July 4 – We will remember

After the crazy day we had yesterday, today was a day about remembrance and reflecting on the past. By staying in Lille, France we are close by a lot of World War 1 memorable sites. Today’s history tours took us to Vimy and the Menin Gate Ceremony.

Walking through the visitor centre you really get a feel of the people both on the front lines and the ones left behind. It was so well displayed with lots of interesting information. From here, we did a self tour of the trenches available. With the guide booklet we were able to learn quite a bit of information. Not realizing we had to book a time to visit the tunnel/subway that would have been used during the war. Climbing 8 metres down in 2026 is relatively easy for people as there were stairs on both sides. During the war there were no concrete stairs just muddy slopes.

After the tower, we decided to walk up the monument. Walking past we noticed a lot of sheep near by, after inquiring about them we found out that they were used as lawn mowers as it was unsafe for people to go in to mow the lands where there could still be live munitions. The sheep are light enough to not set off anything they step on.

Seeing all those names of the fallen the sides of the monument hit hard. Thinking we have 2 children the some of these men who are listed here and thinking of how their mothers and fathers felt sending them off to war in a different continent was heart wrenching. If we were in that position, not sure how we would have handled that.

Every evening at 8:00pm at the Menin Gate Memorial, the Last Post Association closes the street that leads through the memorial and holds a ceremony that honours the memory of the Commonwealth soldiers who have died during the war. This includes a lone piper, buglers and wreath laying. We were able to arrive for this just prior to it starting but will be back in the area tomorrow to visit the Flanders Field museum so will take a better look around tomorrow.

Between the two historic visits, we stopped at the Calais Beach. We had hoped to see Dover across the English Channel (not even sure this is possible) but it was a hazy day on the water so that was a no go. Three of us put our feet in the water after dinner. So refreshing after a day of walking 🙂

Total steps today….12,402!

Tomorrow we will be on the road to Passchendale and back to Ypres, Belgium.