Margaret's Notre Dame Cathedral Experience

Notre Dame Cathedral is absolutely beautiful with all the stained glass windows.  For some reason I thought that the cathedral was much smaller, so it was quite amazing how bit ig was inside.  It was amazing to everybody when they walked into the Cathedral and it was totally silent.

A few facts about the cathedral:

Construction on the cathedral started in 1163 but it took until 1345 for the cathedral to be completed.  During the French Revolution the gallery of kings in the front of the cathedral was severally damaged because the revolutionaries thought they represented French Kings.  The massive rose window has a diameter of 13.1 meters.

Also, I would like to say bonjour to my Grandma!!!

On the plane in Toronto...

We have boarded and will take off shortly!

We will see you all soon.

All the best,

The teachers


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Pictures from the day...

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The last day in Paris

Parents! We are all back to the hotel for our final check in. Bags will be packed and kids will be asleep by 10pm local time. Today we went to the Paris crypts, the Notre Dame, the Latin Quarter & Euro Disney. It was a great day and an excellent last full day. Today on the bus, Liam gave a very moving toast to the teachers and for that we would like to thank him & all the students, they all have been great travel partners! We have a number of posts yet to put up... We are working on getting them up as time permits. By way of update and housekeeping... - we leave Paris at 11 AM local time - we arrive in Calgary at 6:10 PM on AC flight 125 We look forward to seeing you all when we arrive back on Calary! All the best, The teachers

Paris, part deux

Parents!

Wr have been busy busy! Yesterday was a 17 hour day in the city. We walked up the Eiffel tower, saw the louvre, shopped at Paris' most famous mall, ate on the first level of the Eiffel tower, did a night boat cruise and much... Much... More! All the kid had a great day and, yes, the teachers are still smiling! (though it's a bit of a tired smile now)

We are off to Euro Disney today and to the crypts at Notre Dame.

We look forward to seeing everybody tomorrow!

All the best,

The teachers






















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Paris

Parents,

We have a few busy days ahead of us in Paris! We will post if/wen we have a chance!

We are all safe and sound and having a great time here!

17 above yesterday, blue skies!

We can't wait to see you all in a couple days.

Teachers












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E. Street on Omaha Beach

The sand is hard to walk on, the hill is steep, these soldiers that lay in the graves deserve a massive amount of respect. Omaha beach is by far one of the bloodiest battles of Normandy, which I easily understandable. The soldiers had to wade through chest deep water and then run through the sand that essentially sucks your foot in. Then they had to climb up that hill that makes your feet hurt just looking at it. They had nothing to hide behind either, it would have been absolute hell. I don't think the majority of people on this earth could comprehend the fear that those soldiers felt on that fateful morning. Now we walk along the graves that stand row upon row. Is it strange that I think this is re most gorgeous cemetery I have ever seen? Maybe yes, but the crosses and Stars of David were made out of a beautiful stone thy looked like it was carved out of the earth into those shapes yesterday. These soldiers that lay beneath our feet in the earth could embrace deserved the best.











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Morrison's musings on Dieppe - the last paragraph is a must read :-)

Standing on the beach where so many Canadians Lost their lives in defense of European freedom, one can't help but think back to how the beach must have looked as the soldiers were landing. Looking up from the shoreline you can see the cliff and the Three tiered beach. From this perspective it's easy to see why this landing was such a colossal failure. With the sunshine pouring in over the coast and a gentle breeze in the air its hard to imagine the beach covered with soldiers who would never see another day.

Mr. Hoganson & Lawson gave what would later be referred to as "the legendary Dieppe tour." One wonders how two individuals could be so knowledgeable.

I can only express the utmost thanks towards the teachers who have so generously given up their Spring Break in order to provide this safe, nurturing and engaging environment that is so essential for us to fully absorb the wonders of history. They deserve significant raises at the very least, and I'm certain complimentary cruises or holidays even a nice meal would not be enough for all they do for us. (there were no additions to this blog, it is an original and ernest post)

















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Juno Beach... Loren A

March 31st we went to Juno Beach. After watching 'Saving Private Ryan' and the opening scene on the beach you have an idea of what D Day would be like, but not a true understanding. Once we were all standing on the sand, all I kept thinking of was how could such a peaceful place exist after the horrors it had seen. We also went down into a German bunker, and down there everything from how many soldiers stayed down there to which direction the doors opened was strategically planned out so any invaders would fail. The fact that they won the war on Juno beach made me even more proud to be a Canadian!














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Matt's moments at Pointe du Hoc

We went to Pointe du Hoc and looked at all the devastation. Most of the bunkers were destroyed. I can't even imagine scaling these cliffs to make an attack, i stood on top of the cliff and it was over 100 ft! It would be brutal, I walked through the highly fortified bunkers and I believe they could destroy anything. But against all odds, the US Rangers succeeded. It is nice to see that they made such an impact. After two days of fighting, only 90 rangers remained. It was an exhilarating experience to visit this site!
















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Day 9 - Dan Hohmann

Ypres and area... Here's what we did:

- we went to the Essex Farm Memorial where In Flanders Fields was written
- I found a headstone for a soldier who was only 15 yrs old when he died
- we went to Tyne Cot Memorial, there were 11 000 graces here, I found out some very interesting things about Canadian troops
- we then went to Hill 62 and Vancouver Crossroads

It was a busy day filled with Canadian War History.



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Aaron Belot - WW2 begins with Coupole

Today marked the beginning of our WW2 tour by taking the trip to La Coupole, a facility sanctioned by Hitler and his officials to create a new and powerful weapons of mass destruction to set the stage for future warfare. The Nazi's would utilize the strength of their civilian prisoners as well as the brightest minds in Germany to construct their weapons of terror. Near the end of the war, the allies discovered La Coupole in 1945 most of the technology was untampered with and untouched. Warner Von Braun, a scientist for the Nazi, and 150 of his brightest engineers were hired after the war by the USA to help construct their first satellites and to help
With NASA's space program.








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Victoria Hill - Menin Gate

MENIN GATE YPRES BELGIUM

On the ninth day of our travels, we witness not only a memorial for the soldiers that put their lives at risk during WWI in Ypres against Germany nearly a century ago, but to remember the horror and bravery that should never be forgotten. This was essentially an archway that contains over 50 000 names of those who had lost their lives during the war but were never found, which is heart braking none the less. Seeing this ceremony has easily shows us to be grateful for the life you have currently and that no person should ever dismiss the memory of this fateful event during the 20th century.
I can honestly say this was a real privilege to get to see a collection of tourists, citizens, and different generations come together and unite to honor all of the fallen soldiers, having a few groups of different people come up to respectfully place reefs, poppies, or other things on the side of the arch. Seeing all of these people gathered around the arch at once, listening to the pipers play, was truly a highlight of the Europe trip for me,and even to say I watched the Menin Gate ceremony made me grateful.

To be continued....




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Dan Drisoll's Poem

Hello All,

Just wanted to let you know, that when I was typing Dan's poem, I forgot to flip the page and type the last 3 verses.  I have now updated it and it is worth the re-read.

Thanks for following and all your support.

Jason

Drake's take on Vancouver Crossroads

We went to a tower. It was no ordinary tower. It is the Brooding Soldier and it's there to commentate the first gas attack on Canadians. It represents 2000 Canadian soldiers that died in this battle.

The Brooding Soldier is a design that came second in the competition for the Vimy Ridge Memorial. I really like how it starts as a slab of stone and then changes into a soldier on the top. On the base of the monument there are directions to the other battles/monuments from the war.










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9 Elms Cemetery - Grayson's Post

We've just left Nine Elms Cemetery in Poperinge, Belgium. It was extremely moving being able to see my Great, Great Uncle Charlie McDonald's grave. Seeing my class mates pay their respects to my relative, I found it quite hard not to shed a tear or two. I'm so fortunate to have such an amazing piece of heritage and to have been given the opportunity to have visited my Uncle's grave. He was only 18 years of age when he died, one year older than I am now. How could I not be humbled by such an incredible sacrifice, and at such a young age. Thank you to all my teachers and fellow students who gave me this amazing opportunity and for paying their respects. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life.















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Where Flanders Fields was written - Lucas' update

Today we travelled to the grave site called Essex Farm Grave Site. This was the grave site where John McCrae was a field doctor. This was the grave site where he was inspired to write Flanders Fields. He was I spired to write this because of the number of men who were buried there. This grave site holds many soldiers from the war but also holds a fifteen year old soldier who fought and died in the war. And when you think about it, fifteen is a young age to be serving your country. I hope they all rest in peace. Lucas



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Dan Driscoll's poem

Remember the Lost Generation

Lost to their fathers
Lost to their mothers
Lost to their sisters
Lost to their brothers

An entire generation
Lost to us forever
Men and boys gone
But forgotten, never

We will always remember
The deeds of the brave
Who sacrificed themselves
For their families to save

Some were in it for glory
A noble goal none the less
For king and for country
Putting their skill to the test

Some consider the Ridge
To be a great victory
But to the families of the lost
That is not what they see

Many saw Vimy Ridge
As a virtually impeneterable wall
An almost hopeless venture
It was sure to never fall

Then came the Canadians
Cementing their place in time
Always to be remembered
In ballads, songs and rhyme

We Remember the deeds
Of these Candian men, so brave
A generation lost, perhaps
But whose memory we will save.

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Drewe's Tyne Cot Update

We visited Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium today. It is one of the largest British War cemetery with around 11 000 buried soldiers. It has amazing architecture - there is a wall around the back to commemorate all the missing soldiers as well as a large Sword of Sacrifice in the center. The cemetery is very well kept with lovely flowers for the brave soldiers who fought in these wars. When in places like this I feel the soldiers bravery and fear they must have had while fighting in these places. I am in awe of all the people who fought for peace and freedom.




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Charlotte Jones' Dinner

Tonight we are having dinner at restaurant at the hotel. Like every other dinner on this trip, tonight's dinner consists of three courses. The appetizer tonight is a small fresh salad and a crepe that had ham, cheese and a mysterious sauce. It was very well done and scrumptious. My palate approves of this type of food! For the main course there were pork slices and gravy poured over the entire thing. On the side there were potatoes and vegetables! It was another amazing course. Finally we had dessert. We were served a chocolate mousse which was creamy and had nuts that were on top. Overall the meal was sweet and delicious! We are eating very well!




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Vimy Ridge - Steven and Ian

Steven Timlick

With a crash you can hear the sounds of artillery firing ahead of you, the ground shaking, your brothers dying around you, the smell of death permitting the stale air. The rush of adrenalin coming with the beginning of the charge. This is my best imaginings of what it would be like in the hell that was Vimy Ridge, would be like. I could not even comprehend the sheet magnitude of terror that must have come with being in the trenches. This would be one of the most horrible things that could happen. The idea that you are living in up to 3 feet of water with constant noise and horrible smell of dead and dying men. The constant fear of death, being the only thing keeping you going. Even the horrors of the concentration camps could not compare to that of this war. One of the most horrible things that you could possible have done to you, happened to all of these brave soldiers. The uncertainty of whether their families were decimate or if they would ever be reunited with their homes. They lived like this for over 4 years.

Wr must never forget their sacrifices!

Ian

We got to go to the Vimy ridge monument today and we had a great day for it! It was sunny and clear making the massive, stoic and pristine white monument stand out drastically against the naturally green hillside. The monument is beautiful and was very touching to behold; it made me feel very proud to be a Canadian! An interesting fact that I learned about the monument is that the statue of Mother Canada is facing away from the battlefield because the monument designer wanted the statue to face the way the Canadians were advancing after the battle of Vimy Ridge.




















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