My Most Excellent European Adventure, Part 3. Day 10: In the Trenches

 After such a chaotic couple of days, it was nice to have a relatively low key day. We slept in a bit and and left at about 10 to go to a local farmer's market where we assured the best Belgian waffles around. It is such a different way of life to buy all of your food in an open air market - and just a few things at a time. No buying in bulk here. It would be very hard to get used to, I think. It was very charming and fun. The best part was of course the waffles!!

Delicious bread. 

Olive bar

Beth scoping out the wares

Apparently this market is known for having the best waffles. The secret is this: they put big chunks of sugar in the batter so it sticks to the waffle iron and kind of carmelizes each waffle.No toppings, syrup or anything else needed. They are amazing on their own.

The piece de resistance... 

I enjoyed every bite

After the waffles we wandered the market for a bit and I found some mausches (chocolate sprinkles)  at a local store and we were off to to town of

Ypres... or Ieper... It is known by many names but is pronounced (ee-pray) This is a beautiful town with a lot of WWI history. We went to a fantastic WWI museum- probably the best museum I have ever been to. Lots of interactive things and multi media (music, voices reading texts, sound effects, videos... you name it!) 




They gave each of us a ticket with a person's name on it to scan in and learn about throughout the tour. At the end you got to find out if the person lived or died.

This was my person. She was a nurse who did not survive the war.

I learned a lot about the history of the war and the area. There were so many battles that took place here and this was also the location of the famed Christmas Truce. 

On the way we stopped at a few historical sites. First up was Yorkshire trench.

Our next historical stop was Flander's Fields. This is the location of the famous poem by the same name. This was written John McCrae.

The fighting that took place here and where the fallen soldiers are now buried was in someone's farm. I can't imagine a war taking place in inhabited areas, or literally in someone's back yard. Quite sobering. This was such a beautiful area dotted with sad reminders of a World War all around.

We arrived at the Passey's at about 5:30 and relaxed for a while. We decided that we would treat them to dinner as a thanks for their hospitality. To Pita Palace! Once, again the fries and andalouse, meat and other fillings did not disappoint. We just chatted, played some games with the family and headed to bed. Only one more day to go! I've been thinking about Dad's surprise party tomorrow night at home. Mom and everyone must be so busy getting ready. I feel bad I am missing it, but not much I can do. Hope the surprise goes off well. I am sure it will be a fun party. Can't wait to hear about it in a couple of days. 

Thought I would include a list of the yummy food we had today:

waffles in Brussels

Italian ice in Ypres

Eclair

Pita

Various chocolates 

   = Yummy!!!