August 12, 2010
Back in France and STILL love it.
Left Bruges and headed for Ieper (Ypres) to see the war memorial. Oh man, to see ALL those names of young men who died in WWI was very unsettling. The memorial is massive, forming an archway over the road leading to the town's main square. We also visited some of the many war cemeteries, all with white headstones, that are sprinkled throughout Flanders. Some of them had no names, so were simply inscribed," A Soldier of the Great War-- Known unto God".
The drive south to Dieppe was particularly beautiful and peaceful. Farmland rolling down to the sea, small villages, and those lovely white cows, Charlerois, I think they're called and yes, Andrea, they are "ripped".
Our hotel in Dieppe is one of only six right across from the beach. The beach is gorgeous! Smooth cobbles . . . breezy . . . waves . . . it is good to be back near the ocean again. We are right below the 13th Century castle. We wandered through the town, munched on a chocolate baguette, and enjoyed a glass of wine in the sunshine.
We had dinner here at the hotel, and it was our best meal yet. My Norseman Salade, which I thought would be a salad, turned out to be a gigantic plate of seafood, artfully presented on a small mound of greens. I actually ate raw oysters, lox, huge prawns, kippered herring and another type of unidentified fish. Den had a seafood terrine for his appetizer. For our main course, we had a chicken dish with shrimp and peanuts, mounded on top of a ring of toasted bread that was filled with carrots and zucchini. Dessert was a large framboise meringue. And where was my camera?
Whew! After insisting you go to Dieppe I was concerned we were seeing it through rose coloured "first French town" glasses and that you would hate it! So relieved. I should really stop caring so much... lol
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