Today we left Brugge Belgium to go to Dieppe France.
We crossed the lowlands of Belgium and entered
the rolling hills of the Pas de Calais. The hills in this area are only about
300 meters in height, but when compared against the flatness of the lowlands
they seem huge.
As we approached Calais, I saw a very strange site. There were several large fields that were
enclosed in barbed wire. I know that Calais
is the location of a Syrian refugee camp, but I hope this is not going to be another site to hold the expected influx of refugees.
On a hill just outside of Calais you get a beautiful view of the English Channel. Marg said she could see Dover England and its famous white cliffs. It reminder her of her grandmother, who hailed from Leamington England and often talked about having vacations in Dover.
On a hill just outside of Calais you get a beautiful view of the English Channel. Marg said she could see Dover England and its famous white cliffs. It reminder her of her grandmother, who hailed from Leamington England and often talked about having vacations in Dover.
When you are in a foreign country, you tend to worry about the
small differences in normal activities.
Based on what I had read on the internet, I expected problems when I tried
to gas up the car. I was relieved when there were no problems and the process was identical to gas stations in
Canada. So much for believing everything
you read on the internet.
After Calais we got off the main highway and took the
secondary roads through the villages of the Pas de Calais and Normandy along the English Channel. The villages were a mix of old house and new
housing developments. The ground is very flat and is basically at sea level.
We stopped for lunch in Breck. Breck is a beachfront community with a
wonderful sandy beach. The strange part
of this village is that all the restaurants close for lunch after 2:00pm.
Along the way, we stopped in Les Viviers Vatierville for a beer in a pub
called Cheval Noir. There was an old man
who was with his family. As he left he
planted a big kiss on Marg’s cheek. He
took a look at me and said “C’est La
France”. We still haven’t stopped
laughing. He reminds of us of Marg’s
Dad.
Dieppe is much larger city than we had expected. The coast is dominated by a large castle
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| Dieppe Castle |
Dieppe has a special place in Canadian
history. It was here in 1942 that close
to a thousand soldiers from the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division lost their lives and another two thousand were taken as
prisoners of war in a failed military landing.
French soldiers from the region, captured in the fighting of 1940, were returned to the area after the Dieppe Raid as repayment by the German occupation authorities, who felt that the conduct of the French civilians in Dieppe had been correct and had not hindered the defence of the port during the battle.
Dieppe was liberated on September 1, 1944, by soldiers from the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. On September 3, the entire division paused for reorganization, and a victory parade was held; contingents representing all major units of the 2nd Division marched 10 abreast behind the massed pipes and drums of the division's highland regiments. A memorial service was held in the nearby Canadian military cemetery to honour those killed in the Dieppe Raid.
History has always claimed that this raid was a dry run for the D-Day invasions of 1944. Recent studies claim that the failed landings were nothing more than a diversion to allow British special forces to steal the designs of a new secret decoding machine from the Germans. This mission was led by Ian Fleming who was the author of the James Bonds novels. Either way it was senseless loss of life.
French soldiers from the region, captured in the fighting of 1940, were returned to the area after the Dieppe Raid as repayment by the German occupation authorities, who felt that the conduct of the French civilians in Dieppe had been correct and had not hindered the defence of the port during the battle.
Dieppe was liberated on September 1, 1944, by soldiers from the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. On September 3, the entire division paused for reorganization, and a victory parade was held; contingents representing all major units of the 2nd Division marched 10 abreast behind the massed pipes and drums of the division's highland regiments. A memorial service was held in the nearby Canadian military cemetery to honour those killed in the Dieppe Raid.
History has always claimed that this raid was a dry run for the D-Day invasions of 1944. Recent studies claim that the failed landings were nothing more than a diversion to allow British special forces to steal the designs of a new secret decoding machine from the Germans. This mission was led by Ian Fleming who was the author of the James Bonds novels. Either way it was senseless loss of life.
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| Municipal memorial garden to Canadian soldiers of WW2 |
For dinner we went to a restaurant called L’Armorique. This was along a stretch of restaurants that line the harbour. It was good but not by any definition special. The harbour is filled with many fishing boats, which outside of tourism is the town's most important industry.
We are staying at the Hotel de la Plage. The room is small but very clean and well laid out. I'm not sure what is going on in the room above us, but I believe they are training a herd of elephants for the ballet. The banging is loud and continuous.
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