Our Surprise Trip to Bouillon!
Mid-March. Our mission was to kidnap Kevin and take him to Bouillon, Belgium. While there, we would gather information about links between Belgium and the Crusades for a project Will was working on for school. Could we succeed?

The first goal was to make a reservation at a hotel. Since this was a spontaneous trip, Laura had to make the reservation on Friday afternoon, for that evening. Laura called La Porte de France (a Best Western Hotel).

Laura: "Bonjour Madame, Uh, Sil vous plais, parlais vous Anglais?"
Best Western: "Non."
Laura: "Have vous un lit pour douze adults et douze enfants?"
Best Western: "Oui" followed by lots of French words Laura didn't know!

Later, Laura realized she had asked for a bed for 12 adults and 12 children. Nevertheless, when we arrived the very kind lady was waiting for us and took good care of us! The hotel is at the base of the castle in Bouillon and we could see it out our window.
PS: there were beds in the room for four!
Bouillon is an adoreable resort town in the Ardennes (hills in the south of Belgium.) It is a two-hour drive from our house. It would make a romantic getaway, if you didn't bring two children and two dogs! Nevermind.

The Castle in Bouillon is Belgium's largest intact medieval castle. Its history goes back to at least the 10th century. It is most famous because its owner, Godfrey, sold the castle in 1096 and used the money to fund the first Crusade. He conquered Jerusalem and died there in 1100.
Above, Will stands on one of the three drawbridges to the castle.
On the right is an ancient wooden cross that was laid in the floor. The cross was not discovered until 1962.
On the left is a picture of the view from the highest point in the castle. France is only a few kilometers down that road.
On the right Will is seated on Godfrey's Easy Chair. It is actually a look-out post cut deep into the rock, and is just a stone seat cut into the rock. Quite simple and amazing.
After visiting the castle we went to the Archeoscope, which is a multi-media museum about Godfrey and the First Crusade. It was very interesting, but even Will and Ellen were horrified by the brutality of the Crusades. We found it more than ironic to be learning so much about the Crusades at this time of war.

Bouillon is a wonderful place to visit and we highly recommend it!
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