed for the 1958 World’s Fair. That evening Sian treated us to a delectable Salmon Dinner. Ron and I felt spoiled and overflowing in familial love!
Wednesday, in two cars, we drove into Brugge for a walk around the gorgeous old medieval city topped off by taking a pleasurable, quiet boat ride through the channels. The charm of the old, yet well-maintained Danish looking buildings flavored the day. Along the channel were modern art installations: a twisting tower built entirely of old metal chairs and an enormous blue and white whale crafted out of plastics captured from the ocean – a reminder to all that improperly discarded plastics end up eventually in our oceans. Everywhere, the walkways and homes sparkled with cleanliness and order.
While the Demandes were cooking up an awesome eggplant casserole, Bryce was outside bouncing flips on their trampoline. On jump number 8, he landed wrong slicing open his shin bone badly enough that it was decided he needed medical attention…and since the French/Belgium soccer game was on, the emergency doctor didn’t address his gaping wound until the game was over (Leslie, Sian and Bryce sat in the waiting room forever). Yup, stitches and no swimming for 10 days…Belgium, unfortunately lost the game.
July 12
After early coffee and rolls with Lara, Sian and Elena, our family packed up, said farewell and headed for Huy. On the way at nearby Waterloo, we entered the Waterloo Napoleon Museum for a comprehensive display and history of Napoleon’s war efforts. A 3-D movie experience made it clear how brutal the Waterloo battle was. Adorned uniforms and horses of Napoleon’s high ranked officers brought to mind the large ego of the infamous leader. All along a glassed-in corridor we saw displays of clothing, equipment, banners, etc. of all the armies involved.
Outside was a monument in the shape of a hillside which had many many steps to arrive at the top. We were all very interested to witness the surrounding areas of battle, which were clearly shown on brass plates for a panoramic 360-degree view.
All of us left with a higher interest in and understanding of the Napoleonic wars and his influence on European life during and after his political involvement. Did you know that in order to feed his armies, Napoleon was instrumental in the development of canned food? And did you know Napoleon pushed to establish the metric system as the standard? One of Napoleon’s aims was to unify Europe, to create a ‘European Union’ back in the early 1800’s. Ahead of his time. His downfall was invading Russia, the BIG beast. That was Hitler’s downfall as well!
Getting closer to Huy (a small town with its own fort – proximate to Liege), the Robert family met us at a lovely regional restaurant that specialized in serving Belgium mussels. All of us ate plenty of them along with fries and fine wine. MMMMMmmm good – love the varied tastes of Europe! Later we visited on the back patio of Thierry’s home along with his darling parents and two teenage daughters.
Much more wine, many stories, and memories were exchanged. Leslie and Eric overnighted with Odette and Pierrot, we stayed with Thierry and his girls. It was delightful getting to know Thierry’s lovely daughters even though the language barrier was a little prohibitive.
July 13
Leisurely we formed our group to head off to the town of Bastogne and into the Bastogne World War II Museum, which described in full detail along with modern audio commentary the history of the area and the Battle of the Bulge also known as the Ardennes Counteroffensive, which was the bloodiest American battle of the European campaign. Fought in the final days of the war as a last-ditch effort by the Germans to regain an overland travel route to the Atlantic, the 101stAirborne Americans holding Bastogne were saved by Patton, his tanks and his men’s valiant efforts to break through the lines to deliver supplies because the weather was so monstrous that air support was impossible. It was a large, impressive and modernly organized collection of photos and materials describing all stages of the battle including how neighboring towns were decimated by retaliatory actions by the Germans as they fled.
Adjacent to the museum stands an impressive memorial structure, the Mardasson Monument, a three-story building in the shape of a star upon which visitors can climb to the top in order to see better the terrain where so many Americans died. The town center had a large heavily shelled American tank displayed for photo buffs.
Prior to the museum we all ate a hearty lunch at a local restaurant that commemorates the 101stAirborne. The 101stAirborne even have their own Bière brune called Airborne– delicious!
Thierry is an avid connoisseur of good food and wine. He’s presently training to become a restaurant sommelier. Upon meeting up after our museum tour, Thierry took us to a delectable sausage and meat store. He purchased numerous cheeses, chicken and sausages for our later-evening meal. My request to stop in the Biggest Little Town in Belgium (Dubuy) on our way home gave us a chance to enjoy beautiful river vistas, walk quaint cobblestone streets and indulge in an ice cream treat.
Later, at home, while the BBQ was firing up dinner, it was fun watching the guys playing with their dog, Phooie, with neighbor cows lowing in the background. The sunlight held until 10:00 pm while we continued to drink way too much of Thierry’s very very fine wine…. What an eventful, beautiful day with loved ones.
I cannot forget to mention our visit into Thierry’s well stocked wine cellar, decorated with wood from wine boxes. He also had two valuable cars stored in his garage, a pristine Cobra along with a Porche. His standards of taste in collecting beautiful prizes is astounding.
Bidding sad farewells to our friends in Belgium, we set off to Eastern France, via Luxembourg. A bowl of traditional green bean soup and a long stroll around this beautiful city was all the time we could spare before continuing our second, long toll-highway trek, this time to Alsace.
by Rosie Dennis with additions from Leslie Dennis Rigney
