Today I began my day again with some parking lot driving practice in the quiet of dawn. Some times it feels like I'm making two steps forward and then one back, but at least the two steps forward are happening . . .
After breakfast I drove southwest to Waterloo, with one stop to put some gas in the tank.
The weather was a bit cold and blustery once I got to Waterloo, but I walked around outside for a little bit anyway.
Eventually I went into the heated comfort of the museum, which is one of the best museums I have ever been in (albeit pretty expensive at 16 euros).
It includes a multisensory 3D movie of the battle, including the smell of fire where appropriate! Besides the museum, the ticket includes entrance to a panoramic painting of the battle;
and access to the lion's mound, which was built as a memorial for a Dutch prince who was wounded during the battle.
From Waterloo, I drove further southwest. After causing some traffic problems in a roundabout, I reached Mons. I needed to do laundry, and hoped I would find a laundromat by driving around the outskirts of Mons. Eventually the road I was on led me into a denser neighborhood than I wanted to be in, but I got myself turned around and as I was heading out of the town, sure enough I spotted a laundromat. Moreover, it was relatively easy to pull over and park.
I did my laundry, and as it washed I drove under a bridge and practiced stopping and starting. Somehow something clicked while I did this, and I finally felt confident that I could start out without stalling. This was a big relief.
After my laundry was done, I drove east of the town to the Mons Hippodrome, for the horse races. I had written down that the races began at 17:00, but it was actually 17:55, so I had some time on my hands. Luckily the enclosed grandstands and concourse had free WiFi, so I used that while I waited.
The fan facilities are lower key than at Northlands in Edmonton (no casino, for example), but they are nice enough.
The races themselves are not as enjoyable, at least they weren't for me, because they do not have a handy way to track the horses when they are on the other side of the track, and the horses don't wear different colour silks, so it is extremely difficult to tell the horses apart.
I just bet (and lost) on the first race. I felt brave trying to place a bet in French, and as it was somehow I placed two bets by mistake (one to win and one to place).
After three races I left the track and drove to my accommodations for the night, a bed and breakfast just north of the French border called Kolibriehuys, which apparently means something like hummingbird house in Flemish. My GPS took me into France to get there, and then back into Belgium on a single lane dirt farm road, which I hardly believed could even be a road! The lady who runs Kolibriehuys laughed at me for following the GPS directions rather than the ones she had given me by email, but I found it well enough nonetheless.
Eventually I went into the heated comfort of the museum, which is one of the best museums I have ever been in (albeit pretty expensive at 16 euros).
It includes a multisensory 3D movie of the battle, including the smell of fire where appropriate! Besides the museum, the ticket includes entrance to a panoramic painting of the battle;
From Waterloo, I drove further southwest. After causing some traffic problems in a roundabout, I reached Mons. I needed to do laundry, and hoped I would find a laundromat by driving around the outskirts of Mons. Eventually the road I was on led me into a denser neighborhood than I wanted to be in, but I got myself turned around and as I was heading out of the town, sure enough I spotted a laundromat. Moreover, it was relatively easy to pull over and park.
I did my laundry, and as it washed I drove under a bridge and practiced stopping and starting. Somehow something clicked while I did this, and I finally felt confident that I could start out without stalling. This was a big relief.
After my laundry was done, I drove east of the town to the Mons Hippodrome, for the horse races. I had written down that the races began at 17:00, but it was actually 17:55, so I had some time on my hands. Luckily the enclosed grandstands and concourse had free WiFi, so I used that while I waited.
The fan facilities are lower key than at Northlands in Edmonton (no casino, for example), but they are nice enough.
I just bet (and lost) on the first race. I felt brave trying to place a bet in French, and as it was somehow I placed two bets by mistake (one to win and one to place).
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