Day 9 - Rest Day

With our first sleep-in of the tour, we headed out for breakfast at about half past nine. After meeting back at the hotel later in the morning, we left to visit the "In Flanders Fields" museum, in Clothe Hall. It was unlike any museum we had visited previously, and supplied us with many interesting photos and facts. The way in which it was presented, with interactive and audio visual displays, was a very modern way of presenting the information. This was surprising, as it was in such an old and historical building.

We spent the rest of the day touring the town of Ypres, exploring the chocolate shops, waffle shops, chocolate shops, souvenir shops and chocolate shops. Needless to say that by dinner time, very few of us wanted a lot to eat! We have also been trying to figure out ways of fitting everything into our suitcases! We have bumped into lots of Australians in the past couple of days, and it is always good to hear Aussie accents!

Mothers you will all be very happy to hear that we found the local laundromat, and have swamped it in washing, as we are preparing to start fresh in a new country.

Mr Washbourne and Mr Bylund decided to spend their last day in Belgium playing golf, and in the last hole of the game, Mr Bylund scored his first ever hole-in-one!!!

For anyone interested in animal welfare, our tour guide Colin Gillard recommends the Safari Park Volunteer Initiative, located in Thailand. The owner is unable to care for the animals properly, and is asking for volunteers to help build new enclosures and assist in the daily care of the animals. The help of volunteers is essential for the well being of these animals.
For anyone interested in helping out by a donation or volunteer work please visit the website at www.safarivolunteer.com or visit their Facebook page.

After dinner we said a huge thank you to our guide Colin for all the help that he has given us over the past week. The knowledge that he has passed on to us will never be forgotten, and his passion for WWI history and the preservation of the battlefields will hopefully be replicated by us in the future.
We also said thank you to our bus driver Frank tonight. Unlike his English, his driving was fantastic!!!! It is sad to be saying goodbye, but as we do a new chapter of our journey begins.

We rise at 2 am tomorrow morning, for an early flight to Instanbul, Turkey.

By Courtney S and Braydee

For more pictures of the tour please visit Mr Bylund's photo blog at jebx4.tumblr.com