My Greatest Weight Loss Fear

Don't get me wrong, I want to lose this weight more than anything. I want to feel healthier, fitter, have more energy, be able to do more. Not miss out on seeing things when travelling because I am not able to walk up to it. Or have panic attacks when going on carnival rides because I fear the embarrasment of not fitting. I dont want the embarassment of flying in a plane and having to pay for 2 seats or having to use an extender seatbelt. I dont want my borderline diabetes to become full diabetes. The list could go on. But there is a pitfall to losing weight that drives fear into me. And in all my searches of other blogs, I am yet to see much written on the topic. That pitfall is, EXCESS SKIN!

When weight is gained, the skin expands, and often loses elasticity. This loss of elasticity can never be regained. No exercise, toning, lotions or potions, can ever give the skin back that elasticity. This is more common in people who are older or people who are overweight for many years, such as myself. When the skin has lost its elasticity, and weight is lost, the skin does NOT shrink back. Rather you are left with a large amount of excess skin. Such as these photos I found, show........ This excess skin will never go away (with the exception of major surgery. This excess skin can also cause other problems such as Abscess, Rashes, Ulcerations, Cellulitis (cellulitis is a painful bacterial skin infection) and hygiene problems. The greater the amount of weight lost, the greater the amount of excess skin. Everyday, people are having tummy tucks to remove up to 50pounds or more (up to 25kg) of excess skin. There is no other method of removing the excess skin. Some people will tell you that can tone the skin up and that exercise might work. But that is definitely NOT the case.

That is one of the reasons I have put my goal weight at 70kg instead of 60kg. I would even be happy to reach just 80 or 90kg. In all probability, I will have a large amount of excess skin which cannot be lost. I am already finding this possibility a reality. I have always said that I would never, in my entire life, have cosmetic surgery. And I could never understand why people put themselves through so much pain and for what really? However, the more I think about it, the more I do NOT want that excess skin that is bound to remain after losing a lot of weight. And the more I think that, then a tummy tuck is definitely an option not to be ignored.

Am I being vain? Afterall, who will see it besides myself, my hubby, and my doctor. In some ways, I feel like I am abandoning my beliefs and selling out. I have always sworn against it, yet here I am entertaining the idea. I know that I am already suffering from major skin infections from time to time. Would this help with that? And could I withstand the agony of surgery, I have a very low pain tolerance.

I would dearly love to hear about how others have dealt with this issue after weight loss. And also their thoughts on tummy tucks, arm lifts, etc.

Inspirational Friends

I just wanted to write a post to thank everyone who has left comments of support and encouragement. These comments really do help to spur you on and continue on the journey. And to all the others out there, that are also trying to lose weight, I wish you every success. You can do it!

I also want to say that it really helps, knowing that others are going through the same thing. Experiencing the same ups and downs. And those that have had great success so far, really do inspire you to continue. Since starting this blog, I have been travelling around the blogs of others and found many that are going through the same struggle as myself. Some of those are listed in the side column here. And I have to say that some have really inspired me to keep going. One girl has lost an amazing 182 pounds (82.5kg). My mindset is, that if others can do it, maybe I can too.

Thankyou to my friends, Amanda and Tera, for bringing me into the world of blogging. My friend Amanda is also an inspiration to me. Amanda has so far lost over 20kg and is looking totally amazing!

However, her exercise regime puts me to shame. I am a long way yet, from regular 10-15km walks. But her success spurs me on to do the best I can too. I see how much better, healthier, happier, and fitter she is, and that is what we all strive for.

Please drop in and visit her blog and leave a comment of support :) http://whataboutyourhips.blogspot.com/index.html

End of week 13

Well, I am absolutely thrilled to have a loss this week. Only 300g (10.6 ounces) again, but still a loss. I really didn't think it was going to happen after Friday night. Friday night we went out. First we went to a friends for a birthday and I had a piece of birthday cake. Then we went to our neighbours for a drink. We had a great time but oh boy, the food was endless. There was only 4 of us and the neighbour kept bringing out an endless supply of the most scrumptious foods. Starting with bowls of cashews and bowls of cheese cubes and a dipping sauce. Then these little cheese nibblies that were so yummy. She said they were salmon and cheese, and they were shaped into little ovals and garnished on top. Then there were a huge pile of hot mini vol au vents which she kept saying to eat up before they are cold. She also brought out 2 whole quiches. The first was a salmon quiche but I dont know what the second one was, I was just way to full to fit anymore in.......lol. And she finished it off with a large tray of chocolate biscuits. I tell you, I waddled home.......lol.

Saturday morning, I tentatively stepped onto the scales. OH NO! A half kilo gain :( All day I stuck rigidly to my diet. I had only my 3 meals for the day, absolutely no snacks, and for dinner, I had a bowl of soup with toast.

Sunday morning, I tentatively stepped onto the scales. OH NO! Still 400g over my last weigh in :( Again, I stuck rigidly to my diet. Only the 3 meals for the day, absolutely no snacks, and dinner was a modifast milkshake, 2 sandwiches, and a small frozen yoghurt dessert. Plus, it was finally a sunny and beautiful day (it has been raining everyday for weeks and I had not been getting my walks in for weeks). So, today I finally got in a short 2km walk. Only 25mins but finally a walk.

Monday morning, weigh in day!!!!! I held my breath and stepped onto the scales. A loss of 300g!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe it and was totally over the moon :) It just goes to show, one bad diet day need not be the end of the world. If you fall off the wagon so to speak, and have a really bad diet day, dont lose hope and give up. Next day just continue as if it never happened and you might be pleasantly suprised :) Stick with it, and at the end of the week, you may not necessarily gain after one bad day.

My Weight Loss Program

Ok, I guess it is time to write about my weight loss program and my progress to date. My heaviest recorded weight was in summer 2006, with a weight of 139.9kg. I felt terrible, I couldnt do anything and had really let myself go. After getting a virus and being sick and not eating for a few days, I had dropped a few kilo's. This gave me the start and incentive that I needed. And now I have changed my whole lifestyle.

Before, I was a nightowl and stayed up all night. Because of this, I never got anything done during the day plus my eating habits were dreadful. I would have breakfast when I woke up and skip lunch. Then I would snack late in the afternoon, have big late dinners, and then have midnight snacks. Many nights I would have a huge dinner and an hour later be hungry again because of letting my blood sugar drop so low. This combined with hardly any exercise and a lot of time on the computer or in front of the tv, meant that I was on a downhill slide.

Now my life is completely different. I think there are a lot of things that I can improve on, but it is so much better than it was, and it is definitely a start on getting things on track. A couple of weeks ago, I had lost a total of 13kg. Then I got a new set of digital scales and they read a couple of kilo's more. But I have still lost a total of 11.5 kg by the new scales and I now take my readings by the new scales. And I should mention that I am doing it entirely on my own, no diet fads, no clubs, just the support of Hans and a few friends.

So, what have I changed? First I changed my sleeping habits. I still have a few late nights but now I am usually in bed between 12 and 1am. And I am often up around 9 and 9.30. This means that there is NO late night snacking anymore. It is very rare that I eat after dinner now. And I have dinner no later than 8pm if it can be helped. It also means that I eat 3 proper meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am eating a bit less at dinner time also, and because I am eating properly during the day and my blood sugar stays at good levels, I am usually feeling full and satisfied still from dinner, right up till I go to bed. I do get hungry in the late afternoon and usually have a snack but I have good snacks now, which I will tell you about shortly. I also try to have something every 3 to 4 hours apart. This prevents the blood sugar levels from dropping and the metabolism going.

What do I eat? Well, as my friends know, I dont eat vegetables or salads. I love fruit but the only vegies I eat are potato (all types), pumpkin, carrot, onion, and beans. And I only eat them cooked. This can be a problem when trying to lose a lot of weight but I work on eating what I can and sometimes eat other vegies in cooked dinners. For example, I always add a heap of chopped fresh tomato to many meals, such as chilli, lasagne, etc. This gives me a good serve of tomato. I also eat a lot of fruit and will often have fruit for dessert, either a small serve of fruit salad, or a couple of mandarins, or a fruit yoghurt, etc. And I try to have a banana with breakfast every morning. Now that I have mentioned my not eating vegies, here is what I do eat :)

Breakfast: I start every morning with a cup of tea, a banana, an Actimel drink for the immune system, and a Becel Pro Active drink to lower cholestrol. That is unless I have run out of one or more. With these I then have either a modifast milk shake or 2 Weet Bix.

Lunch: Lunch is nearly always the same unless I have run out and have something a bit different. And that same thing is 4 or 5 slices of bread (the bread is sliced very thin in Belgium, slices are half as thick as Australia and also thinner than Holland). I put a little butter on the bread but not too much and I use Becel with no cholestrol in it. And then I have liverwurst on the sandwiches. Liverwurst if high in fat but I love it. And because I dont eat vegies, have very little red meat, and my iron levels were way too low (below the minimum that it should be) before I started dieting, then I continue with this as liver is a good source of iron.

Dinner: This varies enormously. Many nights I have a bowl of soup with a couple of sandwiches. I eat a lot of bread. And soup is very low in calories and fat. And most contain vegies that I would not normally eat. My favourite soups are cream of tomato, goulash soup, or varieties of chicken. An occasional onion soup is also nice. Sometimes I skip the soup and just have a couple of toasted sandwiches, such as cheese and pineapple. I also have pasta as often as I can. Pasta is also very low in fat and contrary to many opinions, it is very good for diets. When I was going to Jenny Craig for a while in Australia, she had a number of pasta dishes. And going by the weight watchers points system in Holland, you can have a free serve of unfilled pasta for just 3 points. Spaghetti Bolognaise is a good example, the pasta fills you up, you can have a free serve, plus I get my vegies in the sauce. And where I used to add a heap of grated cheese, I now only sprinkle a little parmesan on top. I do also add lean minced beef to mine which also gives me a serve of red meat. Other nights I do have the usual meat (or fish) and vegies or a rice dinner (such as tonight's home made fried rice). But rice is not as good as pasta for losing weight so dont have too much. I try not to have anything deep fried but have had a serve of hot chips a couple of times with fish. Otherwise, now when I fry anything I am going eat, I only use a little diet oil or olive oil.

Snacks: Here is where my biggest change is, I think. Now, 9 times out of 10, my snack is a couple of rice cakes, either plain or with cottage cheese on them. You can get a variety of flavoured rice cakes now. There is even chocoate ones and cheese flavoured ones. I like the cheese flavoured and they are still only 38 calories each. I prefer them with a little cottage cheese on top but it isnt necessary. Sometimes I do have something a little different but mostly, that is my snack. If I have something different, it is either a banana, mandarins, a 0% fat and 0% added sugar fruit yoghurt, a slice of cheese, pretzels, etc. Pretzels also make a good diet snack.

Before, I loved my cheese, chocolate, chips, and all sorts of bad goodies. And I am suprised at how easy it has been to not have these at times. I still do eat a lot of cheese but try to eat only a slice here and there. Occasionally I will have a few plain crackers with a bit of cheese on them or I will have a slice of cheese as a snack. You do need a certain amount of dairy in the diet as well, for calcium. I dont always buy the low fat cheese. It can be a pain buying different kinds of cheese for us both and if you are sensible and not having it very often, then a slice or two is not going to make a huge difference. I do crave chocolate or potato crisps now and again but I find that it is much easier to just ignore the cravings if there isnt any of that in the house. If there isnt any in the house, then after a short time, the cravings just disappear. It is much harder not to give into temptation if they are in the house. I do allow myself a little chocolate now and again. For example, I had a small chocolate from Sinterklaas and a little chocolate at xmas. If you refuse to ever eat anything you love, you will only get fed up with the diet and resent it, eventually failing. The main thing is not too often and in moderation.

I have some major changes to my diet. I have cut out a lot of fat, I use only good cooking oils, I choose healthier snacks, swapped sweetener in my coffee instead of sugar, I make sure I have 3 proper meals a day (no skipping meals), I have cut out eating at night (especially late at night), and I try not to let my blood sugar drop too low. Also, when I shop, I always check the fat content and calorie content on items. I used to live on pizza's and I have not had a pizza since I have been on the date, 13 weeks now. I also made hamburgers before but now I make them using a piece of lean steak instead of fatty hamburger patties. These changes, together with better sleeping habits and a more active lifestyle, have made for major improvements. I am feeling so much better in myself. I feel healthier, I can do more, and I am also happier. I know that I will have to make more changes as time goes on. For starters, I dont drink as much water as I should yet. And I will have to cut meal sizes and fat content back more, etc. But for now, I seem to be doing something right and it is working.

Here is a photo of me at my starting weight, 139.2kg.....

I dont notice too much of a difference yet and mostly the difference I do see is in the face. But out of the 13 weeks there is only 2 that I did not lose anything, and those 2 weeks I didnt gain either, I stayed the same. Mostly it is only half a kilo a week and last week it was only 0.3kg but that is better. If you lose it slow, it is more likely to stay off. And I can definitely feel it in my clothes. Every Monday morning I get up and before I eat breakfast, the first thing I do is weigh in and take my measurements. I take 11 measurements in all, including neck, wrist, and ankle. I have so far lost 3cm off the neck. I also have a waist now that I never had for a long time......lol. I keep all my stats along with a graph, on the first page of a spreadsheet in Excel. My second page contains my daily ritual (time I get up, what housework I do not including things like the cooking and dishes, what extra exercise I do, what home exercises I do, and what time I go to bed). The third page of the spreadsheet is where I write down ALL I eat. Every day I put in what I have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I even include cups of tea and coffee.

The last page is where I have my goals and rewards listed. I think it is important to reward yourself for doing such a good job. It makes it fun, and gives incentive and encouragement to continue. My first goal was the loss of my first 10kg (reaching 129kg) and my new digital scales were the reward. Now most of my goals are every 5kg more I lose. If I am only losing an average of half a kilo a week, then that is still about 10 weeks between rewards. My next goal is 124kg and for that I have put down to have a manicure and pedicure. At 119kg (a total loss of 20kg), I would like to get a new computer chair as mine is broken and terribly uncomfortable. I might put my goals and rewards in the side column here so that you can see what they are.

Well, I think this post is well and truly long enough........lol. I will save my activity and exercise info for another post :) I will also tell you in another post, a bit about my friend, Amanda, who has so far lost over 20kg and is a major source of inspiration to me. I would love to hear from others with similar experiences and goals. And if you are dieting, hang in there, it is all worth it!!!

2006 (A quick summary)

Well, this is my last catch up post on my adventures here in Belgium. And then I will start posting on what is happening now, my hobbies and interests, and my weight loss progress. But for the life of me, I am having trouble remembering what we did the past year. There weren't any international visitors and I guess we were a bit boring this year. But I will fill you in on a few things.

New Years Eve 2005 was the first time we stayed home in Belgium, we normally drive to Holland to watch and photograph the amazing fireworks. We didnt think that people let them off in the streets here and discovered at midnight that we were wrong. They were going off all over the neighbourhood. We shouldnt have been suprised, Belgium sells even stronger fireworks than Holland. When it is getting close to the end of the year, the police are sitting at the borders waiting to catch Dutch coming back home with their stash of Belgian fireworks. This year I think they caught someone with a couple of ton of fireworks trying to go back over the border. This year Hans was working the night shift on New Years Eve so it was just me. So outside I went at midnight to watch the fireworks :) However, they still do scare me a bit, being so close. And this year was no exception, especially when the next door neighbours started letting them off in front of the house when I wasnt looking.....lol.

As I mentioned, he winter was cold at the beginning of the year. And one day in February we had really good rijp (a type of frost). So we grabbed our cameras and headed off to the forest. We were not disappointed and I also enjoyed watching people ice skating on the lake there :)

Probably the most notable event this year was Hans' 25th anniversary at the factory. For this, he received several gifts and bonuses. Among these was a HUGE pay bonus in August which was the month that marked his 25 years working at the company. He was also given the actual day off work and then we had the dinner at the end of the year. Every year, just before xmas (this year it was 22 December), the company holds a special dinner for all those celebrating their 10th, 25th, and 40th anniversaries with the company, and also for those that retired that year. It is just for those people, their partners, the General Manager, and the other Department Managers and heads. It is actually a lunch, not dinner. A taxi was sent to pick us up and take us to the lunch which was a fabulous hot and cold buffet. We were greeted at the door with a glass of champagne and after a few drinks, we went to our tables. During the speeches, those who retired during the year received a special gift and those celebrating their anniversaries, received a commemorative pin. Later in the afternoon, the taxis arrived to take us all home again. It was really nice and we had a fabulous time :)

Another major event was the friendly soccor game between Holland and Australia in Rotterdam. Held just before the World Cup. As the factory that Hans works for is owned by an Australian company, Zinifex, they managed to get enough tickets for a couple of busloads to go to the game from the factory. And Hans managed to secure 2 seats for us :) It certainly was an experience and one that I thoroughly enjoyed!!!! I didnt know much about soccor beforehand and didnt have too big a interest but I had to go and support the aussies. And I have to say that since that experience and the following World Cup, my interest has definitely grown :) Here are a few photos and take note of Hans in his aussie outfit...lol. Of course there was Carnival again early in the year and this year we decided to check out the parade in Valkenswaard. Here are a few photos from the 2006 Carnival..... In October, there was an Australian Fair held in Utrecht at the Aboriginal Art Museum there. So Hans and I decided to go and check it out. It was fun and interesting to see, but not much there for us. It was all little stalls about immigration or travel to Australia, a stall about Australian Rules Football, a few aussie product stalls, one about the Flying Doctors, etc. They also had Didgeridoo playing and Boomerang throwing instruction :) I managed to get myself a little souvenir and an aussie cap and we came home with the biggest stack of brochures :) But we didnt take any photos.

Tera and I did make our annual pilgrimage to Valkenburg for the xmas markets in the caves but ended up not getting there. We went on a Saturday which also happened to be the second last day of the markets and when we got there, the cues were a mile long. It may have taken us hours to get our tickets. So we kept driving to Aachen over the border. When we got to Aachen, we had the traffic from a soccor match and then all the car parks were full in the centre. We finally did find a parking garage with a spaces left and headed off to the centre to find somewhere for lunch and the xmas markets. This was easier said than done as all the cafes were completely full and overcrowded, even McDonalds. We finally found a cafe with a couple of spare tables and had a really lovely lunch. Then we headed off in search of the xmas markets. The markets were as wonderful as ever! And we had a great time even though it was a real fight to get through the crowds and we were soaking wet from the non stop rain. But I really enjoyed the markets and the atmosphere and managed to pick up some great goodies :) However, I dont think I will tackle the xmas markets on a weekend again......lol.

Our Christmas was quiet but really lovely. First we headed off to mass at the local church. Hans was playing a few songs on his saxophone with the local band at mass. It was a wonderful way to spend Christmas morning. When we got home, we unwrapped our pressies, talked to mum on the phone again, had a simple lunch and then a lazy afternoon. Our Christmas dinner in the evening was a little different to usual. This year we had Swiss cheese fondue and gourmet. Gourmet is very popular here on special occasions. It is tiny bits of different kinds of meats, and you cook your own pieces yourself on the table. It comes with all these tiny frypans and all the guests cook their own meat in their own little frypan right there on the table. Our gourmet set is not the best so I cooked up different bits of meat on the stove and put it on a plate on the table with the salads and veges etc. But we did our own fondue right there on the table. Second Christmas Day, Hans had to work the morning shift and then we went to visit the family in the evening. So it turned out to be a really wonderful Christmas :)

Another new thing I did this Christmas, was to make all my gifts for family and friends and receive home made gifts from my friends. It was LOADS of fun and I really enjoyed doing it and I think I may do it more often. I think home made gifts mean a lot more also, as they are truly from the heart and you know the person put a lot of thought into it. I think they are more precious than any store bought gift. And I enjoyed it so much!

That is mostly all of note for this year. I did have a wonderful dinner with friends for my birthday and a few other outings but no major sightseeing trips. Progress on the house has been at a bit of a standstill and I am dying to get back into working on it. I am getting extremely sick of my yucky bare concrete kitchen floor, etc. So fingers crossed that we manage to get some things done this year :) Well there is not much else I can think of to write. We are both well and doing great, as are all the pets :) So I guess I will keep this post pretty short and get on to some more current things :) I hope you have enjoyed the journey so far!!!

Trip to Flanders Fields and Normandy

We headed off early on the morning of April 25, ANZAC Day! And our first stop was the ANZAC day ceremonies in Ieper. It was good to see so many other Australians and New Zealanders also at the ceremonies. And I have to say that the ceremonies were conducted with great respect. The ceremonies are held beneath the Menin Gate. Menin Gate is a memorial to those fallen in the war and every evening of the year, the last post will be played at the gate. We naturally went back to see this done in the evening. Inscribed around the memorial is the names of 54,900 missing sodiers from around Ieper during the First World War.

Ieper is surrounded by so much war history. Every place you look or turn there is a monument, memorial, war cemetery, museum, or even a stark reminder of what happened there. Such as these hospital bunkers set into the hill just around the corner from the house we stayed in. Or these other couple of sites we encountered while just driving around the countryside surrounding Ieper. The house we stayed in was surrounded by farming fields and everytime I looked out the window I would wonder what went on in those fields all those years ago. How many young men died painful deaths in those fields. To say it was a sobering experience is an understatement.

We visited several museums in Ieper. We were there a few days but just could not fit them all in. We also visited different memorials, preserved areas such as "The Yorkshire Trench", and the Tyne Cot Cemetery. Tyne Cot Cemetery commemorates a total of nearly 35,000 men who died. This is a small description I found of Tyne Cot.....

"After the Armistice, the battlefields were cleared and the bodies found during the clearances, together with those from several nearby smaller cemeteries were concentrated in the Tyne Cot Cemetery. This cemetery is now the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in the world, with almost 12,000 graves."

It found it so emotional that the occupants of most of the graves are unknown. Many are known to be soldiers of particular armies by their uniforms and just their names are unknown. There are others that are totally unknown.

There are dozens and dozens of small war cemeteries dotting the landscape around Ieper and Flanders Fields. And I must note how pristine and well cared for, all these cemeteries are. They are constantly looked after and the lawns and gardens are well tended. They are definitely treated with the utmost respect and that was a wonderful thing to see.

From Flanders Fields, we also did a couple of day trips. One was to Dunkirk and Calais in the north of France. We stood on the beach at Dunkirk and visited the huge gun sites at Cap Blanc Nez and Cap Griz Nez. Just driving around, you can still see the craters on the landscape from the Second World War. Again, reminders of the past are never far away.

The other day trip was to the Australian Memorial Park in Fromelles, France. Part of the Somme battlefield. Again, I was struck with how well cared for these graves are. And it is so sobering as you wander around.

After leaving Ieper, we headed down to Normandy in France. It was quite a drive and we drove through the Somme which was another major battle area of the First World War. Here there were numerous more sites to see but as we didnt have a lot of time, we only visited a few of them. These included the new Australian Memorial Park at le Hamel, the Lochnagar Crater, and a few memorial statues.

The Australian Memorial Park at le Hamel is new and was only opened in 1998 and is at the site of a significant battle which was fought and won there in 1918. The memorial park also contains information about the Red Baron who was shot down near the site.

The Lochnagar Crater was definitely something to see. The crater was caused by an explosion that sent debris 4000ft into the air. The soldiers dug tunnels underground, right to under the enemy line. Here they planted charges, with the case of Lochnagar Crater, it was two charges of ammonal of 24,000lb and 30,000lb. The charges were then blown. Human remains have been found quite recently. This mine crater is around 100m in diameter and 30m deep. It is still the largest man made crater to be created in anger.

We continued our journey to Normandy. We had booked into a hotel in Caen and our drive took us through the centre of Rouen. Now there is a city that I would like to explore but we did not have time to stop, it was already late afternoon. There is just so much history to explore in Normandy and we only had 2 full days which we used to discover the history of the D-Day landings. But Normandy has so much to offer and I hope that one day I can get back there and spend more time discovering it's rich history. For example, there is Rouen. Victor Hugo called Rouen the city of a hundred spires. Claude Monet immortalized its Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame. And it is also the city where both Joan of Arc was burned at the stake and William the Conqueror died. Rouen is one of France's most ancient and historic cities. Apart from Rouen there is also the abbey of Mont-St-Michel. It sits on a high rocky islet and connected to the mainland by only a very narrow and long causeway. It dates back to 709 and was unconquered during the Hundred Years' War. It is surrounded by over half a mile of massive defensive walls. It is also known for the tides, the higest on the continent, that rush in at enormous speed and swept the enemy away without warning. Today there is a permanent road to the islet for the tourists. Like I said, Normandy is so full of amazing history and I would love so bad to get back there and explore more. But now, back to what we did see :)

We did get to see a number of museums and sites between Sword Beach and Omaha Beach. Unfortunately time ran out before we got to Utah Beach or the town of St Mere Eglise. We saw each of the beaches, Sword, Juno, Gold, and Omaha. The first stop was at Pegasus Bridge where the British parachuted in from gliders. There is also a museum right there at the bridge. And nearby is the Merville Gun Battery museum that we also took a look at.

We also visited the American War Cemetery at Colleville Sur Mer, above Omaha Beach. The marble crosses and Stars of David stretch as far as the eye can seeand is a very sobering experience. Unfortunately, I only have have video footage of the cemetery.

Not far from the American War Cemetery is La Pointe du Hoc. It lies between the Omaha and Utah beaches and to this day, remains unchanged from when the American Army Rangers scaled its sheer cliffs. You can see from the photos, the huge craters that were the result of the naval bombardment that preceded the Rangers invasion. Most of the German bunkers also remain.

We also visited Arromanches, a seaside town at Gold Beach. You can find one of the best D-Day museums here as well as the Arromanches 360 film. My mum and I went into the film and it was quite an experience. You stand in the centre and the film is projected onto 9 screens in a circular 360degree cinema. The film alternates between present day pictures and unreleased footage from the archives of war correspondents taken on D-Day. It was quite an emotional and unforgettable experience. There are scenes that will remain with me forever. Looking out to sea at Gold Beach you are again struck with reminders of the past as the coast is littered with remnants from D-Day.

Another site that we visited was the German gun batteries at Longues-Sur-Mer. This site is wonderfully preserved and shows the incredible fire power that the Allies faced on the Normandy beaches. 3 of the guns remain in their concrete bunkers.

Apart from these amazing sites, 4 of the 5 beaches, and several museums, we did get to take a quick look at the cities of Caen and Bayeux. Bayeux was liberated during the Battle of Normandy and its buildings remained virtually undamaged as the German troops were pulled away to help defend Caen. It is famous for its tapestry that was made to commemorate the Norman conquest of England in 1066. It's large Romanesque Cathedral dates back to 1077.

Caen, where we were based, is famous on two counts. First for its very historical buildings that were built during the reign of William the Conquerer, who is buried there, and secondly for the Battle for Caen during the D-Day invasion. We paid the castle there a visit and it is quite a site. It was built by William the Conquerer around 1060 and it is one of the largest medieval fortresses of Western Europe.

All to soon, our trip came to an end and it was time to come home. We dropped mum and Noel at the train station in Caen so that they could catch the train to Paris. They spent the night in Paris and climbed the Eiffel Tower before catching the fast train back to Antwerp. A friend of theirs picked them up at the station in Antwerp and they spent a few days with him before coming back here. For Hans and I, it was a very long and hot drive back home. Along the way, we drove through the Somme again and stopped for photos at a couple more sites at Bullecourt. One of these was the bronzed slouch hat memorial which is probably the only war memorial in the world which focuses on an item of the uniform.

The other stop was at the Bullecourt Memorial Park. There were some 10,000 Australians killed or wounded in 2 battles at Bullecourt in 1917. The Memorial Park overlooks that battlefield. It contains the bronze statue of the "Bullecourt Digger".

We arrived home late in the afternoon and the site as we pulled into the driveway had me in fits of laughter. We were greeted home by 14 fluffy little babies running around the yard...lol. That was the first of our baby chicks :)