Waterloo

Abba song?  

Yes, but so much more.

Every year, the Battle of Waterloo is re-enacted, at the site of the battle, just outside Brussels - in . . . Waterloo.  

Just in case you forgot, it's where Napoleon was finally defeated.

To commemorate 200 years since that famous battle, the re-enactment was stepped up a notch this year.

Tickets for the event went on sale in 2014 and after the first 110,000 tickets sold out, another 8,000 extra tickets were made available (also sold out).  I read where these tickets were sold to people from 60 different countries.

In another effort to commemorate this event, Belgium decided to issue a 2 Euro coin.

Well, all hell broke loose in France.  The French had a meltdown and insisted that all 180,000 coins Belgium had already minted also be melted down.   The French government sent a letter to Belgium saying that the coins would "cause an unfavorable reaction in France".  You know, Napoleon was French.

He was forced into exile after his defeat in Waterloo so that was basically the end of the road for him and apparently the French still don't want that commemorated.

Well, leave it to Belgium to figure out a way to do it anyway.  Evidently there is a rule that EU countries can unilaterally issue a coin as long as it's in an irregular denomination.

Voila!  The Battle of Waterloo 2 1/2 Euro Coin.

The Royal Belgian Mint in Brussels displays the €2.50 coin, bearing the Lion’s Mound monument at Waterloo and a diagram of the battle lines on 18 June 1815. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

The Belgian finance minister said "The goal is not to revive old quarrels.  In a modern Europe, there are more important things to sort out."  

I'm sure the French government appreciated him pointing this out.


"Audacity succeeds as often as it fails; in life it has an even chance."

Napoleon Bonaparte

Long Time Coming

Long time coming?  Maybe not to some and maybe not in the big scheme of things, but way too long for many and plenty long enough for me.

I'm referring to the U. S. Supreme Court decision that finally places America among the nations on the right side of history.

It's not often that the U. S. joins a list that includes Norway, Sweden, and Denmark - ranked as some of the happiest places in the world to live . . .

or France, Spain, and Portugal - with some of the best health systems in the world . . .

or Iceland, New Zealand and Canada - some of the safest countries in the world . . .

or Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands - some of the best places in the world to raise children . . .

but it joins them now.  All of them.  We've come a long way.

Nearly 4 years ago to the day, I published this blog post.  I think it's worth posting again today.

Click

The Straight and Narrow . . . minded?

Barcelona Sand Finale

This ends the chronicle of our road trip, primarily for Barcelona sand, but it turned out to be so much more.

Although there were highways and traffic . . .

like this in Paris . . .

and more than enough toll booths throughout France and Spain . . .

like this.

On our entire trip of about 2000 miles, we stopped at 24 toll stations like this one and paid over 200 euros in tolls. 

There were not too many times when three lanes were slowed to a crawl . . .

and just a little rain in Spain.

We were lucky not to be stopped in traffic very often - like that other side of the interstate there . . .

and there.

Of course, we can't forget this little souvenir from Barcelona.


HOWEVER . . .

there was WAY more of all this . . .

Scenery almost too beautiful to be real.

Historic little towns that time and war have not erased.

Mountains and lakes as pristine as they were centuries ago.

Villas and rivers that have stood and withstood the test of time.

Views and landscapes that no photo can do justice.

Castles and settings that only a romantic can fathom.

And sunsets every single day for all of us to enjoy.

And, my sweet husband, capturing us . . . so happy and so lucky to have been in all these magnificent places.

Merci beaucoup
Muchas gracias
Hartelijk bedankt

Thanks for reading my blog :)

Loire Valley

Back to our road trip . . .

On our next to last day on the road, we took the long way, driving through the Loire Valley.  Pronounced, more or less, la waar (as in "la car" or "la bar").

Here's the map so you an see where the Loire region is located.  You can also see Belgium on the map.  We live about 3 hours north of the Champagne region.

The river isn't illustrated on that map of the wine regions so . . .

Here you go.

Side note . . . only sparkling wine grown in the Champagne region can be called champagne.  I did not know this before moving to Europe.  All other sparkling wines are produced with various fermentation methods and must be named something else . . . like in other parts of France they are called cremant or mousseux.   Sparkling wine produced in Italy is called prosecco or asti.  In Spain it's called cava . . . and so forth.  So, although "champagne" may have become synonymous with sparkling wine, it isn't.  Nor is Band-aid, Kleenex, Thermos, etc.

At Tours, France, we got off the interstate and drove a couple of hours toward Orleans (south of Paris) on Highway D952.  It runs directly along the Loire River the entire way.

Most of my pictures were taken from the car window as we passed through little small towns like Amboise, Blois, and Beaugency (where we spent the night) .

The Loire Valley is about 300 square miles of land along the Loire River in central France.  It is considered the "garden of France".  In addition to vineyards everywhere, I read that asparagus and artichokes are also grown here.  We didn't see any, but . . .

I DID see these in a garden right here in Hasselt.  I had never seen artichokes growing.

Back to the Loire Valley . . . this road we took is a two-lane with very little traffic which was nice.

As you would expect, there are castles (chateaux in French) along the way - more than 50 famous ones.  This one is the Château de Chaumont  and dates back to the 10th century.

This is that castle before I zoomed in on it.

We definitely could have spent several days driving around these small towns.  Maybe next time!

We decided to stop and take a walk along the river.

The banks are sandy with a lot of rocks.

This was the view from where we stopped for our walk.  That's the Château d'Amboise and dates back to the 11th century.

Loire River Valley, France

We said if didn't know better, we'd say that looks a lot like Louisiana.

Happy Father's Day

How lucky we are to have someone to call Dad, Daddy or Papa.  I know I was.  I know Jim is.  I know Randi and Ross are . . . and I know so many others who are too.

Here are a few photos that include just some of the great Dads I know . . .

but I probably know this one best of all . . .

Happy Father's Day