Sunday 10 Sept – Day 11 - Tour Day 1 - Ypres Battlefields and Lille Paris to Lille

I think I needed that early night last night. I put the light out just after 8pm and woke up at 3:30am. That's a good 7 hrs sleep.  Rolled over and slept for another hour or 2 and then decided to get up.  Still to early for breakfast, which doesn't start until 6:30am.

Tomato juice, coffee, yoghurt, cucumber, ham, tomatoes, cheese and salmon then back to my room. I made sure that I hadn’t left anything behind and checked out just after 8am. Sat and people watched. Cill and Dave arrived around 8:15. I’m not sure how

many are on the tour. 20ish I think. A mix of kiwi’s, aussies and Americans.

We got away at 0910.

Trucks are not allowed to drive from 10pm Friday nights until 6am Monday mornings, so you will see trucks parking in parking bays all along the highways over the weekend. Quick loo and/or coffee stop at 10:45 for 20 minutes. Plenty of trucks parked waiting for tomorrow, so they can get on the road again. Lots of windmills in this area. 

We passed into Belgium at 12:24.

First up, after picking up our local guide, was a visit to Hill 60.

 

We departed there at 1:35pm and arrived at our lunch stop about 10 minutes later. 

 A very filling ham, cheese and pate sandwich with salad. I should have taken a photo of it but totally forgot.  It was huge and I think the bread was certainly only baked this morning. That plus a drink of choice, all for €15.  The owner of the cafe has also set up a Brothers in Arms Memorial just around the corner from the Cafe.

After our late lunch we then visited, Polygon Wood,

Hooge Crater Cemetery, where we departed at 4:10, then the Passchendaele Memorial. After that we arrive at Tyne Cot cemetery at 4:25pm. 

 

We departed there at 4:55 and then went to Ypres for the Last Post ceremony.

I had dinner with Cille and Dave. A glass of wine and a frozen yoghurt with cherry sauce, as I was still full from the huge lunch.

The last post ceremony started at 8pm and we were in the bus and on our way back to Lille by 8:15pm. I didn't take any photos of that ceremony.

I forget what time we arrived in Lille but we then had to walk our luggage to the hotel, because of road works.  There was a welcome drink waiting for us and after that it was take your luggage to your room yourself, or have it delivered.  The staff had already started delivering luggage and mine were on the way.  The lift is very small, so there would have been a few trips to get it all delivered. I walked up the 4 flights to my room, puffing and panting at the top and my luggage was delivered about 5 minutes later.  

And that's it for today. Breakfast is being served from 6:30 in the morning. Bags out by 8am and we depart at 9am.  It's just on 11:40pm,  so it's goodnight from me.