I've woken this morning in our lovely apartment attached to front of Jean-Paul and Sophie's home in Mons, Belgium. They rent this space to students, but, lucky for us, university hasn't started yet.
We arrived here on Saturday afternoon after a journey from Versailles that should have taken three hours. As we rolled up the major north bound toll road from Paris, we came to a dead stop behind and endless view of traffic. For just under two hours we sat on a huge highway. So unlike the Willy Nelson song "On the Road Again," we weren't rolling down the highway like a band of gypsies, but rather, according to another driver, we were in fact being blocked by a band of gypsies on the highway who were hoping a blockade protest would secure asylum for one of their members, who had apparently murdered a Frenchman. 
It was a long and boring wait but we, and thousands of others, made the best of it by getting out of the car to walk around and making new friends. Eventually, the police opened a gate into a farmer's field and those of us who were close to it, slipped out of the dense traffic and onto the freedom of a rural road. We weaved our way through the French countryside and eventually made our way to Mons. We missed touring Vimy Ridge that day, but we'll make trip back to see it.

We were welcomed at Jean-Paul and Sophie's with great kindness. They have made many arrangements to make our stay here comfortable. Sophie is a fantastic cook and we've enjoyed several great meals in their gorgeous garden. It's like eating on a movie set! 

Jean-Paul and Sophie have two sons, Clement - 25, and Louis - 22. They are wonderful young men pursing studies in medicine and law respectively. The Belgians love to greet and bid farewell with a kiss on the cheek and it's interesting for us to watch a grown man kiss his father good morning, goodbye or goodnight. Our kids aren't sure what to think of this custom, but I love the intimacy and deliberateness it brings to even a simple act. 
After Sunday brunch, we toured the core of Mons with the family and some of their friends from Brussels. It's a lovely city of 70,00 and they have wonderful bakeries close by to get our daily pain au chocolate. We toured the square, belfry and cafe that served strawberry milkshakes and cold beer - everyone was happy.

After a rest and a cold shower we went back to the town square to witness the annual event, Tanks in Town. This commemorative parade marks the liberation of the city of Mons after 4 years of occupation during WWII. Just seeing the old American tanks roll in gives one a sense of how exhilarating it must have been for the locals to see this sign of freedom so long ago. George was very impressed by the 20-30 tanks, old jeeps and motorcycles. He even had a chance to climb in one. 


While we're in Mons, we're all trying our best to use our French. Jean-Paul and the boys are fluent in English, but Sophie's English is closer to my French - not so great - but we muddle through. The kids are making an effort, but still seem shy about using it. Hopefully that will improve. My French tends to improve after a glass or two of wine.

Our home-away-from-home for 12 days.

Thursday, our final morning in Paris, we stood in line for two hours to be near the front of the line to visit the Catacombs at George's request!

It is a strange place!

Originally a quarry, this underground area became the site to bury dug up bones of six million bodies when the cemeteries were seen to be occupying too much land in the city. A century later, when stabilizing parts of the city, the mass bone yard was rediscovered. Now it's a very popular tourist destination.

When you're confronted with the seemingly endless piles of bones the number six million is reflective. Is this what the six million murdered Jews would have looked like had they been stacked at the end of the Second World War? It's easier to image the scope of it now, but perhapsit's more disturbing than ever.

Molly found the tour rather creepy, and George was fascinated, just the way a 12 year old boy should.

We waved goodbye to Paris and headed to Versailles in our little VW rental car.

We wanted our kids, somewhere along this adventure, to see absolute extravagance and we certainly succeeded at the Chateau de Versailles. We had a tour of the private chambers then joined the masses in seeing the rest of the public space. It is an overwhelming site. I visited here twenty-two years ago, but it was good to see it again. This time we saw the inside of the Opera House, which Molly and I agree was our favourite room.

The splendor and extravagance show in the buildings and the grounds is amazing: What craftsmanship, what expense... no wonder the people revolted!

I love Woody Allen's movie, Midnight in Paris, but after a day strolling Paris in a steady drizzle, I can't quite agree with the main character's love for the city in the rain. I preferred yesterday's sunshine and heat to stroll along the Champs-Elysees from the Arc de Triomphe to the Louvre, then over to Ile de la Cite to see Notre Dame. (Dad, you'd be happy to know we made an ice cream stop before lunch to rejuvenate the kids a little). We didn't go in the Louvre, which I have mixed feelings about. I've never been in, but I'd really rather come back and tour the Louvre over a week long period. I'd love the take the time to enjoy the exhibits rather than rushing through while trying to ignore the complaints of two kids who didn't want to go in. So even though I'm marking things off my travel bucket list, I'm adding to it as well. Barry and I would like to come back and live here for a month sometime, so I'll plan to visit the galleries then. 
I've enjoyed watching Molly and George react to different things around the city. George, for example, wasn't sure what to think as we walked past sex shops today towards the Moulin Rouge. He figures we'd covered the sex ed portion of his home-studies today (Just wait till he gets to Amsterdam)! Molly, on the other hand, seems rather intrigued by the fashion. She thinks middle aged women here wear things that teenage girls at home wear and teenage girls here often look a little trashy. We've visited some high-end stores, such as Tiffany's and De Beers, just to give her a sense of the opposite of trashy.
Due to exhaustion from the recent move, the travel and the time change, we've all be sleeping in and been a bit sluggish here, which is unfortunate, but understandable. We haven't see as much as I thought we would but we don't feel up to pushing a hard travel agenda when a relaxed pace seems more reasonable. And, we'll be back. Not on this trip, but I'm certain the kids will come here again to explore the city in more detail. Tomorrow we hope to see the Catacombs, at George's request, but the line ups will be long and will take our last morning. We'd like to get out by 11:30 in order to get to Versailles for a scheduled tour. 
Our visit here has been short, but I think it's been a great start to our adventure.

We have arrived safely in Paris, after long night on the plane. No one got more than half an hour sleep due to some rowdy baby passengers. I had to explain to Molly what I meant when I said at 4am, "it's a no wonder God made babies cute." She thought it was a bit extreme that I suggest it was for self preservation.

Despite the lack of sleep, the flight was good. The kids loved being able to watch 2-3 movies, and I was happy to be off my feet after the past week of packing up our house and making trip preparations b

We celebrated Molly's birthday as breakfast was being served high in the sky.. It'll probably be the only time she celebrates her birthday morning over the Atlantic...or maybe not, she liked flying.

The kids napped as we drove to Paris, and so did I for a while. Molly slept so hard we couldn't wake her when we arrived, so the boys checked in and I rested in the car with Her for another hour. She certainly didn't have her birthday charm on when I woke her, but I was tired of waiting to explore Paris as it's been 22 years since Barry and I were here on our honeymoon.

It was Molly's birthday wish to climb the Eiffel Tower. We tried to buy tickets for the elevator 6 weeks ago, but even then they were all sold out. Molly was happy because she wanted to climb anyway. Despite some light rain, we enjoyed the view and our eleven year old girl now has something special to remember about this year.

We strolled the city for hours but had to retire to the room early due to exhaustion. We picked up some food at the grocery store for tomorrow and even shopping in a Paris grocery store is an experience. Wine and cheese galore!

It's 8:30, Barry's out cold and the kids and I are tucked in and ready for sleep too.

Molly said this afternoon, "I can't believe we're actually here." I know how she feels. What a wonderful start to our long anticipated trip.

We're on the plane. We're surrounded by beautiful children. It could be an entertaining flight!

We're sitting at the airport, all checked in. It's hard to believe the day of departure has arrived. The stress about what to take and what to leave behind is done, we've said all the goodbyes we can, and now it's just the four of us embarking on an incredible journey. The first leg, driving from Haliburton to Toronto, was smooth and hopefully that's a sign of things to come. 
Thanks to everyone who has helped us prepare and who made a special effort to see us off. 
We love you and and we'll keep you posted.
Now I'm off to buy a few last minute Canadian gifts at the airport...and maybe a secret stash of maple syrup for myself.
Wheels up!