May Day--a big holiday in Europe!
We headed southeast out of Brussels toward northern France. Jim
was determined to find a monastery that made beer, but he had
to settle for an abbey instead. We found the abbey at Flourette,
just west of Namur.
Jim clearly enjoyed the local brew
served in a huge, oak-timbered room at the abbey that was filled
with Belgians on holiday.
We then headed toward France, droving
along some scenic country roads that followed the course of the
Meuse River. En route, we paused in the town of Dinant for libations
at a riverfront cafe.
A view of the west bank of the Meuse,
opposite Dinant.
The east bank riverfront of Dinant.
On to the French border, and the
Champagne-Ardennes region of northern France.....
...only to discover that there
was no formal border crossing gate anymore (thanks to the European
Union). Actually, we didn't even see a "Welcome to France"
kind of sign. Our only clue was this monument to the Allied Forces
of WWII.
