The Fields

Belgium played Argentina in soccer. We weren't in Antwerp to watch the game….

…we were there to eat frietjes.

Next morning we started out with a walk through the fields and forest to the bakery.

Just the girls and I, taking on the challenge of ordering a few things in a busy Sunday morning bakery, with nary a word of (understandable) Flemish among us.

We were successful in our bread and pastry order, and re-fueled before our drive to Paris.

But before I left Belgium, I just had to photograph this. I have only ever really seen it in Belgium, which is weird given the amount of flies we have at home, but to me it's like some old world relic….

Fly paper.

We drove through a lot of rain, and when I got to the cemetery of my great uncle (my father's mother's brother), it was still bucketing down, so I didn't linger.

But it was really important to me to find and visit my great uncle Joe's grave, because I am not sure that anyone else in my family made it there.

Standing there in the cold summer rain it wasn't hard to imagine how horrid the WW1 conditions would have been for all those hapless souls. There are, sadly, many unmarked graves and you just have to wonder what lives they once were, and the families at home who never found resolution, always wondering what happened. 

It was nice to see, though, the cemetery is really lovely and so well-kept. 

After my visit with Uncle Joe, we continued on to Paris.

Trying not to sound like a spoiled brat, I don't adore Paris as much as I think I should, but

I love the exteneded twilight in Europe!