Back from Europe – Part the Last!

And I’m back with the sixth and final installment in the 2014 Williams’ Family Eurotrip! And luckily, this one should prove to be the shortest, since our adventures during these last few days really don’t require any historical background. In reality, our last five days in Paris were spent seeing sight after sight, walking the city, drinking up the local culture and relaxing. So there’s plenty to describe and share, but most of it speaks for itself!

Monday, April 21st – Friday, April 25th – Paris and Nanaimo:

The Seine and the Pont de la Tournelle in the distance — The Seine and the Pont de Sully in the distance

As so often happens on a trip, Monday was a day set aside for doing laundry and making sure our wardrobe lasted to the end. So, after breakfast at the hotel, we ventured down to the laundromat and figured out how to work the archaic machines. My mother seemed to remember, as this was the exact same laundromat she had used when she came to France with my sister in 1990 (did I mention they stayed at the same hotel too?) Anyhoo, Carla and I decided we would go for a run while our clothes washed and dried. This took us from our hotel down to the Seine, where we then headed south along the water to get the bridge that would take us to the Bastille Square. This was something we did not get to see the day before on our bus tour, so we decided now would be a good opportunity.

Very quickly, we noticed that the air quality was different than what we were used to. Living in small town BC, our outdoor runs are always characterized by meadow air intermixed with ocean breezes. But Paris, with its many million vehicles and mass transit system, can be forgiven for not being so pure. But of course, the sights were much more plentiful. Along the Seine, between the Pont de la Tournelle and the Pont de Sully, we saw the Statues en Plein Air art exhibit that runs along the south side. I have to admit, I didn’t examine the artwork much, but what I did see seemed very “moderne”.

After crossing the Pont de Sully, we ran up Boulevard Henry IV and reached the Place de la Bastille. The July Monument stood in the center of a roundabout, which we ran around to get a good look of! At the base, the inscription of July 1830 appears in gold, commemorating the July Revolution – otherwise known as the Second French Revolution. The square is jam packed with stores, cafes, cobblestone walk ways, and straddles three separate arrondissements (districts), with half a dozen other landmarks located nearby.

After rounding the Square and running back the way we came, and saw something a little odd. On the Seine, right next to the Pont de Sully, a group of police divers were out in a zodiac, their truck parked on the walkway next to the water. The divers pulled what looked like a body out of the water, and once they got it aboard, one of them began doing chest compressions. I chose to interpret this as an training exercise where the rescue divers were pulling a mannequin out of the water and practicing CPR. But Carla remains convinced that they were pulling a jumper out of the water and trying to resuscitate him. We’re still divided on this…

Statue of Charlemagne. Can you see any similarities?

Anyway, we arrived back at the laundromat a little while later and helped my folks escort our clothing home. It was nice to be able to get a second round out of our gear, we changed and showered, and walked to the Ile de la Cite. It was our hope to see Notre Dame’s interior; unfortunately, the lineup was prohibitively long! But it was Easter Monday, so that didn’t come as a huge surprise. So we decided we’d try again on the morrow and decided to carry on to our next destination.

Luckily enough, we were able to snap plenty of picks of the Cathedral, the Square of Jean XXIII, and the awesome statute of Charlemagne that sits out in front. For those who don’t know, he was the Carolingian (aka. Frankish) king who reigned during the late 8th and early 9th century, became Emperor of a western Europe and even led campaigns against the Moors in Spain. Naturally, I had to get a picture of him for our album. But I asked Carla to also take one of me standing in front of the statute because I really liked the look of his beard, and hoped people might see some similarities.

And so we decided to carry on to the Louvre. But first, we needed some lunch. This we found at a restaurant sitting next to the Palais de Justice nearby, which was temporarily closed to the public for renovations. After some sandwiches and coffee, we proceeded to check out the Marche aux Fleurs (Flower Market) next to us, which was jam packed with animals – including some livestock – and carried on. After crossing another bridge, we landed on the east side of town and walked up the Quai de la Megisserie.

As it turned out, was also packed with animals! And by that I mean, pet stores. I’m not sure how many hours we spent visiting each and every one of these, but it was a few. But I guess that’s what happens when you take cat owners and animals lovers away from their pets! After shaking off the guilt of not being able to take every puppy and kitten home with us, we continued on our way to the Louvre, which was just a few more blocks away.

Entering the museum was a bit of a task. First, we had to walk through the former Palace grounds, which is jam packed with vendors – people selling miniature Eiffel Towers and even one guy roasting chestnuts! – and then into the main grounds where the glass pyramid (as shown above) sits. Here, the lineups and crowds were to be found, and lots of signs out telling us to keep an eye on our handbags (thieves and purse cutters like to work there!)

But surprisingly, the wait time was only a half hour or so, and the lineup not as unbelievably long as we suspected. And before we knew it, we were inside and going down the escalator to the entrance foyer. To be fair, everyone in the family had been to the Louvre before, save me. So I was naturally quite impressed when we got inside and looked around. Many escalators ran from the ground to this area, and there were literally hundreds of people crowded in there. And from this spot, multiple staircases lead up to the adjoining floors where all the exhibits that cover the entirety of human civilization are kept.

We grabbed out tickets, some maps, and looked for our way out. After perusing the layout and debating what we’d like to see first, we decided to head over to the ancient world exhibits. We started with the Ancient Near East, which was filled with examples of ancient Mesopotamian sculptures, stone work, mosaics, and statues. As we walked through the many connected rooms, we were treated to pieces of the region’s later history, dating back as far as 7000 BCE and spanning the civilizations of Ancient Sumeria, Babylon, Iran and the Levant.

Now I’m not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that everything we saw was pretty damn kickass and impressive! But of particular interest, at least to me, were the Stele’s and tablets that contained ancient Sumerian and Babylonian script. And when I finally found the Stele showing the Code of Hammurabi and the tablets with the sections of the code written on it, I was sure to snap some pictures of them! This, and other examples of ancient writings, are amongst the most important historical objects in existence, and it was kind of mind-blowing being in their presence for the first time.

Code of Hammurabi, front - — Code of Hammurabi Stele, front end

As you can see from the photo above, the front end of the Stele (which is sometimes referred to as a “fingernail” because of its shape) shows Hammurabi sitting on his throne where he is dispensing the law to what appears to be a Babylonian subject. Beneath that, the code is listed in its entity, setting out various rules of jurisprudence, religion, trade, slavery, the duties of workers, the distribution of food, and the punishment for infractions. Click on the pictures to get a better look.

We then doubled-back and went through the Greek antiquities, where my wife asked that we snap a photo of Aphrodite (aka. Venus de Milo) since this was the one major exhibit she missed on her previous trip. Like most of the main exhibits in the museum, get a close look at this one proved tricky. But I somehow managed to get a few shots using her iPod Touch camera, and some of them weren’t too blurry. Check it out below:

After working our way through the 18th-19th century French Sculptures wing, we doubled back to the Pharaonic Egyptian wing to see the statue of Ramses II. This area also proved to be pretty crowded! And it was here, amidst several sphinx statues, Egyptian columns, and some tall walls designed to look like massive sandstone brickwork, that we got a look at the famous Pharaoh who is chronicled by Egyptian, Biblical, and Greek sources, and who was caricatured by English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in his poem “Ozymandias”.

And yet, I have to say, this statue was not that impressive. Seating in the corner next to many others and flanked by columns and big walls, he seemed like merely a part of the larger exhibit and not the focal point, as the map would seemed to suggest. But this came as no huge surprise, considering that his significance – while great in terms of Egyptian history – is a bit uncertain as far as Biblical and western sources are concerned. To this day, there is no actual proof that this is the man Noah said “let my people go” to, or that the Egyptian captivity actually happened. But what can you do?

After this, we began making the long trek to the 1st floor so we could see the piece de resistance, the Mona Lisa! Given the size of the palace and the layout, this was no easy task, and we had to weave our way about while someone stood in the front with the map open, calling out directions and making sure we all stayed together in the midst of the crowds. But we succeeded, and found ourselves just one room over from the Mona Lisa.

However, I insisted we pause for second to witness some of the 19th century French Paintings, which this room was dedicated to. Mainly because it was here that the painting of The consecration of Emperor Napoleon I was to be found (seen above). As a historian, this painting was of great interest to me and the events it captured were nothing if not extremely relevant. So after getting a good shot of the rather massive painting, we proceeded into the densely-packed Mona Lisa exhibit.

Da Vinci's Mona Lisa — Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

As expected, it was very difficult to get a clear shot of this historic portrait, and the one seen below was about the best we could manage. So thick was the crowd that the only way to get a photo was to hold your camera up high and snap one from a few meters away. The painting was also significantly smaller than I expected, and was kept behind protective wall of glass. But after a few quick pics, we decided we’d done all we could and decided to call it a day! Our feet and knees were hurting, and we were all pretty tired.

After returning to the hotel, we decided to have a low key dinner consisting of food that was bought at a patisserie shop on the way back. Between some baked quiches, sandwiches, delectable deserts, and a few bottles of Leffe Brune, we were all sated and didn’t even need to go out for dinner that night. However, I was determined to check out some of the bars down the street, and the wife and I concluded the evening with a few pints at some of the local pubs.

This included the Mayflower, which was about a block away from us and had some wonderful Belgian beers that I know and love on tap. But being an English-themed pub, they served them in pint glasses! This is pretty impressive when you consider that Belgian ales – most of which are centuries-old operations run by Abbeys and Monasteries – range from 6-10% alcohol and accordingly come in 330 ml bottles or are served in chalice glasses. As such, a full pint (568 ml or 20 oz) of this kind of beer is likely to pack a serious wallop!

After a few of these, we proceeded to the next stop down the street, a place known as Teddy’s, where I drank a bit more. I was determined to try all of the taps I did not recognize and could not easily find back home. After we did this, we headed back to the hotel for some hard sleep. Unfortunately, we had a freak accident in our room which made the next few days a little bit difficult. Basically, I was reading from my iPad in bed, and when my wife – who was laying next to me – turned to look up at it, the corner of it got her in the eye. To make matters worse, I freaked out and dropped it, making a bad situation even worse!

We lay up in bed for awhile while she tried to nurse her throbbing eye. After finally getting to sleep, she woke up the next day with a terrible headache and throbbing eye pain. And that is how Carla got a black eye in Paris! As a result of it, we cancelled out plans with my folks for the day and took it easy. After a late morning and breakfast, we walked around the Latin Quarter, bought lunch from a local market, and walked down to the Pantheon, which was also just a few blocks away from the hotel. Situated next to the Law School of the Universite de Paris and the Lycee Henry IV, the place was packed with students eating lunch, and the smell of weed was in the air!

Originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, the Pantheon has changed quite a bit over the centuries and now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of several distinguished French citizens – among them such greats as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Louis Braille, and Marie Curie. We never did get inside, but we enjoyed the lovely walk, and even managed to squeeze in a quick visit to a British-themed local pub called the Bombardier. Then, it was back to the hotel, dinner with my folks at the Petit Gaston (for the second time), and to promptly to bed. Because on Wednesday, we had another big day!

Notre Dame, exterior — Notre Dame, front exterior

It consisted of us visiting the place we saw on the bus tour on foot, or at least as we possible could in a single day. We had hoped to do much of this on Tuesday, but Carla’s eye injury – which I will forever carry a terrible shame for! – put a hold on that. But feeling so much better, we decided to give it a go and proceeded first to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Since it was no longer Easter Weekend, we figured we stood a better chance of getting in. And lo and behold, we did! Despite the long line ups, the crowd proceeded inside at a rapid pace and we found ourselves stepping into this ancient cathedral before long.

Once inside, we were treated to the musty smell, the sounds of chanting, light streaming in from countless stain glass windows, and plenty of amazing art and architecture. As usual, my father explained all features and told us exactly how it differed from the Cathedrals at Chartres and Bayeux. Not surprisingly, this one was the largest we visited to date, and I was sure to get one of the commemorative gold coins from the machine near the entrance. This upped my collection of these tourist keepsakes to four, with coins from the Juno Beach Museum, the Caen Memorial Museum, the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, and the Notre Dame Cathedral.

And then, it was off to the Tour Eiffel, which we hoped to be able to ascend and catch sight of the city from on high. However, when we arrived, the lineups proved to be absolutely terrible, and one of the stairwells that connects to the first landing was closed. However, we did catch some lovely break dancers putting on a show at the foot of the tower. We also got to see several soldiers wandering with their FAMAS assault rifles hanging over their shoulders. Similar to what we saw at Charles de Gaulle, this is apparently what passes for normal in Paris. For this humble Canuck, this was a little frightening and but also freaking cool!

So we meandered around the tower for awhile, checked out the Field of Mars located nearby, and walked the entire length of it and rubbed shoulders with some interesting people along the way. We also snapped about half a dozen pics of the Tower itself, including the WIlliams’ family portrait shown below. Once we reached the far end of the field, we rounded the Academie Militaire and proceeded on foot to our next destination – the UNESCO Headquarters. As a heritage register officer, Carla was keen on seeing this place.

The folks and I in front of the Tour Eiffel

This took some time, and we once again stopped at a roadside restaurant to get some lunch. And I got to say, the building itself was pretty un-ostentatious compared to some of what we’d already seen. But our visit just happened to coincide with a series of displays for International Book and Copyright Day. Trust me, this is actually a lot more fun than it sounds! As we walked down the hallway, we passed dozens of exhibits celebrating different books, styles of writing, animation, and the like. Carla and I sat down at one of the Calligraphy boots, which taught Georgian style writing, and began to learn.

This included the proper way to apply ink to a traditional calligraphy pen and write letters and symbols in the Georgian style. This part was definitely fun, and Carla and I did pretty well for ourselves! She’s a quick study, and calligraphy is kind of my thing. The instructor noted this, and told Carla “Il est fort” (he’s strong) with a degree of wonder and pride in his voice. I didn’t tell him that I’ve actually been doing it for year, even though my preferred style is Black Letter Gothic and I have no formal training.

Musee Dorsay, top floor interior — Musee D’Orsay, top floor interior

And then, for our last stop, we went back along the Seine and stopped in at the Musée d’Orsay. Another line, another long wait, and we were inside, surrounded by Paris’ premier museum of sculpture and art. Carla and my mother sure enjoyed this part. Unfortunately, I had had too much sun that day and my feet were too tired for me to really getting into the spirit of things. Still, it was impressive to see so many impressionist paintings, sculptures, and in one place. Van Gogh was unfortunately not available, since his work was part of a special exhibit. Still, we spent some serious time in the converted train station, and took some rather magnificent pics before finally calling it a day.

We walked back to the hotel along Boulevard St. Germaine, the Seine-adjacent strip that is packed with stores, restaurants, and greenery. We stopped by the 2 Magots (pronounced maj-oats), a restaurant frequented by Hemmingway in his day. Across the street, we also caught a glimpse of the apartment where existentialist philosopher Jean Paul Sartre and philosopher and renowned feminist writer Simone de Beauvoir lived. It really is amazing sometimes how little you have to do in Paris to experience some serious history.

After another sleep, we prepared for our penultimate day Paris. This would consist of us taking in some final sights and sounds and then checking in at one of the airport hotels for the night. For my choice, I asked that we go to the Musee du Moyenne-Ages, the museum of Medieval History on Rive Droite (northern side) of the Seine, which was on the way towards the destination my mother and wife so wanted to see – Les Galleries Lafayette (the freakishly big department store near the Opera Nationale de Paris).

I have to say though that the former was a bit of a letdown. Having expected a large museum similar to the ones we had been seeing all throughout Europe, one containing tons of artifacts and displays recreating the period in question, what we got was basically a collection of medieval statues, architecture and sculpture. Only one room, at the tail end of the museum, contained any arms, armor, or artifacts that weren’t structural in nature (seen below). While this was still very interesting, I could not help but feel disappointed.

Where were all the swords, armor, livery, and seige engines? Where were the maps that showed the Battle of Hastings, Agincourt, the Crusades and the seige of Constantinople? Where were the recreated manuscripts of Aristotle and other classic texts that were being preserved by monasteries? Where were the displays of what everyday life was like for men, women and children of all walks of life? This is a museum dedicated to one of the most brutal, interesting, and pivotal periods in European history, last roughly 1000 years (5th to 15th century) and encompassing the fall of the Roman Empire to the “discovery” of the New World and the beginning of the Renaissance. Why it was jam-packed with the same stuff found at the Musee D’Orsay or the Louvre?

Ah well, you get the point. After leaving here, we pressed on to the 9th arrondisement and the Galeries Lafayette. This massive department store that encompasses several floors of a domed building, and is jam-packed with clothing outlets, cafes, shoe stores, and just about every other kind of apparel store imaginable. My mother and wife were quite happy wandering around and checking things out, while my father and I were just generally bored, tired, and grumbling. But we did our best, since this last visit in Paris was all about the women getting to explore a major landmark.

La Galleries Lafayette, interior — Galleries Lafayette, interior

Still, I can’t emphasize enough how much I hate shopping, at least when I’m not buying anything. But therein lies the problem, I guess. I believe shopping is about buying things and leaving. My wife believes its about trying things on, looking for deals, and endlessly perusing what’s available. When this is happening, I quickly run out of patience and enthusiasm, my feet get sore, my head begins to ache, and I desperately want to go “do something”. Yeah, I’m not good company on these sorts of things.

Still, as you can see from the pics (above and below), the place was very opulent and I would not deny that it was something we needed to see before we left. And then, it was a trip on Le Metro to the airport, where we were serenaded by a gentlemen and his accordion. I tell ya, these are the kind of things you really need to see while in Paris. The entire time he played, and he was pretty damn good too, it was like I could hear the soundtrack to an old Parisian movie, or any movie set in Paris that is trying to go for that romantic feel.

Once we reached Charles de Gaulle, again, we hopped the shuttle bus that took us to our hotel a few klicks away. Naturally, the international airport has several major chains set up a short ride away and shuttles countless people too and from the place on a daily basis. We checked in, ate at the hotel restaurant, and went to bed early. This was essential given that we had an early morning, and 20 hours of flight time and layovers to look forward to!

This time around, it was easier since we the eventual jet lag kind of worked in our favor. No overnights and by the time we landed, it would be late at night so we could get swiftly to sleep. And while the layovers SUUUUUCKED – three hours in Toronto and Vancouver respectively – the flights were easy enough to get through. Fourteen hours of flying time doesn’t seem so bad when you got plenty of movies and cable Tv shows to watch. And I managed to catch a few I’ve been meaning to see, like Anchorman 2, Pacific Rim, Catching Fire.

The view from the Mill Bay Ferry, taking us home to Brentwood Bay!

And when it ended, we found ourselves in Nanaimo and ready to hit the hay! A long and sound sleep, and we had breakfast with my parents, discussed our trip, and lamented how we would miss getting up every morning, having breakfast together, and then going out to see historic sites. But we all agreed, we were ready to get home and we missed out cats! So after packing up and saying goodbye for the last time, we hit the island highway and drove off in separate directions.

And I have to say, readjusting to life here at home has been quite difficult. After you see so much of history commemorated, honored, preserved and remembered, with battles that shook the world, wars that changed the course of history, and monuments, artifacts, buildings and entire cities that have stood for thousands of years, domestic life can seem pretty damn humdrum. Lucky for us, we have our photo collections, our keepsakes, our memories and our stories. And sharing them like this with the outside world has been a fun way for me to remember it all.

So thanks for reading and I hope that someday in the not-too-distant future, I get to share something equally engrossing and awesome with you all! Carla and I of course have our plans, and we’ve already been talking to my folks about our next trip together, where it will take us, and how we’re going to do it all up right this time! So expect to hear more at some point, and as always, I would like to remind people how important it is to remember all that has happened in the past century to make this world a safer and better place.

I guess there’s no way to end this other than to close with the very sentiments that started it all…

Back from Europe – Part the Fifth!

Welcome back to the latest edition on the Williams’ Family Eurotrip 2014! Today, in what I hope will be the second-last post in this segment, I will be covering some of my favorite aspects of the trip. These included our visit to the Caen Memorial Museum, our overnight in Chartres, and our arrival in Paris which was accompanied by some very interesting times in the Latin Quarter. Here’s how it all well down…

Friday, April 18th – Sunday, April 20th – Caen and Chartres and Paris:
The day started with us packing up and saying goodbye to the Lion D’Or, which for the past few days had been our home away from home, complete with feline company! Then, we hit the road on our way to Chartres; and unlike previous days, we only made one stop along the way. However, it was an important stop, since it was the last stop on our tour of World War II sites and memorials. Initially, we had talked about visiting the Ardennes Abbey, where 20 Canadian POWs had been murdered by SS troops on July 8th, 1944.

The Abbey has since been converted into a museum that pays homage to these individuals and commemorates the sacrifices made by countless people during the Battle of Normandy. However, my father had visited it twice now and cautioned that it was quite depressing. So instead, we decided to detour through the northern part of Caen to visit the Mémorial de Caen, a museum and memorial which was by far the largest and most detailed museum we had seen on the trip.

Mémorial de Caen, map out front of all the events around Caen during the Battle of Normandy 1944

Outside the museum, we found a lovely map where I concluded explaining the events surrounding the Battle of Caen – one of the most intensive battles to take place during Operation Overlord and the liberation of France. This proved to be a good time to share what I knew, since the museum was immensely more detailed on the subject and would have made my little talk pointless! And picking up where we had left off during our visit to Juno Beach and the Normandy countryside, I began sharing with my wife and olks exactly how hard it had been in 1944 to take the city.

Initially a D-Day objective, it would take the British, Canadian and Allied forces a total of 45 days to secure the city of Caen. Its strategic position in the Eastern Sector of Normandy, as well being a major crossing point over the Orne river, made capturing it an absolute necessity. To the Allies, taking the city was a matter of securing a solid beachhead and preventing a German counter-attack. To the Germans, holding it was a matter of ensuring that the Allied forces would be denied the ability to venture father south.

In June, the Canadian 3rd Division managed to secure the high ground to the west and south-west of the city, including the towns of Carpiquet, Authrie and Rots. To the north, the British I Corps had also seized all land outside of the city, but still faced tough resistance from the German 12th SS Panzers, the 21st Panzer Division, and the 716th Infantry Division. Since their attempt to take the city by a direct assault on D-Day had failed, General Montgomery now looked to take the city with a pincer movement.

Thus began Operation Perch, which commenced on the 7th of June (D-Day+1) and aimed at achieving a breakout west around Bayeux. As the I Corps attacked the town of Cagny some 5 km south-east of Caen, the British XXX Corps (located 20 km to the west) would push south of Bayeux and cross the Odon river, in an attempt to outflank the Germans south of the city. Almost immediately, the attack ran into problems, which would force further delays in liberating Caen.

In the west, the XXX Corps was delayed after reaching the town of Tilly-sur-Seulles, where they became bogged down by hedgerows and stiff resistance from the 12th SS Panzers and the Panzer-Lehr Division – an elite unit with many of Germany’s most advanced tanks (such as the Panzer V “Panther” tank, pictured above). In the east, the I Corps’ advance was stalled thanks to tough resistance from the battle-hardened 21st Panzer Division. By the 13th of June, the offensive was called off.

However, on the following day, the German line broke to the west of the XXX Corps, thanks to the efforts of the American 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One). After withdrawing south, the Germans opened a 12 km gap in their lines, which the British 7th Armored Division sought to exploit by pushing south. In an attempt to outflank the Panzer-Lehr Division, the 7th Armored aimed to capture the town of Villers-Bocage some 15 kms south of Bayeux.

However, the British once again experienced severe resistance and after two days of intense fighting, they fell back on June 14th. It was hoped that with some reinforcements, they would resume the attack on the 19th and push through. However, a terrible storm fell on the English Channel, which caused severe disruption to beach supply operations and damaged the artificial harbor at Arromanches (see “Part the Fourth”, specifically the stuff dealing with Mulberry Harbor).

Because of this, offensive operations were postponed until July, at which point, General Montgomery would once again plan to seize Caen by a direct assault. The first phase of this assault was known as Operation Windsor, and called for the Canadian and British forces west of Caen to retake the town of Carpiquet from the 12th SS and then secure the Carpiquet Airfield to the south. The second phase, known as Operation Charnwood, would see the I Corps clearing the north end of Caen and seizing the bridgeheads into the southern part of the city.

On July 4th, the attack commenced, with Canadian and British forces braving mines, anti-tank guns, and machine gun nests to take Carpiquet. By the following day, the town had been secured and several German counterattacks had been repulsed. By July 8th, acting on intelligence provided by the French Resistance, the Canadian and British forces marched on the airfield and found it abandoned. Operation Windsor was a success.

Operation Charnwood, by contrast, met with limited success, and caused significant damage to the city of Caen. On July 7th, the began with a massive aerial bombardment where the first wave of bombers dropped over 1,800 tons of munitions on the city. The Allies hoped to minimize civilian deaths by dropping leaflets prior to the bombing. However, the drop took place just a day prior, and due to complications caused by the weather, only a few thousands leaflets reached their destination and only a few hundred townspeople left.

On the following morning, the I Corps mobilized and reached the outskirts of town by nightfall. The Germans immediately began evacuating across the Orne river, leaving elements of their forces behind to fight a rearguard action in the rubble-filled streets. Despite fierce resistance, the English and Canadian forces secured the northern half of Caen by the 9th of July and decimated the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division. However, the bridges across the Odon were not secured, and were either blocked by rubble or heavily defended from the south bank.

Because of this, the Operation was called off by the 9th of July since no further gains were possible. Though it had been delcared a success, Caen was not yet fully liberated and the city had suffered extensive damage. It’s civilian population which had been roughly 60,000 before the battle – had now dropped to 17,000, which caused widespread resentment towards the liberators. Nevertheless, the townspeople in the northern half of the city still came out in force to celebrate the defeat of the Germans.

Later than month, Monty once again planned to take the rest of the city with a pincer movement. Known as Operation Atlantic, this assault involved the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division advancing to the east of Caen to secure the suburb of Colombelles while the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division drove south to seize the high ground of Verrieres Ridge. Once again, these assaults would coincide with a British offensive farther east. On the 18th and 19th of July, the Canadian 3rd Division managed to secure the town of Colombelles from the 21st Panzers and drove them over the Orne river, effectively liberating all of Caen.

Unfortunately, the 2nd Division was stalled while trying to take Verrieres Ridge, thanks in part to heavy rains that turned the ground to mud – which bogged down their armor support and grounded the RAF – and because the Germans were well fortified and had artillery support. After several days of fighting, the 2nd Division fell back and were reinforced by elements of the 3rd Divisions; and together, they were able to halt the counter-attacks launched by the 12th SS Panzers.

Meanwhile, the I and VIII British Corps initiated Operation Goodwood on July 18th, which sought to capture the town of Bourguébus and the high ground south of the city. Once again, the operation was preceded by extensive bombing, which harried the German forces that had fallen back from Caen. However, the advance stalled due to numerous factors and the British lost the element of surprise. For starters, the British only had six bridges over the Orne river, which slowed the crossing of the 1000+ vehicles taking part in the offensive considerably.

Once they reached the other side, they were forced to contend with minefields that had been lain by the 51st Highland Division to defend their positions just a few days prior. But since the element of surprise was already lost, British command decided to order the mines cleared. Two days later, the attack resumed. However, the Germans had recovered from the bombing by then, and the British were forced to clear several well-defended towns that were connected by underground tunnels.

In addition, the German artillery on Bourguébus ridge had not been destroyed by the Allied bombing. And thanks to their numerous observation posts stationed throughout the villages in the region, they were able to observe the British advance and call in artillery support on their armor. Between the 18th and the 20th, they also mounted numerous counter-attacks, and by the end of the day, Montgomery brought the operation to a close, citing bad weather.

All told, Goodwood did not go as planned and was a failure in terms of achieving a breakout. Some 4000-5000 Allied troops and 250-350 tanks were also lost in the assault. The German losses are unknown, but some 2500 men were captured (mostly by the British since the Canadians were no longer taking SS prisoners) and between 75 and 100 tanks were destroyed. However, these two operations did manage to secure important strategic ground, liberated the rest of Caen, and effectively bled the Germans dry in the region.

But most importantly of all, the sustained British, Canadian and Allied efforts in and around Caen managed to tie down four German Corps, which included important armored divisions, while the Americans were planning their own breakout to the west. On July 25th, just one day after the Canadians and British were told to dig in, the 1st US Army launched Operation Cobra, which effectively achieved a breakout around the town of Saint-Lô.

This breakout would allow the American forces to drive south and east, effectively outflanking what was left of the German forces, while the British 2nd Army – with the Canadian 4th and 1st Polish Armored Divisions leading the way – closed in on them from the north. This encirclement maneuver, which would come to be known as the Battle Falaise Pocket, effectively decimated what was left of the German army and signaled the liberation of France. Thereafter, the Allies would advance onto Paris and by the 30th of August, they were marching down the Champs d’Elysee. A massive crowd of jubilant Parisians turned out to welcome their arrival, and the liberation of France was declared.

All of this and more was covered in beautiful detail inside the museum, which began with a movie called “”. We then proceeded through a series of rooms with pictures, artifacts, infographics and write-ups that explained every aspect of the war – ranging from the prelude and the build-up to every event that took place between 1939 and 1945. And of course, considerable space and resources were committed to the aftermath, which included the Cold War, Peacekeeping, and war in peace in the modern world.

The entire experience then closed with a movie entitled “Hope”, which gave an audio-visual rundown of the conflicts and major historical events that have taken place since 1945. And though the tone of the movie didn’t seem particularly hopeful, it seem to contain some hints that lessons had been learned and the state of the world had improved somewhat since. At least, that was the impression I chose to take away, others in our party disagreed.

The Cathedral of Chartres in the distance

And then, it was on to Chartres, lock, stock and barrel! Compared to the town where we spent the previous week and a half, this city was significantly bigger. As such, it took some time to navigate through the morass of major streets and burbs before we finally came to the old town, which is instantly identifiable by the ancient stone wall and mote that surround it, not to mention the fact that it sits on the high-ground. And in the distance, we could see the spires of the looming at the crest of the hill.

Once inside the walls, the streets instantly narrowed, and getting to our hotel – which was awesomely located next to the Cathedral – involved going along some winding back-streets that proceeded ever uphill. Betty (our GPS) had some issues, mainly because the tight streets and high walls made it hard for her to get a signal. And yet, we somehow found our way to the top and street with our hotel on it. And once we had unpacked and entered, the nice lady who ran the place took on another climbing adventure.

Basically, this hotel (which overlooks the Cathedral) is a narrow, stacked house. On the ground floor, there’s the restaurant and bar, with the rooms stacked vertically above and below it. My folks were in the room one floor up, while Carla and I got the appropriately-named “Ange” room (Angel) that was at the very top, and had the best view of the Cathedral. It also had something we hadn’t seen in days and were looking forward to using – a tub with jets!

The room was also very traditional looking – with wallpaper that looked like plaster coating and old wooden beams in the ceiling that woke us up with their creaking! My folks room was a little different. In addition to a strange 80’s deco scheme, it had a circular bed, a stand-up shower and no tub, and a wall-mounted fire place that took some time to figure out. In fact, it wasn’t even immediately apparent that it WAS a fireplace.

After unpacking and uncorking the cider and Calvados in our room (an experience that left us a little shaken), the four of us proceeded to take a walk around the Cathedral before having dinner. In many ways, the Chartres Cathedral was similar to what we had seen in Ypres and Bayeux – in that their designs were a combination of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. This is owing to their immense longevity and the fact that they’ve been renovated and had additions put on over the centuries.

However, Chartres was bigger by comparison, and had what my father noted were true examples of flying buttresses. Did I mention he’s an architect? That kind of seems like something worth mentioning. In any case, these are basically load-bearing arches that are attached to the outside of the building, a common feature in Gothic cathedrals. And this baby had plenty of them! And of course, the stain-glass windows – which according to information provided inside contain the first blue glass ever made – were breathtakingly impressive.

The stained-glass windows located at the nave — The stained-glass windows located at the Nave

After noting the labyrinth pattern on the stone floor – and some strange symbols in the center of it that we joked were evidence of the da Vinci Code – we walked around to the Nave (my father pointed out all the architectural features and names) and noticed the stone wall that was covered with intricate carvings. We also noted the renovations that were taking place, where the columns and stonework were all getting a “facelift”. This amounted to stripping the top layers off to remove the 1000+ years worth of soot that had built up them.

To save time, I should also note that we came back the next day and scale the steps of the bell tower. This is something you have to pay for, but we seriously wanted to mount those 350 steps to take in the view. And so we could say we did it! Now let me tell you, scaling a Gothic Cathedral’s 350-step winding staircase is no picnic! The going was cramped, the air moldy, and the steps a little slippery. Still, we couldn’t help but feel we were breathing in centuries of history, even if it did cause some coughing afterward.

At the top, we got a bird’s eye view of the old section of town, not to mention the new town and the countryside beyond. Once again, there were plenty of golden canola fields to be seen between grassy fields. And of course, we got a pretty good close-up of the flying buttresses, gargoyles and other Gothic external features. And then, we descended, which proved to be almost but not quite as difficult as going up. We also watched the Cathedral fill with people as the locals prepared for the Easter Sunday service.

Getting back to the night before, we then had dinner at the restaurant, which had an interesting feature of the menu. My mother spotted “Filet de Loup”, which roughly translates to “filet of wolf”, or so we thought. Naturally, we were a little concerned and suspected we might have wandered into a cultural difference. But our server resolved this when she explained that this is actually the name for a whitefish filet, and found our misunderstanding to be quite perplexing. Seriously, she looked at us like we were on drugs!

The light show on the Cathedral facade that took place that night

My wife and mother had the lasagna, which they didn’t really like, while my father enjoyed the filet de loup, and I enjoyed a filet of monkfish with chorizo. This was all washed down with glasses of Affligem, which were necessary after the Caldavos incident. And then, we popped back outside because we noticed an interesting light show happening on the front of the cathedral. At first, we thought someone was throwing rolls of TP down the front. But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a dazzling visual display that was being projected onto the facade.

We snapped some photos of the show, but as you can see, they didn’t turn out to well owing to the need for low light to capture all the vivid colors. Then it was back to our rooms, a nice hot bath, and a sound sleep. Well, mostly sound, since the popping noise in the ceiling did wake us up and one point and make us wonder if the old building was about to fall down around our ears. Lucky for us, it didn’t, and the popping noises abated long enough for us to get back to sleep.

l'Academie de la Biere — l’Academie de la Biere

In the morning, we packed up (mournfully), did our second tour of the Cathedral (complete with the stair climb), and then said good-bye to the hotel. While we waited for my father to secure the car from a lot down the road, I spotted a building that bore the name “l’Academie de la Biere”, which I suspected was a bar with some serious taps and bottles. I ventured down to snap some photos of it. Too bad we hadn’t noticed it the night before!

And then, with the car packed and the bill paid, we set off for Paris! Our first stop was the Charles de Gaulle Airport where we needed to return the car. Our time in Paris would be spent car-free, as we knew that public transit there is quite extensive, and to drive there is to take one’s life in one’s hands! Predictably, getting into the airport was about as hard as getting out, and it took a few roundabouts on the highway to get to the rental lot on the bottom level.

Us on the train from CDG Airport to Paris

From the airport, we hopped the train into the city, where he began subway surfing from train to train. It was here that we came to understand exactly what is meant by “mass transit”, which in Paris equates to the crush of humanity trying to make its way through congested platforms, trains and tunnels. And we had all our bags with us, to boot, which were quite heavy. Wanting to be the good son, I carried a few heavy bags, and was offered help repeatedly.

Eventually, to end the flurry of concern and proferred aid, I said: “The next person who offers me help will be mentioned, by name, in the suicide note.” That’s not an original quote, fyi, and it didn’t quite get the laughs I was hoping for. And after much hauling and walking, we eventually found our exit and ascended into the Paris city streets. From there, we walked the few blocks that would take us to our hotel in the Latin Quarter – la Hôtel des Grandes Ecoles.

I’ll be honest, our rooms were a bit tight, but the hotel did have a lovely courtyard paved with cobblestones. And not far away, there was a lovely roundabout with plenty of restaurants, all of which had extensive patios that faced the fountain in the middle. We took a look at all this and selected one based on my wife’s craving for nachos. It was called la Petit , a place that specialized in gourmet burgers and did make a good nacho plate. Instead of sour cream and cheddar, they used crème fraîche and melted Emmental.

Much like in Bayeux, we would dine here twice. Some places just make a lasting impression I guess! Oh, and the beer of choice around the Latin Quarter was yet another Abbey Blonde ale known as Grimbergen, though Kronenbourg certainly got top billing at the local bars as well. With our bellies full and our feet and backs tired of walking and carrying bags, we once again retired for the night and planned for a full day of adventure on the morrow.

La Seine, with the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in the distance

This consisted of us taking a walk down to the Seine to take in all the sights and sounds of Paris. We arrived on Quai St. Bernard, with the Cathedral of Notre Dame to the west by a few leagues. We headed their immediately, and found some serious crowds assembled out front. Since it was Easter Weekend, there was quite a lineup to get in, and we decided we’d have to wait until another day to see the place from the inside. So instead, we decided to catch a bus to see all of the major sights in one afternoon.

As a sidenote, people looking to book a Paris bus tour have the option of doing a single 2 hour roundabout trip, or a day-long trip that where people can jump on and off the bus at any of the major sights. We opted for the former, and rode around on a double-decker and listened to a audio guide through uncomfortable earbuds tell us about what we were seeing. These included the Musee d’Orsay, the Place de Concorde, the Tour Eiffel, the Champs d’Elysee, the Arc de Troimphe, the Hotel des Invalides, the Louvre, the Pont d’Alexandre III, the Galerie Lafayette, the Opera Nationale, the Écoles Militaires, the Field of Mars, and the Hotel des Invalides, amongst others…

I shall NOT be giving historical background on all of these. Suffice it to say, this blog aint long enough and you people know how to use Google. But I will say, the roundabout tour was fun, scenic, and really drives home the fact that Paris is packed to the gills with heritage and living examples of its long and turbulent history. Seriously, one cannot drive or walk down the street without spotting a plaque, monument or statue that tells the story of something immensely significant that happened there.

Afterwards, we returned to our hotel and met a lovely man named Jaeger. This attorney, who hailed from Australia, was in Paris on business, and after being chatted up by my father, invited us to dinner. The place he took us was a few blocks over from the hotel, and was rather famous! Known as the Maison de Verlaine, a restaurant that is famous for having been frequented by countless literary, political and showbiz personalities – like Hemingway, Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedy’s, to name a few.

La Maison de Verlaine, where we ate Sunday night

And after a rather sumptious meal and a bottle of red that was both subtle and robust, we dropped Jaeger off at a bar in the roundabout near our hotel and retired to our beds for some sleep. Having toured all the major sights that day, we decided we would visit those we were particularly intrigued by on the following day. Only this time, we’d be going by foot and we planned to beat the lines. We had only a few days to go, and planned to see as much as we possibly could before our departure.

But more on that next time. I sincerely hope it’s the last! 😉

Back from Europe!

Hello all! It’s good to be home, and though I am nursing the worst case of jet lag I’ve experienced since… well, two weeks ago, I felt the time was right to let people know how my trip went. As I was sure to have said in my last post, things were mighty eventful and we saw some truly amazing things. In addition to the preserved battlefields, war memorials, war cemeteries and museums, there was also the staggering amount of preserved history to be found in every corner of the places we visited.

We also got a chance to sample some interesting food, delight in the customs and practices of the Belgian, Norman and Parisian people, and drink some very good beer (more on this last aspect of things over my beer blog). Point being, it was a life-changing experience and one which we agreed as a family we needed to do again someday. Only this time, we would pace ourselves a little better so we wouldn’t be spending the first day driving on no sleep! 😉

Us at Beaumont-Hamel — My mother, father and I at Beaumont-Hamel. All photos, unless otherwise indicated, by Carla Jack

To break it all down, we started by visiting cemeteries, memorials and museums in the Belgian countryside that commemorated the Great War and marked the centennial of its outbreak. We also managed to track down the last resting place of a relative of my mother’s, a young man named Wilmot Pettit who was shot down on D-Day over the Normandy countryside. And last, we visited two of the Normandy Beach landings and saw several museums and memorials that honored those who died during the Battle of Normandy in World War II.

This was the precise order of how we did things, which took us from Ypres to Dieppe, Bayeux to Chartres, and ended with us staying in Paris for several nights to take in the culture and history of the French capitol. Really, we couldn’t have packed more in, and now that this precis is over, let me get into the nitty gritty of this trip, with full background info and pictures. And since it’s too much to talk about in one posting, I’ve decided to break it down into a couple posts. Hopefully, I can cover more than a single day at a time, but no promises!

Wednesday, April. 9th – Friday, April 11th
(Nanaimo, BC to Ypres, Belgium):
Before the adventure could begin, there was the little matter of me and my wife meeting up with my folks and then flying to Paris. Now, this is not as easy as it sounds. First off, if you’re flying internationally from Vancouver Island, you either need to get to one of two cities (Comox or Victoria) or take the plane or ferry to Vancouver International Airport. And even then, there are likely to be one or more connecting flights along the way before flying the 8 or 9 hours to make it to Paris.

And once you get there, you’re nine hours ahead, which means you are stepping off the plane in midday when it feels in your head like its the wee hours of the morning. And chances are, you haven’t slept much the night before or on the plane, so you got a big ol’ sleep deficit to start with! Needless to say, that’s what happened to us. After meeting up with my folks the day before, we slept light the evening before the flight, and then set out on Thursday to the local airport before the sun was even up. After a quick trip over to Vancouver, we boarded our first flight, transferred in Montreal, and rode another plane into the sun for another nine hours.

French windmills, by Carla Jack — A few of the many wind turbines we saw

Upon our arrival, we were tired, greasy, and running on fumes. Nevertheless, we managed to grab a rental car and GPS at Charles de Gaulle International and started driving for the Belgium border.This took us through vast stretches of grassy green land, countless fields of golden canola, and many, many wind turbines. This was something that I noticed multiple times while touring the French and Belgian countryside, the large turbine operations that hovered above the flatlands like skyscrapers. I’m thinking we should get in on this in BC, and soon!

After driving northeast for several hours, we arrived in Belgium and began searching for our first set of sites. Having learned of some really cool stops during their previous visits, my folks wanted us to Avril Williams Guesthouse and Tea Room (no relation), a small BandB run by a British lady in the small town of Auchonvillers in the Somme region. In addition to providing food and accommodations, her business is also a de facto war museum due to its very interesting history.

An Auchonvillers town cellar used during the Great War. Courtesy of http://www.avrilwilliams.eu

Having been built in the 17th century, graffiti found on the cellars walls and artifacts found on the floor indicated that the building served an important role during the Great War. Apparently, the cellar was one of 140 in the town that was used alternately by the French and British for ammo storage, signalling or for stretcher bearers. After the Armistice in 1923, the villagers returned and the house was rebuilt over the original cellar. It was the only one to have survived intact in Auchonvillers.

The cellar was rediscovered in 1992 when Avril Williams bought the property and some renovations were made. Artifacts found in the floor of the cellar – which included helmets, shell casings, swords, bags, insignia, and a slew of other items – have since been placed on display in the Tea Room itself behind plate glass. What’s more, out the back, a number of old trenches were dug up, restored, and incorporated into the place as part of its historical tour.

After lunch, we toured these and tried to imagine what it was like to have this kind of history in your own backyard! I should also note that Avril had some sheep grazing out the back, as well as several chickens and some very friendly cats. It was a strange and delightful pleasure to be seeing it all and talking to British and other tourists as we walked around and experienced all the reminders of such terrible events, all of which happened roughly 100 years ago but are a permanent part of the landscape. This is something we could to experience a lot on this trip.

Then, it was off to Beaumont-Hamel, one of the many preserved battlefield parks within driving distance from Avril’s. For those who don’t know, it was here that the Royal Newfoundland Regiment (“The Blue Puttees”) fell during the Battle of the Somme. It was during this battle, which took place between July 1st and November 18th, 1916, that this small group of volunteers from the Dominion of Newfoundland (not yet part of Canada) stepped into No Man’s Land and was all but wiped out.

Several factors were to blame for this debacle. In the first place, the French and British plan of attack against the German lines was meant to take place in late June, but was postponed due to bad weather. Combined with the heavy bombardment which preceded the assault, the field between the German and British trenches was turned into mud. What’s more, the German troops on the other side had been occupying their position for 20 months, and used that time to fortify their positions against bombardment.

The Hawthorn Ride Mine exploding. Photo by Ernest Brooks — The Hawthorn Ridge Mine exploding. Photo by Ernest Brooks

The British attack began with the detonation of a large mine under a heavily fortified positing known as the Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt, which was caught on film and remains one of the most iconic bits of footage from the war. The explosion destroyed a major German strong point, but also alerted the German troops of the coming attack and led to their deployment. Moments later, when the British 29th Infantry Division advanced into No Man’s Land, they foundered due to German barbed wire, machine gun fire and artillery.

Back at the Divisional HQ, the British received confused reports, some of which stated that the German lines had been broken. To exploit this, General Beauvoir De Lisle ordered the Newfoundland Regiment and other units that were in reserve into the fray. Moving up from St. John’s Road, a support trench 230 meters (250 yards) behind the British forward line, the Newfoundlanders soon found that movement forward through the communication trenches was not possible because they were congested with the dead and wounded, and under shell fire.

The trenchlines and shell holes that still mark the lanscape — Note how the trench lines and craters still mark the landscape. Photo by Theitalinpen

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Lovell Hadow, the battalion commander, decided to move immediately into attack formation and advance across the surface. As they moved out in the open, they were effectively the only troops moving on the battlefield and clearly visible to the German defenders. As a result, most of the Newfoundland Regiment who had started forward were dead, dying or wounded within 15 to 20 minutes of leaving St. John’s Road trench.

Most reached no further than the Danger Tree, a skeleton of a tree that lay in No Man’s Land that was being utilized as a landmark. As part of one of the most disastrous offensives during the war, the destruction of this regiment serves as a stark and sobering reminder of just how destructive the Great War was. Of the 780 men who went forward only about 110 survived unscathed, of whom only 68 were available for roll call the following day.

View of the battlefield, with the Danger Tree in the right hand — View of the battlefield from the memorial. The Danger Tree is visible on the right near the small group of visitors

As you can probably tell from the photographs, the area in which this battle took place is really not that big. Having seen it close up, I can tell you that it is astounding to know that so much death and destruction happened within such a small area. But such was the nature of battles like the Somme. So many men died brutally and senselessly for the sake of a few meters, and every position taken on the field was paid for with thousands of lives.

The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial is a testament to one of the greatest wastes of life of the war and in human history. Officially opened by the British in 1925, the memorial site is one of only two National Historic Sites of Canada located outside of Canada. The other is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, which we visited a few days later. This symbol of sacrifice is staffed by Canadian students and civil servants, and remains a symbol of Newfoundland’s identity.

After taking this all in, we went back to our car and set off for the town of Ypres where we would be staying for the next three days. For most of us, this consisted of sleeping in the car while my father had to slap himself to stay awake. But in the end, we made it to the Hotel Albion located in the city’s old quarter and quickly climbed into our beds. Carla and I slept while my folks chose to nap and head on out for some proper dinner.

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And that is what we did for the first two days of the trip. If it sounds like a lot, then I’ve conveyed the experience properly! Needless to say, it was all quite overwhelming and we were all emotionally and physically exhausted afterwards. Just telling it again now makes me feel like I’m trying to cook an elephant! Basically, the only way I’m going to be able to do it is a bit at a time. So stay tuned, because there is plenty more to follow.

Up next, our adventures in and around the historic town of Ypres, Belgium! And in the meantime, please listen to this lovely song – “Recruiting Sergeant”, by the Newfoundland band Great Big Sea. It is a lovely song that commemorates the sacrifice of these brave young men, an entire generation of young Newfoundlanders. The video consists of images compiled by Dr. Death1020, who used RNR pictures of Beaumont-Hamel and of the Battle of the Somme to set the tone. Enjoy, and may we never forget!

Lest We Forget

Hey all! Just wanted to do a late trip update and let everybody know I’m still kicking, and to share some of the many experiences that were had so far on this trip. It’s been almost two weeks now since the family and I departed from Vancouver Island and landed on the Continent, and try as I might, I’ve been unable to resist my internet fix! So as long as I was surfing, checking messages and doing a little messaging myself, I figured I could at least post an update or two.

Currently, we are in Paris, where we arrived on Sunday after dropping off our rental car at Charles de Gaulle Airport. After finding our hotel in the Latin Quarter, we began taking in the local sites and sounds, which included the Tour Eiffel, the Arc de Troimphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and la Maison de Verlaine, a restaurant that is famous for having been frequented by countless literary, political and showbiz personalities (Hemingway, Marilyn Monroe and the Kennedy’s, to name a few).

But before that, we were in the Flanders region of Belgium and the Normandy region of France. We began with Ypres, a small city in Belgium that was the site of three major battles during the Great War. This began in 1914 when the Allies retook the town from the Germans after their great sweep into northern France failed. The second took place five months later when the Germans, hoping to break the stalemate in Belgium, used chlorine gas for the first time. It was during this gas attack that the Canadian 1st Division distinguished itself by holding its ground and repelling the attack, despite the fact that they had no gas masks. The third and final battle took place east of the city and is also known as the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the bloodiest of the war.

These and other terrible sacrifices which were endured during the war are all commemorated on a daily basis in the town. Every night, wreaths are laid at the Mennin Gate at one side of the old city where the names of the dead are inscribed and people gather to hear The Last post played. Having attended it on both a Saturday and the following Sunday, I can tell you that It is a very beautiful and moving event.

We were also sure to visit the cemeteries, battlefields and memorials at Beaumont-Hamel, Concrete Farm, Langemarck, St. Julien, and Tyne Cot. This last cemetery, which is the largest World War I cemetery ever, has a small museum where the names of every soldier who died in the Battle of Arras is named. The recording plays on a loop, and takes FIFTEEN YEARS to finish!

I should also note that within this landscape, visitors and farmers are routinely still finding small pieces of the battles that took place over a century ago. These include unexplored munitions – which have to be carefully removed and disposed of – and shrapnel, which my father and I found quite miraculously. I say this because the field we were going to search was being tilled by a large machine, forcing us to search at the very edge. But even with this small space to work with, we still managed to find a large chunk of a shell and some small pieces of shrapnel.

After that, we visited the Vimy Memorial in France, one of the greatest to come out of the war. This site, and the many preserved trenches, tunnels and craters that mark the landscape are preserved and attended to by Canadian students who hope to keep the memory of this historical battle alive. Not only was it a major victory for the allies – the first decisive offensive of the war – it also defined Canada as a nation. While being guided through the trenches and tunnel, my father and I once again paused to pick up some keepsakes. This time around, it was a piece of chalk and flint (which the ridge is made of) and a small bit of ceramic, possibly from an old teacup.

We then travelled to Dieppe in Normandy and began visiting the World War II sites and memorials. This included the beach of Dieppe where the ill-faired raid performed by the Canadian 2nd Division, British, French and Polish Commandos, and American Rangers. We then drove to the French countryside to the town of Grangues to see where my Grandmothers cousin (an RAF pilot who died on D-Day) was shot down.

This was perhaps the most interesting part of our journey since it involved retracing the path of an actual family member. His name was Wilmot Pettit, and on June 6th, 1944, he was shot down while towing a glider full of British Commandos into the Normandy countryside. The mayor of Grangues was extremely helpful, and drove us to where the crash took place, told of how the survivors had been captured and executed by the SS, offered to send us some photos of the downed plane, and told us where Wilmott had been buried. We then drove to the cemetery at Ranville to pay our respects, before heading on to Bayeux.

From here, we visited Juno Beach, Gold Beach, and saw the museums set up at both that commemorated the D-Day landings of the Canadian, British and Commonwealth troops. We wanted to get around to seeing Omaha, but unfortunately there just wasn’t enough time. We also visited the war cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer, where the many Commonwealth troops who died during the Battle of Normandy were laid to rest. We also managed to walk inside the still-intact coastal batteries at Longues-sur-Mer, and took in the Bayeux Tapestry before leaving for Chartres.

Which brings us by commodious vicus back to the present. We still have a few more nights here in Paris and we intend to see as much as we can before leaving on Friday. And when I get home, I hope to write about my experiences here in more depth. Trust me when I say that this is the explicated version. The full-length one comes with way more background info, and pictures! Until then, take care, and take care to remember…

Off to Europe!

Hey all! Sad to say, I will be away for the next two weeks as the wife and I, and my mother and father, tour the battlefields of Normandy and Flanders. This trip has been a long time in coming, and is a pretty big deal for obvious reasons. Not only is it an opportunity to see some major historic sites – ones which I have been hoping to see for some time – we are also getting the chance to do this tour during the Centenary of World War I.

As my father informed us after returning from doing the battlefields tour back in 2009, commemorating the Great War and World War II is a pretty big deal for the people who live in Northern France and Belgium. Here, the people live with the reminders of these terrible wars every single day, with farmers and villagers finding pieces of shrapnel, bullets, and even unexploded munitions on a regular basis. And in some areas, the evidence of the trenches is still visible, even where they haven’t been preserved.

The sites we will be visiting include Ypres, Beaumont-Hamel, Vimy Ridge, Dieppe, Bayeux, Juno Beach, Caen, Omaha Beach, Chartres, and of course, Paris – which we will be flying in and out of. I will be back on the 25th of April, no doubt with plenty of stories and pictures! Take care, and never forget the sacrifice made by so many for so many more!

Modern Warfare 3

Hey gamers! Today, I will be wrapping things up in my Modern Warfare commentary with my review of the third and final game in the MW series. Having just purchased it a few weeks ago, and played it through for the second time, I can honestly say that I was pretty pleased with it.

As the climax to the series, it was chock full of action and expanded on many of the strengths from the first and second games. And of course, it took things a step further from the last, developing the multiplayer and special ops features even more. This consisted of larger, more detailed environments, more immersive game features, and plenty of new weapons and added features. But of course, all of that takes a bit of a backseat, at least in this reviewers mind, to the plot.

Naturally, it had its share of drawbacks too, most which were similarly consistent with the previous installments. There were plot holes, some over-the-top elements, and an unnecessary scene (which, like last time, pushed the boundaries of good taste). But overall, I’d say it was a fitting and very fun final installment. But like I said, the plot first…

Plot Synopsis:
The story picks up where MW2 left off, with a grand introduction that lets the player know that they are now in the midst of World War 3. In fact, that’s probably one of the coolest aspects of the intro, where after a montage of chaotic scenes from the first two games, we see WW3, and then the first letter flips to reveal the title MW3. Effective, and accurate since the actions of Makarov and Shepherd in the last game led to an open state of war between the Russian bloc and the US.

The intro then extends to a movie/flash-back scene where what is left of Task Force 141 is heading to a field hospital run by Russian Loyalists in northern India. Things in this scene take place from Soap’s POV as Nikolai and Price are hauling him off the chopper and rushing to get him inside. All the while, Soap experiences flash-backs of everything that brought them to this point, including Zakhaev’s death, Makarov’s terrorist acts, and Soap killing General Shepherd. Price’s voice provides narration, saying how the actions of one man can change the world, even bring it all to the precipice.

Once inside, they begin fighting to save Soap’s life. However, matters are complicated when Makarov’s forces arrive on the scene hoping to take out Soap and Price and anyone helping them. Here, you play as Yuri, one of Nikolai’s men, and are tasked with defeating the assault with the help of a remote-controlled drone. Together, the four of you (Soap, Price, Nikolai and Yuri) escape together, as the last of the now-disavowed Task Force 141.

Cut to New York City, where the Russian offensive against the Eastern Seaboard continues. Here, you change POV’s to a member of Delta Force Team Metal named Frost, which is being sent in to Manhattan to take out a Russian jamming device which is preventing US forces from achieving air superiority.

The fight takes you through the streets of downtown Manhattan and into the NYSE, which is itself being occupied by Russian troops. Once you reach the roof and destroy the device, US air forces move in and take out the remaining Russian choppers and Migs, and you get to fly around in a Blackbird and gun some down yourself!

Next, your team joins a bunch of SEALS as you head underwater to take on the Russian fleet that is still occupying the East River. This journey involves traveling through the Lincoln Tunnel, now underwater, and then into the river itself, avoiding Russian mines along the way. Once you reach the sub and force it surface with some charges, board the sub and take out its crew, you set the sub’s ordinance to target all remaining Russian ships in the harbor and make a daring escape on zodiacs.

With this latest victory, the Russian assault on the US which began in MW2 is now defeated. Afterward, Russian President Boris Vorshevsky announces plans to make peace with the United States at a summit in Hamburg. However, Makarov’s men hijack the president’s airfcraft, causing it to crash land while you (playing from the POV of one of his protective detail).

Once on the ground, you and the other survivors rush to find him and his daughter, but Makarov arrives, taking the President hostage and shooting you. In your last seconds, you hear Makarov demanding the launch codes to Russia’s nuclear stockpile, saying he will see Russia standing over Europe, even if it’s a pile of ash.

After recovering from his wounds, Soap and Task Force 141 proceed to Sierra Leone where they are told Makarov’s bomb maker is hiding. After fighting your way through the local villages, which are in the midst of being raided by local warlords, you find your way to the pick up point. Unfortunately, the shipment of chemical weapons is shipped out via helicopter seconds before you arrive. Price then calls up his contacts in the SAS, warning them that the targets are London, Paris and Berlin.

The POV once again shifts to an SAS unit in London which is tasked with raiding one of Makarov’s store houses along the Thames. After an intense chase, which takes you through the London Undergound and back up to Big Ben, the main attack (against Parliament) is thwarted. However, you soon learn that one of the other trucks made it to its destination nearby and is detonated, killing hundreds of people in the immediate vicinity. Similar detonations happen in Berlin and Paris, paving the way for a Russian invasion and World War III.

Team Metal is then sent to Hamburg to rescue the US Vice-President who is still there. The invasion scene calls to mind COD’s many awesome recreations of historic WWII battles, in particular D-Day. After landing on the riverfront and fighting your way up into the streets, you are to provide cover for the tanks as they make their ways down the boulevards to where the VP’s convoy got stranded. Also, you get to be a tank gunner in this mission (finally!), and take out enemy infantry while the M1A1 drives around and blasts the crap out of enemy vehicles.

Meanwhile, Task 141 heads to Somalia to track down a local warlord who was also involved in the shipment of the chemical weapons. After taking him prisoner, Price learns the name and location of Makarov’s bomb maker – a man named Volk who is currently in Paris.

Task Force 141 heads there and teams up with the French GIGN to capture Volk, which involves making your way through some chemical-infested areas. After taking him prisoner, you are then required to get out of Paris before Russian troops can overtake you. Ultimately, this ends in a desperate airlift off of a bridge as the Eiffel Tower is bombed and falls in the distance.

Volk gives up Makarov’s location, who he says will in Prague for a high-level meeting . The next mission involves infiltrating the occupied city with the help of an old friend – the Loyalist commander Kamarov (not to be confused with Makarov, damn anagrams!) As Yuri, you and Soap take up a sniping position in a church overlooking the hotel where the meeting is going down.

However, the op goes awry when Price gets inside and sees that Makorov has taken Kamarov (again, anagrams!) hostage and is onto them. He then sets off a series of bombs which kill Kamarov and blow up the bell tower, sending Soap and Yuri out the window and down onto a scaffolding.

Before the explosion, Makarov reveals that he knows Yuri, information which Soap gives to Price once the three make it to cover. Soap dies on a table from wounds sustained in the fall, and Price puts a gun to Yuri’s head and demands explanations.

Yuri then tells him that he used to be a soldier in Zakhaev’s army, whereupon he met Makarov. Through a series of flashbacks that show events from MW1 and 2, we see that Yuri was there with Makarov when Price shot his arm off outside of Pripyat in the early 90’s.

He was also there when Zakhaev detonated the nuke he gave to Al-Asad, destroying the capitol and killing thousands of American Marines and millions of civilians. Finally, he was there when Makarov and his men murdered hundreds of civilians in the Moscow International Airport. Yuri attempted to prevent the massacre, but was shot by Makarov beforehand, leaving him to die amongst his many other victims.

Having heard all this, Price decides to let Yuri live and begins planning an assault on Makarov’s fortress in the Czech Republic. As Yuri, you storm the old castle and learn that Makarov is holding Russian President Vorshevsky captive and is seeking to capture his daughter who is in Berlin. Rescuing her becomes a priority now, as the President continues to refuse to hand over the launch codes, but wis likely to reconsider if Makarov threatens to kill his daughter. Yuri and Price destroy the base and relay the information to Team Metal.

Switching back to Frost’s POV, you and your team are now responsible for fighting your way through Berlin, which is still contested, and finding the President’s daughter before Makarov’s men do. In the course of this mission, things go sideways, Frost is killed, and the President’s daughter is taken.

However, they are tracked to a Siberian diamond mine where Makarov’s men are also holding the President. A joint strike is planned to rescue both from the mine, which succeeds, even though Metal’s team leader (Sandman) is forced to stay behind and sacrifice himself.

With the Russian President and his daughter alive and well, he travels to D.C. where a truce is declared and all forces with withdrawn. WWIII is over, but PRice is still determined to find Makarov and make him pay for his crimes. In a final mission, he and Yuri travel to hotel in Dubai where they learn Makarov is staying. Now, as Price, you and Yuri break into the buidling wearing Juggernaut suits and fight your way to Makarov on the top floor.

In the ensuing chase, Yuri is impaled and he and Price lose your armor. Price then corners Makarov on the roof as he attempts to board a chopper and the two fight. Makarov gets the upper hand and nearly shoots Price, but Yuri manages to intervene and is shot dead by Makarov. Enraged at the loss of another comrade, Price grabs a hold of Makarov and beats the holy hell out of him.

Realizing that they are also lying on a glass roof that is about to break, he ties the chopper’s metal line around his neck and falls through the roof with him. Makarov is hung while Price falls to a landing below. With Makarov dead and his work done, he pulls himself up and lights a cigar. Mission accomplished!

Summary:
First off, let me just say that this game is stupid-fun! I mean, holy shit, the action and intensity! Boom! Boom! Explosions! Russians! Thugs and militiamen! Urban warfare and infiltration, predators and submarines! Yeah, it was pretty damn bad-ass. They essentially took what they started in MW2, which was to push the boundaries by putting war directly on American soil, and pushed it that extra mile. That was the aim of course, picking up where the last left off with World War III in the wings.

And they expanded on the warfare by adding new environments, most of which involved destroying landmarks and historic places! And there new twists on the available missions, involving underwater infiltration, working with local resistance, tank gunning and wearing a Juggernaut suit. And like last time, they threw in the AC-130 gunships and predators, giving you the ability to deal death from above. Always nice! On top of that, they really went the extra mile to mix up the action. Fighting aboard a jet airliner while it’s in a nose dive, effectively leading to a zero-g gunfight.

As for the multiplayer and special ops, things are similarity awesome. The multiplayer feature has been upgraded with new weapons, new game profiles, and more options, all taken to the extreme! Endless hours of entertainment are available here for those who have a fast machine and internet connection. As for the special ops, things are much the same, but with some noteworthy additions. For example, in the special ops section, there’s the added Survival option alongside the usual Mission feature. In the former, you fight in different environments against increasingly difficult enemies, each win allowing you to upgrade your weapons and options. In the latter, you’re doing much the same as in game two, fighting in different scenarios with different goals, unlocking new missions as you go

I also enjoyed the flashbacks, where material from the first and second installment was included. It was pretty seamless they way they did that. It even added some explanations and background which added a moment or two of plausibility to the plot. Providing Makarov with a dossier was something they neglected to do in the second game, which left a lot of questions of where he came from and why he was conducting terrorism against his own people, especially since the Ultranationalist are supposed to be in charge at that point.

But of course, there was some problems in and around all that. For one, the game shifts locations so often that you really begin to question how the main characters are able to move so much. Especially Task Force 141; how do they get from India to Sierra Leone to Somalia to Europe to Siberia with such ease? All this feels highly unrealistic, especially since this Task Force has been disavowed and don’t have access to government resources anymore. Is Nikolai flying them everywhere? How is he able to do this? What kinds of resources does this guy have?

And for that matter, there’s the issue of Makarov. In this game, his abilities and resources are even more staggering than in the last one. Isn’t this guy supposed to be a freelance terrorist? How then is he able to find an endless supply of men, guns, choppers and chemical weapons to fund his crusade against the west? In Zakhaev’s case, it was understandable. He was leader of a Russian Ultranationist faction in the middle of a civil war. He had almost half the resources of the Russian military at his disposal, including a nuke or two.

But as I recall, his movement went on to win power after he was killed. After that, Makarov took his place and continues the campaign, clearly not happy with the extent to which the Russian government has gone and wanting it to go further. Makes sense, and since General Shepherd was helping to create WWIII, some of what he pulled of in MW2 made sense. But this time around? The way he is able to always get away, take the Russian President hostage, allude the SAS and Task Force 141, and start WWIII is all kind of ridiculous. It’s like the Joker in The Dark Knight, where the villain has some massive master plan and is somehow prepared for everything.

And there was a small trace of the same controversial aspect that made MW2 a bit iffy. This time around, they avoided the scenes of big shoot ups in crowded airports. Most importantly, you aren’t the one doing it! I still don’t get that, that was messed up! However, there is the one scene where you watch one of the chemical bombs going off in the middle of a London street. It all takes place from the POV of a father who’s recording a video of his wife and little daughter as they walk along the sidewalk and point to Big Ben. Then boom! The truck blows up, and the little girl and mother are the first to die. It’s not gruesome or graphic, but what the hell? Was it really necessary to illustrate how bad the bad guys are? We already know they’re setting off bombs in civilian centers and shot up an airport. What else needs to be said?

In the end, the weaknesses smack of a plot where the creators are trying too hard. More action, more locations, more twists, more adventure. It all makes for a pretty skookum gaming experience, but it’s not what you’d call in-depth, and it’s definitely not what you call realistic. But of course, all that can be overlooked the moment you remember that it’s a first-person shooter! Be thankful you get a plot at all, fool! Now get back to shooting stuff and blowing shit up!

Happy Hunting!

Stories by Williams

Classic sci-fi books, reviews, and the best of from a dedicated fan and author!

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