Sept (7)
Lille, France -Christmas Market…..https://www.french-weekendbreaks.co.uk/page/lille-christmas-market
24 (vingt quatre) Novembre
On Monday 13th, we had a visit from Wade and Kathy Litwiller. They are doing mission work in London. They were here, in France from Monday to Thursday. We were lucky enough to be able to have them in our home for 3 of those days.
On Tuesday we loaded up and headed to Tournai, Belgium to visit a contact. We stood outside the apartment building, looking up to the third floor window. We buzzed the outside ringer many different times and got no answer. We decided we would try again a different day.
While we were in Tournai, we realized we were very near the Notre Dame Cathedral. It became a A UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. France and Belgium are full of beautiful old Belfries and Churches dating way, way back. This particular one dates back to the 12th century. It was truly amazing!!!!
Notre Dame Cathedral Tournai, Belgium https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cathedral+of+Notre-Dame+of+Tournai/@50.6070646,3.3894964,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x47c2e075794cd983:0x170dcea6dcef47aa!8m2!3d50.6070646!4d3.3894964!16zL20vMGQ3OTg3?entry=ttu
On Tuesday, we drove around the country side in France and into Belgium seeing what there was to see..Wade was a dairy farmer for many years, so it was neat to show him the dairy farms in the country :) It also appeals to me, as I was raised on a dairy farm. It was quite rainy while they were here, with only a few occasional appearances from the sun! :(((
We also started our French lessons with our private tutor, Miss. Juliette. She got to our house at 2 p.m. and we had an hour and a half lesson. Our first week we had 2 days of lessons and the next week we were to have 2 as well, but we had to reschedule one of those because of an appointment.
On Wednesday, we went to Gent, Belgium in the afternoon after lunch. (This was Wade and Kathyś last day with us :( )
Like I mentioned in the last post, Gent has a lot of things to see! We visited several churches and also came upon a strange re-enactment of sorts. There was one man shouting into a loud speaker, and the crowd would chant something write back at him. This was all going on inside the castle and it reverberated outside the building. We didn’t know what we were walking up to!!!! It sounded reminiscent of those little clips you see of Adolph Hitler addressing a crowd. It kind of creeped Kathy and I out a little :):( You could hear it from a long ways off.
The Castle where this re-enactment was held was called, The Castle of Counts, or Gravensteen Castle. It is the only remaining medieval castle with a moat and largely intact defense system in Flanders. It was quite foreboding! It comes complete with its own torture chamber. (YIKES) It is on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Castle of the Counts .https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/gent-gravensteen-castle-belgium-ghent-built-ad-medieval-river-lieve-west-flanders-96024959.jpg
Here are some other sites we toured..If you enjoy History, you might find them interesting :
St Nicholas Church https://www.pexels.com/photo/the-saint-nicholas-church-in-ghent-7882464/
Graseli Town Center https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graslei#/media/File:Graslei_gent_avondlicht.jpg
The Belfry of Ghent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfry_of_Ghent
(( Interesting Fact : In 1402 The Belfry, was the place where city privileges were kept: in a chest, locked up in the Belfry safe. The dragon, which has been up on the tower since 1377, kept an eye on the city as well as being the symbolic guardian of the belfry. The Belfry also proudly carried the alarm bell, the ‘Great Triumphant’. Today you will find this bell, nicknamed ‘Roland’ by the people of Ghent, not far from the Belfort. ))
We popped into a few gift shops and local stores to browse, and then we headed back to Lille. We dropped Wades off at their hotel after saying good byes and headed back to our AIrbnb.
It was interesting to learn about the work in London and about Wade and Kathyś lives back in the states! They are leaving in the middle of January to go back home to the U.S.A. Maybe our paths will cross again?! We hope!
The rest of last week we spent doing language studies and walking around meeting people and immersing ourselves in the culture and language around us. (There are a few familiar faces by now. ) Each day we wake and wonder what the day will bring? Will there be someone to talk to? (The other day for me, it was an interesting conversation with 3 ladies who were Jehovah Witness’…and a sweet little Grandpa in the Auchan Supermarche check out line..)
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone! I wonder how you all spent yours? We had our own little Thanksgiving dinner while the busy city of Tourcoing buzzed around us. No turkey to be found..no worries! We got a rotisserie chicken from Auchan Supermarche! Sterling was fairly devastated to learn that a pumpkin could not be found for his favorite pie! :;) (he survied! :)) We made a cream pie instead. We rounded out our turkey (chicken) dinner with salad and the ever present, ever abundant potato! Potatoes are a staple in Northern France!!! We finished our Thanksgiving day writing a few Christmas cards..and singing Thanksgiving and Christmas songs. Can you believe Christmas is JUST around the corner!??
We are thankful for our little family here, and all of our friends and family back home! We are thankful that no matter what country we are in…that God hears our prayers… and forgives us when we fail. There are so many things to be thankful for! Wishing you a happy weekend ahead with family and friends! Let’s count our blessings this Thanksgiving season! -Lydia-
