Mother's Days in France

Mother's Day Breakfast in France

In May my Mother came for a second visit, her third time to France, but her first time travelling here alone! I met her at the Charles de Gaulle airport and from there we took the train to Lille stopping off for lunch and then catching the next train to Arras. 

My Mother arrived just in time for the Gala de Danse. The Ballet School I’ve been taking classes with finishes every year with a gala in the spring. The dance teacher created a wonderful ballet with 28 dance performances connected by the story of a blue fairy bringing colour to the pallid world of four orphan sisters. 

Saturday before the Gala we went to the Market. The Sunday was Mother’s Day! And she came to both performances!

Both Andre and I had to work during her visit so she spent a few days exploring Arras and practising her French with the locals!

Luckily we were off and at home on Tuesday when there was a gas leak! The whole neighbourhood was evacuated so we had a spontaneous picnic before going to Lille for the afternoon.

We did a day trip to Paris too. We did a quick tour of the Tuileries gardens and walked along the Seine before taking the train to Versailles…

 

Back at home Mom had another day or two alone, which she used to become aquainted with Monsieur Nicolas Sarkozy. She also took her spiffy rental car to visit me at Beaumont-Hamel and take me out for lunch!

On our next days off we went to Boulogne-sur-Mer and drove along the coast to the beach and rocky cliffs at Wimereux.

The gas still wasn’t fixed at this point and we all sorely missed having a hot shower, so we booked a hotel in Brussels for the night. After a hot shower we headed to Délirium Café to sample one or two of their 2000 beers. The next day we made sure to get some chocolate, see the manneken pis, and eat a waffle or two before heading back to France...

And with that she was gone!

Tu me manques tellement!!


To see more photos click the link: https://picasaweb.google.com/christi.lyttle/MotherSDaysInFrance

Brussels!

Another post already! I have to play catch up quickly because tomorrow is the July First Commemorative Ceremony at Beaumont-Hamel! So the next adventure that Andre and I went on was a trip to Brussels.

The Monday night before our trip was the Fête de la Musique , which is an “all-night” musical celebration of the summer solstice. “All-night” in quotations because all-night to Arras is really only one or two in the morning. Arras did put on a fantastic festival, with a grand stage in the square behind the belfoi and musicians set up on nearly every street corner in the heart of town.

The Musicians of Arras wear their sunglasses at night

The next morning we headed out to Brussels by train. After dropping everything off at our hotel we toured around the city center. There is a large square similar to the one in Arras, although the architecture in Brussles is much more grandiose and ornate. After touring the city while snacking on waffles and taking a short break for a belgium pint we headed out for dinner.

We also had a dessert of butter cookies before ending our day at Delirium, which is a pub Andre’s co-worker had recommended. I’m glad he did, it’s a pretty cool place; located in the heart of town nestled into a short dead end street. They serve so many beers on tap that there’s a book to flip through to aid you in your choice.

The Grand Place

The next morning we continued walking around the city stopping in at the Comic Strip Center to check out the book store, and the Musical Instruments Museum to see the view from their roof top terrace. It was far too beautiful a day to spend it indoors at the museums so we went to the city park to relax before our train ride home.

And that was our trip to Brussels, short but sweet!

Don't forget the famous "Manneken Pis!"