On the 1st July, seven of us set out to visit our twin club in Comines. These were Peter & Jean Mason, Phil & Rosemary Jones, Robert & Anne Bogin and Maureen Mwagale with Graham & Janet Powell joining us from Germany. For the first evening, we were taken to Au Peche Mignon in Wervicq which is where the Comines Club meet. The restaurant owner does all the cooking and serving by himself!
After welcome speeches we enjoyed an excellent meal.
Next morning we set off on a 2 hour journey to Prouilly near Reims where we visited a champagne house Alain Couvreur. Some tastings took place and several of us purchased bottles.
After this we travelled into the city of Reims and had a meal in a busy city restaurant Brasserie le Boulingrin which is in front of the art deco market of the same name.
Following this we visited Reims Cathedral which is absolutely stunning with superb stained glass before an evening meal and social gathering at the house of Annick & Gilles Fournier.
On Sunday we set off to Gravelines where we visited the restoration of a 17th century French warship the Jean Bart. This sunk in 1809 and was burnt by the British. These ships were individually constructed so no plans exist and considerable research was needed in order to reconstruct the vessel. This work is ongoing. More detail can be found on this website
Finally we enjoyed a meal by Gravelines Beach in the restaurant Face a la Mer after which we said our goodbyes after a memorable weekend.
