Yer a Wizard

This past weekend, we took the kids for the big gift they got at Christmas - a trip to Harry Potter Studio Tour in London. We had been once before when Calvin was at the height of his Potter-mania, but this time around all three kids were all in.

They saw their favourites...

Learned some secrets...

And flew!

It was a magical time. And on the way home, we took a detour to see real life magic; a site that has been on my list for a long time.

Caves, castles, and aircraft

This year for the February holidays we took off to the small southern French city of Carcassonne. Carcassonne is famous for being the largest and best preserved medieval city in Europe. It’s double walled structure and interior fortified castle still stand. It is the inspiration for the board game, Carcassonne, and filming location for Robin Hood. It’s also a great place to get lost in time. Emily and Sam loved galloping their imaginary horses through cobbled alleys.

Working back along the timeline of human history, we explored the Roman impact on the area. In the city of Nîmes, is the best preserved roman arena. Though not as large the colliseum in Rome, it is very well interpreted. We could have stayed longer but we had something even bigger to see. Pont de Gard is the largest Roman aqueduct still standing. We walked across it and marvelled at the engineering. 

And even further back in time, we drove towards the Pyrenees mountains, to Niaux. Here, there is one of the few prehistoric cave painting sites, still open to the public. The paintings are said to be comparable to the famous Lascaux caves. 14,000 years old and still telling their stories. 

Then we jumped back to the modern engineering of humans, with a visit to the AirBus 380 assembly plant in Toulouse. Seeing how these massive planes are conceptualised, tested, and built was pretty incredible.

Marvellous Marseille

It’s winter. And winter in Europe, pretty much everywhere, is cold, grey, and rainy. The solution? A girls weekend! 

The weather wasn’t much better, but the change of scenery and good company was a welcome change. 

Turkey for Christmas

For the holiday break we took a short trip to the edge of Europe - Istanbul. It was an incredible dive into history, religion, and culture. So many layers. 

Istanbul is a very modern city that embraces its history. A moderate city that is proud of the minarets that populate its skyline. Friendly to foreigners and yet devoutly Turkish. 

We found the Turks to be very friendly. Children especially are important in their culture. They speak to kids so that they feel heard, feel seen, and know they are important. 

And above all of it is the beauty and opulence that came from this city being the centre of multiple empires. The crown jewel. Centre of the world. 

London calling

This weekend we took a quick trip under the channel to visit London. This was the kid’s first time. The thing about London is that there just so much to see! It made for a busy weekend. 

The Tower of London was first on the list. It’s a crazy little time warp in the middle of a modern city. And, of course the ravens stole the show. 

Then it was off to the biggest bookstore in Europe. Over 16kms of book shelves! After dinner and a rest it was show time. We took in a showing of Matilda. The kids all loved it and were transported away by the show. (Even those who complained about having to go)

The next day was a slow start after a late night but we managed to fit in quite a bit. Platform 9 3/4 was first stop. Sammy and Emmy grabbed their photo op. 

Then we grabbed a double decker bus down to Westminster to see Big Ben ( which was unfortunately under scaffolding). Lunch in a pub then it was off to the British museum. There was so much to see! In two hours we only managed to see each person’s one top pick. 

100 years

This year marks the centennial of the end of fighting in WW1. Being in Belgium, we are at the centre of it. The memory of the horror. The desperate need to remember as the year pass. The very real role Canada played. 

The ceremony at the cemetery this morning was much like previous years. Solemn. Respectful. Yet, punctuating it all was the symbolism of this year in particular. 

One hundred years later. It was not the war to end all wars. It created institutions that work hard toward that end. Perhaps, one day, we will realise the cost before we pay it.

We will remember them. 

Highland hijinx

It’s half term break again and this time we took the week off to visit the Scottish highlands with friends. 

We spent the first few days up in Aviemore, close to Inverness and Loch Ness. It was cold, Scotland got their first snow of the year but the scenery more than made up for it. 

We visited a free ranging reindeer herd, took the old steam train, met Murdo the heilan coo (highland cow), and explored the folk museum... and so much more. 

Then it was off to Edinburgh to see the Samhuinn Fire Festival. Samhuinn is the pagan celebration of winter taking over from summer, and the origins of Halloween. It enacts the battle between the summer king and the winter king. It was a very special way to celebrate Oct 31. 

Then a few more days of exploring Edinburgh - climbing Arthur’s Seat (the highest point in Edinburgh), dancing at a ceilidh, and exploring the mile. 

All in all, it was a bonnie time.