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2nd May - Ypres, Belgium
Ypres is best known as the site of major battles of the First World War, the most famous being the Battle of Passchendaele from July — November 1917.
On that front during that period, British losses had amounted to more than 54,000 killed, wounded, and missing. The French lost at least 50,000 at Ypres, while the Belgians suffered more than 20,000 casualties at the Yser and Ypres.
I have visited Ypres many times and always pay my respects at the Menin Gate which is engraved with the names of nearly 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers lost on the field of battle but with no known graves
3rd May - Bruges, Belgium
The Belgians invented french fries, not Americans. Locals understand
French but are offended when tourists assume that Bruges' native language is French, it is actually Flemish/Dutch! A must watch movie is In Bruges
3rd May - Kinderdijk, Netherlands
There are 19 windmills in Kinderdijk built as part of a larger water management system to prevent flooding. Today they symbolize Dutch water management and in 1997 they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
4th May - Kaukenhof, Netherlands
We drove up to a small place called Monster along miles of embankments which had a sea of glass houses either side. In the evening we met up with Ray and Janice - old friends who treated us to the amazing Dutch hospitality. The following day, we went to Keukenhof, also known as the Garden of Europe, one of the world's largest flower gardens . From the official website, approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted in the gardens annually. Not the best pics in the world .. the colours and the bright sunshine made it a little difficult.
