The Trip

The Trip

Bill has always wanted to do a sojourn tracing our Grandpa’s path through WWII as a way to honour our Grandpa’s contribution to Canada’s involvement in the war. Bill has always offered to tour me through WWI sites as well – something I have wanted to do for quite a number of years. It was just over two years ago while Bill and I were sampling some fine whiskeys that a plan was hatched.

Bill has toured various WWI battlefields and cemeteries in France and Belgium on two separate occasions. Bill has also had the extreme honour of performing as a member of a Canadian military Honour Guard at Vimy Ridge - twice, and once again at Beaumont-Hamel.

 Bill has only been to Italy once and that was over 40 years ago and he has never been to England. Our intent is primarily to visit locations our grandpa and great-grandfather were in and secondly to 1) include sites that Bill has not yet experienced; 2) some sites that were hugely impactful in the war; 3) some that come with incredible stories; and 4) some that are amazing world places.

The flights have been booked and we will be visiting 10 countries in 35 days. The plan is:

·         Day 1:    Fly from Edmonton to Paris, France
·         Day 2:    Arrive in Paris; rent a car and drive to the Somme
·         Day 3:    Somme and area
·         Day 4:    To Vimy and area
·         Day 5:    At Vimy; end of day in Ypres, Belgium
·         Day 6:    In Ypres and area
·         Day 7:    Ypres to Calais to Hythe, England
·         Day 8:    Hythe to Aldershot
·         Day 9:    Aldershot and area; end of day in Pevensey
·         Day 10:  Pevensey to Newhaven; ferry to Dieppe
·         Day 11:  Dieppe and area; days end in Normandy
·         Day 12:  Normandy and area
·         Day 13:  Normandy to Switzerland
·         Day 14:  Switzerland to Pisa
·         Day 15:  Pisa to Cassino, Italy
·         Day 16:  Cassino and area
·         Day 17:  Cassino to Taormina, Sicily
·         Day 18:  Tour Sicily; days end in Taormina
·         Day 19:  Drive to Taranto
·         Day 20:  Drive from Taranto via Bari to Ortona
·         Day 21:  Tour Ortona and area
·         Day 22:  Ortona to Imola
·         Day 23:  Imola to Marseilles, France
·         Day 24:  Marseilles to Mons, Belgium
·         Day 25:  Mons to Hoogerheide, Netherlands
·         Day 26: Tour Scheldt and area; days end in Hoogerheide
·         Day 27:  Hoogerheide to Arnhem
·         Day 28:  Arnhem to Makkum to Delfzijl
·         Day 29:  Delfzijl to Paris, France
·         Day 30:  Fly to Krakow, Poland, drive to Labinowice
·         Day 31:  Labinowice and area, end of day on Krakow
·         Day 32:  Krakow and area
·         Day 33:  Tour Auschwitz
·         Day 34:  Fly from Krakow to Paris, France
·         Day 35:  Fly from Paris to Edmonton
It is an aggressive plan. There is much to see in the time we have allotted. Some sites will be missed and some we will want to see again – both reserved for future trips.

 Bill's interest in military history and my interest in family research has complimented one another quite well in completing research for the trip. We have both got quite caught up in the excitement of uncovering interesting family and historical tidbits of information.

Comments

  1. Charly28 August 2017 at 03:52

    welcome to Europe ... have a good trip ...
    I am already curious about your travel report

    ReplyDelete

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