In Bruge, we saw the Madonna and Child (featured in the movie Monuments Men).

Then we went off to Dunkirk, where I rescued a couple of shells from the beach!

Then, we went to Yres, or Ieper, site of some of the most horrendous WWI fighting.  Saw a memorial service, and toured the “In Flanders Fields” Museum.  Visited the church there, too:

 

From there made a mad dash through Waterloo, one month before the big bicentennial, and the tiny town is a zoo!  Re-enactors in Napoleonic uniforms everywhere!

Then to the middle of the Ardennes, to Bastogne, the museum there and the area around it.

Discovered you have to be careful there taking selfies!

Then to a VERY small town well off the maps, to a B&B Karen found, in France just south of Luxembourg.  Delightful little place, great dinner.  Am trying out my very rusty French, but it is coming back fairly well, and the people we have spoken to have been most encouraging!

Great view from our window, too!

All of this was a three day trip, so we had plenty of time to explore side roads, and we have had wonderful luck finding great restaurants, hotels, etc.  Had great beer and chocolate.  Had Quiche Lorraine IN LORRAINE.  Tomorrow Verdun, then we settle into our rented farmhouse near Dijon for a week of rest and soaking up the French countryside.  I plan to do a lot of writing, too!