Where to start?!? The beginning I suppose.... It has been an action packed day!! To begin we had an early breakfast and loaded our luggage onto the coach, and then made our way out of Ypres and on to Brugge. Everyone had lots of free time in and about the city square once we reached 'Venice of the North'. David gave everyone a brief tour and outlined our options before setting the group free. Many headed up the belfry, some enjoyed local art exhibits that included artists like Picasso and Dali, and others feasted on Brugge's famous frites and waffles. Can't go wrong when those are your options!
After a few hours of free time we all met up for a canal cruise that was sunny, informative, entertaining and filled with many waves to onlookers on the banks.
After the canal cruise we headed back to the bus and made our way to Arras. The majority of the group headed to Wellington Quarry where they donned WWI helmets and went into the ground to see the tunnels dug out of the limestone by the Australian troops (used in the Arras assault, of which we usually just focus on Canada's involvement at Vimy). A couple of students, however, chose to skip this excursion in order to visit their veteran they have researched. So Mr Orford, Ms Rankin, Taylor D and Riley chartered a taxi and toured the French countryside, stopping at 4 cemeteries and spending one on one time with 3 special veterans' graves.
Finally, after the cemeteries and the quarry, it was time to settle in at our hotel in Arras for some dinner, a tour to the two city squares afterwards, and crepes all around to wrap up a wonderful day 4. Vimy tomorrow....