TEXTILE AND GLASS WORKSHOP MUSEUM AVESNOIS FRANCE

I participated in an excursion to the region Avesnois in France near the Belgian border which had been organized for the seniors of our city. Located in the south of the Nord département, it is so green that it is known as "The Little Normandy of the North". A little paradise for green tourism, hiking and cycling... It is an area that was classified as a Regional Nature Park in 1998 and which is famous for its wooded countryside, its forest-covered slopes ...

We only saw this through the bus windows and unfortunately not too much because it rained a lot the whole day.


we were in the green bus

But the purpose of this excursion was not for the landscape but  visiting the industrial life of this region in the past. So the rain didn't bother us too much.

We first stopped in Fourmies where we were served a cup of coffee and a huge croissant.



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WEEKEND APRIL 7

Somebody had recommended me a new lung doctor in a little town near Waterloo. I have to say I was a little fed up with my pneumologist because she was very expensive and a real pessimist, because I got the impression that I had already one foot in my grave.



We all were used to go to the Braine hospital belonging to Waterloo too, but it had become a real factory over the years and it's not at all the same anymore. You are just a number.



This one was a medical center and in a house, it was old, but the machines were the same and modern and that's what counts. The doctor was very friendly and competent and an optimist, he prescribed me a new inhaler and told me that I don't have to worry.  I paid less then half because in Belgium "posh" doctors can ask what they want, but the health insurance always pays the same amount for the consultation.  I was quite happy with the result at least it hasn't gotten worse.

Finally spring arrived and we had sunshine and Ilona and I celebrated her birthday outside sitting outside.



it was a wonderful day, and you could hear everywhere the lawn mowers !

On Sunday it became even better the temperature climbed up to 25°C (77 F) and made the warmest April day ever since 1902 !



My friend Bunny who had the intention to do her paper work on this Sunday left everything when I called her and proposed a walk to the park of the Chateau de la Hulpe.

We walked along the lake and the orchards there were a lot of people who had the same idea as we had and had a drink on the terrace of the restaurant near the castle. Which of course was full and we had to wait a little until we got a table with two chairs. Since we know each other since we were teenagers there are always a lot of memories to dig out and we enjoyed the first real sunshine.

Mr. G. sunshine or not was glued on the TV screen to watch the Formular 1 and was happy that Ferrari won again which hadn't happened in the last years. I have to admit I couldn't care less.

It is really amazing what such a warm and sunny day can do I was feeling much better



and could have purred in the sunshine like cat Arthur did.