Vimy Ridge

An early start to the day was called for to make sure we reached the train station to catch our train to Arras- so off we were at 7:00. Since that meant we missed getting our hotel breakfast, Ainsley got to try a French donut. We were at Gare du Nord with time to spare, and had no problems with the tickets, trip or arriving in Arras. As we walked out to the main station, we were promptly met by Claude V., our guide for the day. We started out directly headed for Vimy Ridge.

The monument is impressive, along with the symbolism. Then, we took a quick stop back up the road where Claude explained the ways and meaning behind the varying cemeteries, before we went to the newly opened museum at the trench site. The museum was also well done- and helps show the impact of the overall war.

We next stopped at a number of the local different hill points, getting an overview of the trench sites and the distance (and lack of distance) between trenches. We stopped for lunch a an English tea shoppe located close to the shared French/British memorial to the unlocated dead, which had a very interesting display [right now I'm tired and can't remember all the place names] which depicted one day in the battle of the Somme, at the start, in the style of the Bayoun Tapestry. We were surprised at the end to see a French airplane from the era.

Each of the above squares is an individual photo from the era. The last large stop of the day was the Memorial to the Newfoundlanders, again interesting the scope and distance, along with the remnants of barbed wire stanchions still in the fields. I was impressed by both of the Canadian Museums, which depicted the stories in vey interesting ways. Claude answered all my questions all day long, and even the few that Ainsley had- he was very knowledgeable about every aspect of the war.we ended the day with some time in Arras. We spent it getting stamps, and a sweet for Ainsley- Grammie, do you recognize it?

Tomorrow-Versailles.