Europe Trip Journal 2006

A. Hart 2006

Day 1

We arrived at approximately 11:00am London time. Dinner on the flight was good (roast beef with gravy), but breakfast was little more than a cranberry muffin and a yogurt. I didn’t get any sleep on the plane, but it seems my jetlag – which resulted in me being really cranky on the plane – has turned into hyperactivity! The bus is amazing; it’s absolutely huge. We could hardly believe it, when it pulled up in front of us. Our driver is named Ali, and he’s Belgian (though he speaks French). Our tour guide is named Paul, and he’s Mr. Hoganson’s former social studies teacher. Our first stop was the London Imperial War Museum, where we were given 2 ½ - 3 hrs to wander around and look at the various exhibits. Wes and I checked out almost all of the stuff, and did a trench simulation, and a London blitzkrieg simulation. While we were kept busy, out jetlag seemed to be non-existent, but when we sit down for very long, it starts coming back. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could fully explore the Holocaust exhibit. When we got back on the bus, Ali took us on a 30min tour of the sites in London. We drove by Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Parliament Buildings, and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the “London Eye”. Then we continued on. Upon reaching the youth hostel, we were assigned rooms. I was put with Wes, Nevada, and Carlos. Our room contained 2 bunk beds, a closet, and for some odd reason, a sink. The room was rather small. Dinner was…odd. For an appetizer I choose a glass of orange juice. I had curry chicken and rice for the main course, and it wasn’t bad. For dessert I had a huge piece of the best apple crumble ever. We got back to the room and I got to sleep somehow…when Wes let me.

Day 2

I woke up at 2:00am (London time) because everyone else in our room was up. We spent the time talking, until other people started waking up at about 5:30am(ish). The four of us, along with John, Carleigh, and Amanda hung out until breakfast. Breakfast was alright. I got 3 croissants, because Carleigh gave me hers. We left earlier than planned, because we were all awake, and hit the road at 7:30ish, heading to the ferry at Dover. We got on the ferry at 9:15ish, and on the ferry we waved goodbye to the white cliffs of Dover, and set sail to France. The ferry ride was uneventful. Nevada and I hung out, because most of the others were busy smoking (ID necessary for tobacco and alcohol in Europe). Those of us who don’t smoke are: Myself, Ryan, Nevada, Kathleen, Kristina, Alessia, Breanne, Bailey, Stephanie, and Madison (note how only 3 are male). I bought a danish on the ferry. We could still see the white cliffs of Dover when we finally reached the not-so-white cliffs of France and moved 1hr ahead. Then we got back on the bus and headed to Essex Farm. Miles gave us a little presentation on the bus of what happened at Dunkirk, as we drove near the beach. In Belgium I noticed that all of the churches are big cathedral style, and generally have big graveyards around them…it’s kinda creepy. Essex Farm is a cemetery, and is the site where John McCrae wrote his famous poem, and is also where his friend (whom the poem was written for) is buried. We walked around, and found 3 specific graves. 1 was John McCrae’s friend, 1 was a 15 year old boy who had enlisted in WWI, and the last was a Victoria cross winner. Wes and I found our own graves “W. Cook” and “J. Hart”. Then we played field medic (McCrae was a field medic), and carried each other as if we were wounded. My camera battery ran low, so I didn’t get many pictures. Then we headed to Hill 62. Hill 62 had an even bigger cemetery. After looking through that, we checked out the monument made in honor of the Canadians, who had to take the hill from the Germans twice. There was a shop, which had a bunch of pictures from WWI, and in the backyard they had a near perfect replica of the trenches that we walked through. There were shell holes, and tunnels, and trenches, and plenty of mud. I enjoyed the tunnels; they were long, and pitch black with lots of puddles. You were pretty much blind, and scared because you didn’t know how long it was, or where you’d end up, or even what was in front of you. Then we went and took a look at Hooge crater/cemetery, and there was a little museum that we walked through. Next we headed to the Tyne Cot cemetery. But before getting to Tyne Cot, we stopped and got a snack, because many of us were getting hungry, and dinner in Europe is eaten later…like 8:00pm! I bought a few pastries, and they were very good. At Tyne Cot, we were stunned with the number of graves. There were 11956 marked graves, and on the memorial they had walls upon walls of lists of names…around 34927 names of people with no known grave. Since it seems my Lithium ion batteries slowly recharged without a charger, I was able to take more pictures. We also visited the Brooding Soldier monument, which commemorates the Canadians stood their ground when the Germans first used deadly chlorine gas. While the French fled, the Canadians didn’t break the line (which would have left the British exposed), urinated on cloth and held it over their face (the theory being the uric acid would crystallize the chlorine). It worked well enough that most of the Canadians survived, and the line held. We took some time to visit Langemark (a German cemetery), which was quite interesting. The bodies are mostly cremated, and the graves are black. The markers may represent more than one person (1 marker for 6 people), and there is a lot of work put into the design, and visual aspect of it. Then it was off to Roubaix, where we stayed in the Ibis hotel. The rooms had towels, a TV, and 2 single beds shoved together (but with separate sheets). An unexpected change of plans, meant that our dinner was at a place 12km from our hotel, at a place called the Casino Cafeteria. The food was terrible. We had beef patties, with fries, and a gross pudding for dessert. A number of the patties were pink inside, so I just ate the bun. The smokers are becoming a nuisance, but Hoganson seems to be on top of it. On the bright side, my camera is charged! I’m rooming with Andrew Hodgins tonight. I fell asleep almost right away.

Day 3

Woke up today at 6:30 due to a very loud wake up call, after a good night’s sleep. I had time for a quick shower before heading downstairs for breakfast. I had a meal consisting of the 3 essential food groups: Chocolate (chocolate filled bun), pastry (croissant), and juice (orange juice). Our first stop was Vimy Ridge, where we crossed the border into Canada. The first thing I noticed, was what looked like grass covered moguls, but were really the remains of trenches, shell holes, and mine holes (the biggest were caused by mines). A lot of the areas were fenced off because there are still many mines lying around. Naturally, Mr. Lawson made a joke about running through the fields and playing a little “Vimy Roulette”. We walked through the little museum at the visitor center, and then checked out the replica trenches outside. Then we got a tour of the Grange Tunnel, which was used to bring men and their stores and equipment close to the front lines, secretly and protected from shellfire. This was pretty cool. It was entirely underground, and the guide did a really good job. There were a couple of cemeteries there that we looked at, and it rained a little. The monument was unfortunately under reconstruction, so we didn’t get to see it (except the tarp had blown off, so we saw part of it). Then we headed to lunch at a wonderful French fast food joint, and I had a burger with fries, and a drink. I also bought a Toblerone and a Kit Kat as emergency food. Next we went to Thiepval, where they had a memorial to all of the soldiers whose bodies were never found. It was huge and had thousand of names etched into the walls. After looking through the information center and gift shop, we set off to Beaumont-Hamill. Once again we found ourselves on Canadian soil, specifically Newfoundland. This is because it is a memorial to the Newfoundland regiments, who were completely slaughtered by the Germans…with no survivors. Finally, it was off to Verdun, and on the way, we had a quiz with prizes! Wes and I got 14/15 which tied with Zack and Alessia for first. I won a book of WWI poems. We reached out 2-star hotel 3 and a half hours later, but despite how it looked, it was really nice. I was in a room with Wes and Nevada, so it could have been worse. Dinner was amazing; the best food yet (roast beef, carbonated lemonade, and some awesome ice cream). Then I did some crosswords, and attempted to go to bed. However, Wes decided to steal my pillow. I took it back, but then he went after Nevada’s pillow, and when I pulled him off of Nevada he flipped out, and the situation escalated from there. I decided to tell the teachers afterwards, and after a little lecture, they sent us to bed, and I fell asleep.

Day 4

This morning went well, even though everybody knew what happened last night. Breakfast for me was 3 croissants, and 2 glasses of orange juice. Our first stop today was Fort Douaumont, which was built by the French prior to WWI. It was taken by the Germans for a while, until eventually the French recaptured it. We were early, and had to wait for it to open. Then we walked through the fort, which was rather unnerving, because it’s underground, and big, and spooky, and there are still bodies there (sealed off). Next we headed to the Ossuary, which was probably the biggest cemetery we went to. It is absolutely huge. Inside the building, they have names of people who are buried underneath the structure itself, and around the back there are windows that allow you to see the human bones. Then we took a ride to the Trench of the Bayonets, where a number of French soldiers were buried alive in a trench by artillery, and were found when somebody saw their bayonets sticking out of the ground. With that, our WWI portion of the tour was pretty much over. We headed back to Verdun for lunch, split into groups of at least 4, and I bought a very tasty hamburger. The no alcohol rule was quickly broken by some of the other kids, but I see no point in letting it bother me. We wandered around the shops, and I discovered that the bank machines don’t like my bank card. There was a protest about the new labor law, which we watched for a bit, and then at 4:30pm we went back to our hotel. At the hotel, I played several rounds of cheat with Madison, Bailey, Nevada, Stephanie, and several others. Then I did crosswords until dinner, which wasn’t as good as last night (curry), but it was good enough to eat. Afterwards, I continued with crosswords and tried calling home, but had to leave a message. Then Carlos joined our room, and we watched soccer and kickboxing before falling asleep…there were no incidents.

Day 5

I didn’t have time for a shower this morning, but I will be forgiven. Exactly the same breakfast as yesterday, and at 9:00am we started our 3hr trip to Paris. Upon reaching Paris, we drove around the Arc de Triomphe in a crazy big (8 lane), lane-less (unmarked lanes), traffic circle. Then we parked the bus and walked to lunch, at a famous restaurant…McDonalds! After a nice hamburger, we walked through the Arc de Triomphe. From there we were given an hour to shop down the Champs Elysées, in groups of 4. So the smokers lit up, and away we went. At 3:30pm we all met up at the obelisk, and Mr. Hoganson, Mr. Lawson, Zack and Kelsey Flower, Nevada, and I went to the Louvre, wile the other kids went shopping. The Louvre was amazing; it was huge, and there were armed guards with automatic weapons keeping an eye on everything! Apparently, if you stopped to look for 30 seconds at every exhibit in the Louvre, it would take you about 2 ½ years to go through it all! We saw the Mona Lisa – which was cool, but didn’t strike me as enlightening – and the Coronation of Napoleon, and plenty of other artwork. Thanks to my map reading skills, we were able to streamline our visit, and didn’t get lost. We made it back to the bus at 6:00pm, and waited half an hour for the shoppers. We drove to dinner at a place called Flunch. The food was…edible (French steak; which is basically a hamburger without the bun). Then we went to our hotel, where I roomed with Kelsey, John, and Simran. John and Colin met their older sister Ashley at the hotel – where she had waited for them – while Kelsey, Simran, and I talked in the hallway with Brianne. It seems people are starting to feel homesick. We also watched part of Star Wars Episode 4 in German (which was kind of funny, since it has a lot in common with the Nazi regime in WWII), and caught glimpses of pay-per-view channels. Our room was fairly nice, but neither John nor I had pillows (though we didn’t have to share the double bed either), but by using a blanket as a pillow, we both fell asleep nicely.

Day 6

I woke up too late to take a shower, so I will hopefully take one tonight. Breakfast (for me) was a ham slice, a cheese slice, juice, a bun, and 2 croissants. Then after a minor setback with another person at the hotel, we got on the bus with John and Colin’s sister Ashley, and drove to our first destination; Les Invalides (Napoleon’s tomb). It was a big museum, which had a lot of military history in it. I found a bank machine and tried taking out 60€ instead of 80€, and it worked! Then we headed to the Eiffel Tower, which was pretty cool. The armed guards were back, so I got some pictures of them. We went up to the first floor, and wandered around there. I bought a brownie before going back down. I seem to be rather hyper today, even though I took my meds. For lunch, I bought a waffle, with chocolate sauce, and whipped cream, and a hot chocolate. Our city tour was almost cancelled, but the guide showed up at the last second. The woman who was giving us the tour knew what she was talking about, but most of the tour was boring, and I think I slept through part of it. We got off the bus at Notre Dame, and the guide showed us through. The stained glass windows were awesome, and I learned some interesting history that I’ll never remember. From there, we glimpsed Point Zero outside of the cathedral (from which all measurements in France are taken), waved goodbye to our tour guide, and walked to Flunch for dinner. Before eating dinner, we were given 20min to shop, but I didn’t buy anything. Dinner tonight was chicken, and not burger patties (which meant nourishment)! After dinner – while walking to the bus – several of us (myself included) bought crepes. I got a chocolate (Nutella) and banana crepe. It was now time for our boat cruise down the river Seine. The beginning was nice with the sunset, and the Pont Alexandre III (pont = bridge) named after Tsar Alexander III, then it got less interesting. We turned around and headed back up the river, towards the Eiffel Tower; it was nearly dark. By the time we got to the tower, it was all lit up, but we continued past it, before turning around. This time the sun had completely set, and the tower was glowing like a golden flamingo tied up with magnesium ribbon, strapped with gunpowder casings, and set alight. We were all cold, when we got back to the bus; and nice and hyper going back to our hotel (Ali even had the music going, with the blue aisle lights flashing). Nothing exciting happened tonight, except that for a few minutes we got our pay-per-view working (till Nevada interrupted). I took the double bed with Simran, and fell asleep.

Day 7

It was too late to shower last night. I woke up this morning with 15min to be on the bus! I missed breakfast, so now I’m tired, hungry, and probably smelly…mostly hungry, and especially smelly, but tired too. Our first stop today, was the Château de Versailles, and because I have emergency food, my breakfast was a Toblerone. The Château de Versailles was alright…except for the ridiculously huge backyard, which was amazing. For lunch, I had a chocolate crepe, ham and cheese sandwich, and a (glass) bottle of Coke. It was all very tasty. Next we got on the bus for our short, little…3hr trip to the Canadian Juno Beach Center. We had another quiz, and I partnered with Kelsey; we cam in 3rd. The Juno Beach Center was pretty cool. The guide led us around the beach, and then we were given time to explore the museum, where I bought a few gifts. We then drove to a Canadian (WWII) cemetery – Beny-Sur-Mer – and spent some time walking through it, before heading to our hotel in Caen. Our hotel room is the smallest yet. I’m in a room with Miles, and Zack. The bathroom is nearly as small as the ones on the airplanes, and somehow they managed to fit a shower in there. We immediately left for dinner…which was at the Casino Café, again! *Groans* Well, this one wasn’t nearly as bad, and I got a ham slice, French fries, a bun, and a can of Coke. It was in a shopping center, so afterwards we got to wander around there. Before heading back to the hotel, some of us (me included) stopped at a McDonald’s. After a long wait in line, I bought a McFlurry. Then back at the hotel, I read for a bit, before going to sleep.

Day 8

I got up after a good night’s sleep, to a breakfast consisting of a bun with butter and a glass of orange juice. However, I did have time to stick my head in the shower, and wash my hair; so now I feel clean! Our first stop today was l’Abbaye d’Ardenne, where 18 Canadian POWs were murdered by Kurt Meyer’s S.S. Youth. The abbey was very nice, and the garden where the Canadians were murdered was beautiful in its simplicity and natural growth. Next we journeyed to the Caen War Museum, which was amazing. The exhibits we wandered through were very well designed, and afterwards I bought some stuff in the gift shop. Then we bought lunch there, and I got a big ham and butter sandwich, a coke, and a doughnut. Then I watched a bit of an exhibit on Anne Frank, and soon we were ushered into a cinema they had. We all watched 2 shows. They were somehow very emotionally overwhelming for me, and when we left afterwards, even Natalie was telling me that they made her stop and think, and she was beginning to understand what these people went through. Next we visited the largest Canadian WWII cemetery – Bretteville-sur-Laize – which contains 2 793 Canadian graves, and a Polish cemetery. After the Polish cemetery, we had our 3rd quiz, but we didn’t get partners, or any results, before heading into Caen. In downtown Caen, we were given several hours to burn in the shops. Nevada, Colin, and I wandered around for a bit, and then decided to get something to eat at McDonald’s I got a McFlurry and a Coke. It seems that we are getting used to being pedestrians in Europe, and European traffic. We checked in with the teachers at 4:00ish, and then Nevada and I went to an internet café. We discovered that French keyboards are very different, but we figured out enough that we managed. I sent emails out to my friends and family. 20 minutes later, Nevada and I had a little scare when we forgot that we had until 6:00 pm, and noticed the bus was gone. This was resolved quickly when the bus pulled up. I spent the rest of the time hanging out on the bus. We made a quick pit stop at the hotel, before going to dinner. We had pasta at the Casino Café, and it was better than Day 2, but not as good as last night. After dinner we went bowling. I bowled against Colin, Alana, Brianne, Natalie, Mr. Mellor, and Ms. Mann. The teachers made us look bad – Mellor got at least 120 and Mann scored 99 – so we didn’t count them. I won with 88 points; Brianne came next with 75; Colin got 72; and Natalie got 40-50ish. Then we walked back to the hotel, and socialized a bit before going to bed.

Day 9

Today we had an early wake up (6:30am), so we could eat breakfast (7:00am). For nourishment I consumed 1 bun, 1 glass of orange juice, and 4 pieces of baguette. I had time, but didn’t bother showering, so I changed my clothes instead. Our first stop today was the largest German WWII cemetery – La Cambe – where the famous German tank commander – Michael Wittmann – is buried, and there are over 21 200 men in total buried. Next we headed to Pointe du Hoc, where the Germans had gun batteries that could cause major problems for Allied forces. It was a blast! (No pun intended). There were tons of shell holes, and crumbling bunkers. We had lots of fun running and climbing, especially since it was a beautiful warm day. I got lots of exercise, and could have been entertained for hours there. When we were finally rounded up, we headed to Omaha beach (A.K.A. “Bloody Omaha”). We spent a couple of minutes at the memorial, and then we drove to the beach. Once at the beach, Paul talked to us and gave us an idea of what happened to the Americans, and then we walked down the beach until we came to a long staircase. When we finally got to the top, we found that we had reached the American cemetery for Omaha, which has about 9 000 headstones. There were many American tourists there. It was now time for lunch, so we drove to a small town called Port en Bessin. I got a pizza, and it was very good. Some of the other kids found some firecrackers, which they know they can’t get through customs, but they bought them anyway. We got on the bus and left at 2:07pm. We had more exercise, and more fun at the Batterie de Longues – a German gun emplacement, which posed a threat to the Allied invasion. We went afterwards to the museum in Arromanches, where the Allies made a temporary port to supply Operation Overlord – Mulberry Harbor. We were led around by the guide, and then watched 2 short movies before leaving. We were then given a bunch of free time in town, which I spent part of checking out the souveniers, but didn’t buy any. Madison, Kathleen, Bailey, and Stephanie bought a soccer ball, and we spent a lot of time on the beach playing keep-away. Nevada, John, Kelsey, Simran, the 4 girls, and I spent the longest time playing. We were sandy, and exhausted at the end, and the screen on my camera got a small crack, but it was the most fun I’ve had yet! We then boarded the bus, and headed back to Caen for dinner. Before going to dinner, we stopped for half and hour at the hotel. I shaved, put on my collared shirt, and washed my hair of sand, because somehow the teachers got us dinner at the Buffalo Grill, instead of the Casino Café. For dinner I had a steak – which was kind of overcooked, but still good – with pepper sauce, Coke, fires, and a weird apple pie type dessert, which I rather enjoyed. Then we had some time at the hotel to hang out. I played a strange no-rules version of basketball with Kathleen, Madison, Bailey, and Stephanie, against Ryan, Colin, and Andrew. We used the hanging plant baskets as nets, and Ryan and I mostly acted like goalies. We were running back and forth on the second floor, preventing the other team from making baskets, and catching the ball for our own team and placing it in the baskets. It was lots of fun, and nobody was keeping score. Some of the kids went over to McDonald’s, but most of the ones who didn’t – Kathleen, Nevada, Riley, Zack, Ryan, Amanda, Andrew, Brianne, Myself, and others – used both balls in a passing game (only feet) with all of us in a circle. When the other kids got back, it was almost lights out. So I retreated to the room with my book. Riley asked to switch rooms with me, so I went over to Carlos and Simran’s room, and read my book there. After all the exercise I had today, I had no problems falling asleep.

(Note: Since we left Paris we have been mostly driving through what is known as hedgerow country)

Day 10

Oh god, I’m so sore this morning! Especially my legs…they ache. I got a nice wakeup call too: “You have half an hour to eat breakfast, and be on the bus!” Good things I washed my hair yesterday. 1 orange juice, 2 baguettes, and 3 cake/bread things later, I was on the bus. We decided to kill some time in the coastal village of Etretat. Nevada, Colin, and I went down to the beach and spent the time dodging the waves – which I excelled at. We left at 10:50am(ish) and continued to Dieppe. Dieppe was apparently, the greatest single air battle in WWII, and out of approximately 5 000 Canadians, there were 907 casualties, which mostly occurred in roughly 6 hrs. We got to the first part shortly after noon, which was Green Beach (Pourville), and spent a couple minutes there before getting on the bus and continuing on. We then made another quick stop at a castle that overlooked White Beach, and Red Beach. On the bus, out of the wind and threatening skies, we headed to lunch in Dieppe. I don’t know what we would ever do without McDonald’s. After getting lunch there, Nevada and I spent the remainder of our time walking around the nearby shopping center. At 2:00pm we were on the bus, heading to Blue Beach. There we listened to Paul, saw the memorial, and walked along the beach. It was eerie, because of all the ruins still lying around, including an overturned bunker, which had fallen from the top of the cliff. Blue Beach took about 145 casualties. Next we drove to the Canadian Dieppe War Cemetery, and after walking around there, got back on the bus. From there we headed to the main beach (White and Red), and reenacted the story of Paul’s father. We went down to the shoreline, and the bigger kids attempted to carry the smaller kids up onto the beach. There was a very steep hill and the beach is rocky, not sandy, so every time the bigger kids took a step up the hill, the rocks would slide them downwards part of the way. I think Andrew and I were the only ones who made it to the top. Paul sent us back down and had us run to the top, and lie flat. The guy who was supposed to take out the barbed wire was forced to hold the explosive in place with his own hand, because he was unable to make it stay, and sacrificed his own life to do so. Then we chose where on the wall (cause there would have been a wall) to set our explosive charges, for the tanks that couldn’t get up the beach and were mostly destroyed, to get through. After setting the charges, it was clear the entire raid was a failure, and we set about to carrying the wounded (4-5 were selected) to where the medic was. We did this, and as we brought back 2 more (Wes and Colin), we found the medic and the other wounded gone, except for their shoes, which were left behind…with their feet still in them. We decided to bring these wounded down to the boats. Then we got on the boat with them, but before we got very far, the boat was capsized by artillery, and we were thrown into the water wearing our heavy boots and wool uniforms. Plenty of others drowned, but we managed to make it back to the shore. We spent the rest of the time bringing the wounded down to the boats, as the water turned red with Canadian blood (not reenacted), but because all the boats were full, we kept going back and forth, until the German commander came out and said, “Alright boys, that’s enough. Come on out.” Paul finished the rest of the story, and we were given an hour and a half of free time. Nevada, Carleigh, and I walked down to the garden dedicated to Canada, and then waited on the bus until 6:00pm. Then we drove to the hotel (another Ibis), where I was put in a room with Ryan! This was quickly resolved when Andrew asked to switch with me, and I was put in a room with Simran, which was good. The rooms here are really nice, and they had a French dub of the anime “Monster” on TV! At 7:00 we went to dinner at Flunch, which wasn’t bad (I had ham). Then we headed back to the hotel, I read in my room, and then went to bed. I’m still sore.

Day 11

Woke up today (still sore) and had only enough time to wash my hair. I once again had the 3 essential food groups (see Day 3) and we left at about 8:40am for Ieper, Belgium again. I told the story of my grandfather on the microphone on the bus today, and we made a short rest stop at a gas station where I bought a bottle of Coke before we left. We visited John McCrae’s grave, and then continued on. We had another quiz and I got 28/29 (tied for 1st with Miles). Then we stopped at a café type of place, but there wasn’t much to eat, so I bought a package of peanut M&M’s. We continued on, and reached our hotel in Ieper (a Best Western) at 2:00pm. The hotel seemed nice enough. I’m in a room with John, Kelsey, and Simran again. At 3:30 we headed into town, from our hotel. As a group, we went to a Belgium chocolate/candy store. The candy store was cool, but kind of creepy. It was like the candy store out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and I kept expecting the guy to start singing The Candy Man. The candy store offered us a special deal, which I took. We were given an hour and a half of free time out in front of the Cloth Hall. I drifted from group to group for a bit, and went to a coffee shop with Wes, Carlos, Carleigh, and Madison (I think Stephanie too), and I bought a donut and a croissant. Then I got bored of socializing with them, and turned ronin again. I eventually latched onto a group consisting of Brianne, Alessia, Alana, Kristina, Riley, Andrew, and Ryan. We went to the same coffee shop I was at earlier, and I ordered a hot chocolate. We hung out for a long time and just talked, which was fun. Then we went to the meeting place for dinner, but due to a miscommunication, had to wait for another half hour. It was cold, and windy, and raining, so we just stood there huddled together. When they let us in, our jaws hit the floor. There were chandeliers, and it was just unbelievable. For dinner I had some really good chicken, noodles, and Pepsi. For dessert we had this tasty coffee ice cream cake, which didn’t taste like coffee. Then we went to the Menin Gate in town, where every night they play the Last Post. After listening to that, we walked back to the Cloth Hall, where we were given a presentation of the Maple Leaf Legacy Project, by Steve Douglas. At 9:30ish we walked for about 20min to our hotel, in the rain, which I found rather refreshing. Then I went to bed.

Day 12

Our room didn’t turn on the heater last night, so it was cold. My worst night yet, but the morning wasn’t bad. There wasn’t enough time to shower, but I got breakfast (orange juice, 2 pieces of bacon, and 3 chocolate buns). Our first stop today was the war cemetery in Adagem, where we met the lady Iris, and her husband. She introduced herself and told us why she’s a volunteer for the Canadian War Graves Commission. Then we wandered around the cemetery before heading to the Canada War Museum in Adagem. We were led around by Iris and saw a short video before getting on the bus and heading to the ferry at 11:20 am. It was a 2 hour bus ride to the ferry. On the ferry I bought for lunch some spaghetti which was alright or good enough, chocolate cake which was very yummy, and a Danish pastry which was quite tasty. As the white cliffs of Dover came into view, we knew our trip was almost over. We continued our bus ride at 2:17 pm (London time), and reached our hotel (hostel) about 3 hours later. I was somehow put in a room with Carlos, Wes, and Nevada, even though Nevada had requested earlier to not be in a room with Wes, and I…well obviously didn’t want to be in a room with Wes either, but I decided to give it a chance. The rooms seem bigger than the last hostel, but they are dirtier. The teachers called a meeting before dinner and went over a few rules. Then I wandered around in the garden out back, which was really big and quite nice. Dinner was terrible. I had green beans, some fries, half a bun (which tasted horrible), and a glass of juice. Then I socialized with Colin, Zack, Riley, Miles, Fernando, Andrew, Ryan, Alessia, and Kristina, but other people would come and go. The bigger guys had some fun flipping and playing catch with me! I got kinda muddy. Then we dueled with sticks, and some of the kids played video games inside. At 8:30 pm the teachers called a meeting. We thanked Paul, and gave him some gifts. We thanked the teachers, and would have thanked Ali, our driver, but he wasn’t there. The teachers thanked us (!) and presented us with postcards that had some kind of award. Nevada got “The Man of a Million Questions”, and I got “The Perfect Traveler” which several people got, and “The Battle of Verdun” an award Wes got too (for obvious reasons) which I thought was a quite clever play on words. Then we went to our rooms and went to bed…eventually.

Day 13

Despite the hotel, I got a really good sleep. For breakfast I had juice, bacon, and 2 croissants. I didn’t want to use the showers here because they were very gross, so I hope people will forgive me. We got to the airport extremely early, and we are all ready to go home.