Where the poppies grow

One of the two placards outside of the In Flanders Fields museum, noting the cities that were flattened in the World Wars. The other placard lists cities that have been affected by one of the 166 armed conflict since "the war to end all wars".
The Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery of WWI, with 11,954 buried here.
Most of the Furman group at the Hill 62 Trench Museum. Unlike most farmers who returned to their land, the owner of this property, finding it strewn with trenches and artillery paraphernalia, preserved what he found. Thus, apart from the effects of the visiting traffic, we were able to see trenches as close to their real state at the end of the war as possible.
Another view within the trench, including a dug out.

Much could be said about our visit in and around Ypres, an important locus for WWI, but perhaps the best conclusion I can offer is that our time there and particularly our visit to the In Flanders Fields museum shook me of any romantic notion glorifying WWI. Seeing the gas masks, hearing the incessant and concussion-inducing sounds of the trenches, and visiting mass graves confirmed the inherent evils of war and the extreme courage of those that fought. One understands why Europeans wisely shy away from war and conflict upon beholding the widespread ravages of the World Wars. All in all, an incredibly important visit for me.

...Yet they grind exceedingly small

The girls probably don't appreciate this photo but this was the biking group yesterday throughout Bruges and Damme.

The windmill at Damme happened to be open this one day out of the year so we were able to tour it.The millstone hard at work. They actually had grain at the very top which made its way down to the bottom, pictured here.

The group with the millmaster, who kindly showed us around the windmill and explained all of the difference mechanisms. Apparently, he thought Randi (girl to the right of me) was cute.

Sunday was truly a Belgian day: replete with water. It was raining off and on all day. However, we biked along the canals that wind through Bruges (often called the Venice of the North) and finally followed the waterway from Bruges to Damme, where we stumbled upon a delicious meal, a book sale in the quaint town centre, and this wonderful windmill. The countryside was too perfect and a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of Bruxelles and the European Parliament, where everyone walks like they have OBS. I could go on and on about the time in Bruges and Damme because the entire day appealed to my sensibilities (crowned with my first taste of Belgian chocolates) but suffice it to say that I could easily pass the rest of my days in a similar place– quiet, rural, bursting with secret charm, yet still close to urbania and all of its options.

Why I never should have gone to Lake Como

The view from a tiny chapel in Breglia (San Domenico) above Lake Como.
Oh, don't mind us. We're just the Alps, sliding straight into the crystal clear Como waters.

Needless to say, Italy surpassed my expectations. After taking every mode of transportation possible to get to Lake Como ( bus, ferry, metro, plane, taxi, train, tram ) and more running through airports and train stations than anyone present, especially the other travellers, probably preferred, Shannon, Whitney, Randi, and I learned the definition of sublime as we took in the visual, physical, and edible textures that the Lombardy region offered us. (Concerning the edibles, I took in my fair share of gelato). For my high school friends who partook of the laxative cookies, firstly, sorry. Secondly, you would have felt right at home in Nabu (a second round of apologies for those not privy to the insider's scoop and a second round of gelato for me). Oh, and George Clooney sends his regards to all.

Mr. MEP

The European Parliament: the chrome-leafed behemoth where I work.
Herbert Dorfmann, MEP from Italy and member of the European People's Party. Mr. Dorfmann serves on the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development, so I hope to learn a full lot about the EU agriculture system.
Sudtirol or South Tyrol, the region whence Mr. Dorfmann and his assistant come. Originally part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Tyrol was split between Italy and Austria after WWI. South Tyrol, and in particular Dorfmann's Italian SVP party, fought for autonomy within Italy for some timeThough the map does not give context, Tyrol is in the top left corner of Italy.

A more pleasing glimpse of the South Tyrol region (and legal, unlike the last one I posted here).

A selection of 23 languages streaming through the earpieces, hot coffee at my seat while surrounded by hundreds of MEPs and their assistants at the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development's first session of the year, and an audience with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, all on day one. A good day, a very good day.

A note about South Tyrol: because the region was previously Austro-Hungarian, German and Italian are spoken concurrently in the region. Thus, Mr. Dorfmann and his assistant, Giovanni, alternate between the two rather seemlessly and leave me to communicate in English with Mr. Dorfmann and French with Giovanni.