Post Post Script

January 12, 2015 - After a number of weeks to celebrate the holidays and to be with friends and family, I have had some time to think about our recent trip across the pond.

Here are some things that are still front and centre in my mind.

I have photos from Chester on my desktop images streaming past. I see the photo from the front window of what was Belle and Fanny's home looking towards the river and the "tower" and think of the lovely watercolour painted by Fanny Gray that now will be back where it was first painted all those years ago. It was surely given to my Mom as a gift to remind her of that place and time.

And I also think of my Dad coming home to see us from his duties in The War. I think of my Mom being quite lonely without him during that 5-year period. I know there were wives in other parts of the world who didn't get the occasional visits from their husbands. And I know that some of those wives never got to see their husbands again. But my memories are of my Mom and Dad.

It was very moving, and still is, to have had a meal at Blossoms where they celebrated their wedding.

All in all, Chester was very special. Our new friends Chris and Maria, were so welcoming. I can't thank them enough.

The whole visit to As and Opglabbeek was just wonderful. Our friends were so welcoming and warm. I am just so happy for them all with the book and its reception. Being able to be there for the launch and to be signing those books was very special. Our family has now connected with a far away country in a way that might never have happened with out the urging of a couple of hero-worshipping cousins. This was my third trip there - one with my husband Bill in 2010, one with my daughter Holly in 2013, and now with my sister Louise in 2014. The first 2 were eye-opening and this last one was filled with so much warmth and many hugs for which I am so grateful.

Going to Luxembourg again was personally very warm and memorable as well. To see the Christmas Market, to see the wonderful city in its decorative finest, to see very good old friends again was great.

As Weese and I flew home on November 27 and we were getting close to Montreal, she got up and gave me a hug to say goodbye. She said there might not be a chance to do that in the airport as our connections were very close. We both had a tear or two.

And I remembered that November 27, 1994 - 20 years to the day - was when our Mom died. I expect we were both thinking of that.

Postscript

I've done so many catchups etc. that I've decided on another name. I wanted to make sure I had put this photo of Germaine Prim-Frohnen with Weese and me on this blog at the Grand Hotel Cravat on the last evening we were there. We were to have gone to Echternach to visit her but she had a bad cold and we didn't to spread germs around. She very kindly made the trip to see us. Germaine and Weese went to school together all those years ago. She is the sister of my best girlfriend in Echternach when we lived there in the 1950s.

Here are three very happy ladies with the Christmas Market in the background.

The TV Interview

Here is the interview Louise, Karel, William and I did on November 21, 2014 at the station in Hasselt - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBvITCIp2Y. It's just over 10 minutes and much of it is in Flemish but the interviewer did a great job translating what Louise and I said. I am very pleased with how it went.

The Catchup Post - Part II

Monday, December 1 - On Wednesday, November 19, we went by cab to the Manchester Airport and flew to Brussels. We took a taxi to the Hotel Metropole which is a grand old lady from times past. The lobby is spectacular, as is the dining room. We were going to be leaving the following morning so we found the best thing would be to get on a Hop-on Hop-off bus for a tour. We had to move quickly because it was certainly the end of the tourist season and things were winding down. Here are some photos of our time in Brussels.

This display is in the Brussels Airport - paper poppies hanging over the moving sidewalk and a display set up on the right hand side with the poem In Flanders Fields on a panel. It was very moving especially since we were going to Flanders the next day.

The lobby of the Hotel Metropole.

The ceiling in the Metropole dining room.

My beer - it was delish.

Louise with creme brulee.

I really liked this building.

The requisite cathedral.

The Atomium - check it out online.

And I couldn't resist this one.

Weese with the peacock and lovely umbrella in the Indian Room at the Metropole where we went for breakfast.

Weese and our stuff waiting for Karel to pick us up to take us to As on Friday.

The Catchup Post - Part 1

Monday, Dec. 1 - Here I am at home very, very happy to have been the guest of so many friends. Even though I came home with a cold, the memories will keep me warm for a long time. (How's that for a cliché, even though true!) This post will be mostly photos which I will add to as Weese sends me more from her iPad. She took some really good ones.

Let's start with some more photos from Chester - our first stop.

Here is Chris who kindly picked us up at the airport in Manchester and took us to 12 Deva Terrace in Chester.

The living room window looking towards the river.

And the river - really very lovely. There were cows over there and people were taking their dogs for walks and we saw rowers. 

This is the view towards the back of the house with the kitchen in the back. The window you can see on the right is one I could see into from my upstairs bedroom in the house next door (right) to see Mom having tea with Belle and Fannie.

Here is a description of the history of this wonderful property. Both Weese and I highly recommend this property.

The inside of Blossoms where we had the place to ourselves and a really good supper.

I love the way the kitchen stacked the fries.

Scenes from our terrific taxi tour of Chester.

The lovely architecture.

And these two photos for my Welsh friends! Chester is very close to the Welsh border and the driver took us "across the border" so I could take a couple of pix with Welsh signs.

That's it for Chester. I will post some more on Brussels next.

Today's Post

Wednesday Morning - On Monday evening we went to Lony and Jemp's for a lovely supper with a friend of theirs - Claude - whom Holly met last summer. We had (I think that's how you put it) a raclette. Absolutely delicious. This is not the best pic of me but this is the table with the device you heat your cheese with bits of things on the top.

 

They have been just the best friends on this trip. We spent yesterday touring Luxembourg, Echternach and along the Sure River down to the Moselle and back to Jemp and Lony's for a drink and off to a really nice Italian restaurant where we had pizza (delish) and spaghetti (also delish they said).

Here are a few pix I have now downloaded/uploaded:

Jemp and Lony having a look at the Y-32 Ophoven book we brought from Opglabbeek for them.

This shows just part of the walls built on top of the cliffs surrounding the old part of the city of Luxembourg. It really was a major engineering feat many hundreds of years ago.

This is the house we lived in in Echternach from 1954 to 1956. Both Weese and I remember this well.



Today's agenda includes: Weese is presently shopping - she had to get out of the room; I am going across to the Christmas Market one last time; a walk up to the Cathedral and possibly the museum; and then we will be meeting with Germaine, Josee's sister, around supper time. Germaine went to school with Weese and I am very glad to meeting up with her again. We stayed at her house for a couple of days last summer.

And then, it's up really early to catch our flight to Frankfurt, Montreal - Weese then to Ottawa - and Halifax. It will be another long day but I think we will both be glad to get back to our routines and our own beds.

A bientot!

Monday PM, November 24

Shopping with Weese! I haven't been in this many stores in many, many years! As I write this, she's still out there looking in all the REALLY upscale shops. I called it quits.

I have done the Christmas shopping with one or two exceptions. Grand Hotel Cravat is an interesting old hotel right next to a plaza which has a war memorial on it and the Gelle Fra - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%ABlle_Fra. We can see her from our 6th floor window - photo to come.

That plaza is also where the Christmas Market - Part I is. We did a circle today and saw Part II up near the Ducal Palace and Chambre des Deputes (Parliament - sort of) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamber_of_Deputies_(Luxembourg).

Here are a couple of "official" photos of the market. We were on the 6th floor of the Grand Hotel Cravat in one of the corner rooms and could see this every day.





There are some absolutely fabulous places to see, for sure. We sat outside (Weese said it was too cold but I was too warm) and she had lunch.

New friend at the Christmas Market.

The seats all had fake sheepskins on them with red fleece blankies to keep warm outside drinking one of oodles of different kinds of hot chocolate. Weese tells me that inside was wonderful. This was right across from the palace.

And here is Weese with the guard at the palace. 

We are going out to friends' for supper this evening. And tomorrow we may be going to Echternach. One friend is sick with a bad cold and we're not sure of the other 2. I'll know later.

Here is the last photo for now - the front page of the newspaper from the big occasion on Saturday.