Wednesday was cold and rainy so today we didn't begin our sightseeing until after lunch. On our way one rotary had this glass structure in the middle. We joked that we had found the Louvre! We stopped to see relatives of Francis and Marie-Annick. Their home is more cottage-style...I'm hoping to get pictures of it tomorrow. Joscelyn loaned me a warmer coat, a wonderful winter scarf and wooly gloves so I wouldn't freeze at the Coal Mining Museum. The gals were going shopping. I was going with the fellows to the mine.

 Here we are with our hard hats on, ready to see how the coal was brought to the surface and women worked at separating it in a building with no heat in the winter and no breeze in the summer before we descend into the reproduction of a mine that sure felt real.

 Okay, this isn't a real horse, but real horses spent their lives underground pulling about twelve wagons of coal all hitched together. Their stable was right near the main shaft. The best horses for this job were small, calm, easy-going, and powerful. Talk about nice guys finishing last...this is a perfect example.

 We were the last people to leave the museum. I was in the middle of a video when it suddenly turned off! I had been watching it as a way of giving Francis time to catch up because he gets engrossed in reading every placard. His god-son, Pierre, and I headed for the entrance. There wasn't a soul around, but the car was still in the parking lot so we relaxed. Francis and Serge finally reached us. Francis' phone was ringing...Marie-Annick was wondering where we were since the gals had already made it to Tournai, Belgium. As we approached the Belgium border, Francis asked if I had my passport. I did, which ruined the joke since no one is watching the border. Belgium looked just like France except that the language on signs changed.

 This is one view of the main square in Tournai. I loved the fountains. The water would disappear and then suddenly sprout from the cobblestones, get higher and higher and then be gone again. We walked around some of the streets to get a better look at a large Episcopalian church and passed this scene along the way. I was mostly interested in the planters! They are the same as those Margery Salmon and I saw in Holland, low cement bowls that create gardens in the middle of city landscapes.

It was after 9 PM when we found a place for dinner...best steak I've had in years! It was served with a bowl of mushroom sauce, a few lettuce leaves and French fries, none of which I consider to be vegetables. I may have to wait until I return to Blanot to get my fill of veggies. It's not worth worrying about for this week!