Summer Trip to France and Spain 1919

By Lucas and Elizabeth Bouchard

June 11, 1919 11:30 am L

We boarded the ship yesterday and as I anticipated, Jack was quite impressed by the size of the vessel. We were afforded a general tour and instructions on safety. I spent some time afterwards with Jack ensuring that he understood the safety measures and gave him additional instructions including having one of us present with him at all times.

We dined at the captain's table and in fact, Jack was moved by the captain so that he could sit next to him. The captain has promised a tour of the bridge and boiler room in the next few days. I know that Jack is anxious to learn more about how the ship is navigated. I do see drawings in my future.

Tomorrow is the captain's ball which is much anticipated as this will be Laura's true debut in a public event. I know she is both looking forward to it and very nervous at the same time. She did get some practice at our reception in Montreal with family and acquaintances so I think she will adapt nicely.

June 13, 1919 8:00 am. E

The Captain's Ball was wonderful. Lucas danced with Laura to help her get over her jitters and as expected, her dancing with the dashing Mr Bouchard drew attention. She was asked to dance by several young men, and she was able to carry her own in pleasant conversation. We are very proud of her. We made the acquaintance of a Mrs Trembly during the first evening and she was so kind as to look after Jack for a while so that we could be on the dance floor along with Laura.

It is time to think about heading to breakfast; the food is quite delicious; I will have to curtail my enthusiasm when Gustave inquires because there are a few dishes that quite rival his best. But Gustave's come with the added love that make them special.

This is going to be a long voyage, but we are meeting some interesting people and I hope to spend some time on my book outline as my creative juices are stirring again. It is such a lovely day, perhaps some sun on the deck with my writing might be pleasant.

June 15, 1919 11:30 am L

I don't know quite what to enter regarding the drama of the past couple of days. Jack went missing for the better part of an afternoon. Search parties were organized by the ship's captain and fortunately he was found safe and not too awfully worse for wear in the baggage hold where he had followed after a small dog. He had a few scrapes and bruises from a fall in the dark room but is recovering nicely. I was grateful that I was in the team that located him; it meant a lot to him that his Papa found him. I was grateful that he had the company of the little dog during his ordeal. While he is coming along nicely; the rest of us are doing our best to recover from the angst of those hours.

As it turns out, the dog "Floppsie" is owned by the wife of an envoy stationed in Madrid. Elizabeth, Jack and I spent some time with her after the incident so Jack could play with the dog for a while. They are quite the pair. I have a feeling that we will be adding a puppy to the family when we return to Hope Valley. There is nothing like watching the joy that that little dog brings him. Having been an only child myself, I can see the benefits of the companionship. Someday we hope to add a sibling (or a few if I have a say) to the family but given the age difference, at least in the beginning, Jack would benefit from a pet. Elizabeth and I are yet to discuss this to any extent, but she will likely read this entry and therefor have some advance warning on my wishes… We will try to connect with Mrs. Gordon and her husband when we are in Madrid later this summer.

June 17, 1919 8:00 am.E

I see that Lucas has made an entry regarding "the ordeal". I have been trying to do my best to recover from the shock and despair I felt at having our little boy lost. The guilt has been hard to deal with because he was in my care at the time of his disappearance. Lucas has been so attentive and kind trying to get my spirits up again and Jack seems to instinctively know that I need extra love right now. I know logically that Lucas is right that we can't have him in our sight every second of the day, but it is hard to shake off this feeling. Tonight, is the Farewell Ball and I hope that I can get in the spirit of the event. I know that Laura is especially looking forward to the dance. There is one young gentleman in particular that seems to have caught her attention. This voyage, despite the ordeal with Jack, has been quite a good experience for Laura. She has made friends with two delightful young women that are on their way to meet their parents in France. The pair have made wonderful companions for Laura and have helped entertain Jack. I will never forget their kindness to Laura and me during his disappearance.

June 18, 1919 2:30 pm L

We will be disembarking soon in Rotterdam where we will spend two nights before taking the train down to Dijon. I had a quite interesting meeting with a young man today, Benjamin Huntley. He is interested in calling on Laura while we are staying with my family. I never expected to be playing the father role for a young lady with respect to a romantic attachment for many years yet. But he did seem like a very accomplished young man and as it turns out there could be potential for developing a business relationship with his family's business. He, along with another gentleman that I met on board both are interesting prospects for future collaboration.

June 19,1919 5:00 pm.E

It has been so nice to have our feet on terra firma again. We are staying in an enchanting little hotel in Rotterdam. It reminded me of our favorite hotel in Union City. Last night Lucas and I took a stroll along the canal next to our hotel; it was a beautiful starlit night and we encountered a number of couples also enjoying the romance of the evening.

Today we took a trip out to the Kinderdijk Windmills. We spent a lazy day drawing and reading and enjoying a picnic of Dutch fare. Jack was so fascinated with the large windmills that pump water from the land to the river to keep the farmland from flooding. Lucas drew him a diagram of the workings of the windmill, and we all did our best with drawing the majesty of these amazing structures which were constructed centuries ago. Here there are around twenty that are named based on an old tale. It seems that the area went through a devastating flood and when the waters subsided a baby was found floating in a cradle. They constructed the windmills and named them Kinderdijk; kinder is the word for child in Dutch. True or not, it is a lovely story. Jack put a baby in a cradle in one of his drawings. I am hoping that Lucas will come to the school and give the students a lesson on how the windmills work. Jack can bring his diagrams and drawings. Perhaps they will come to do a lesson on steam engines as well as they have drawings of the train and ship boilers.

Tomorrow we will be boarding the train for France. It stops in Brussels Belgium for a few hours to take on passengers and then heads to Paris on the way to our destination in Dijon which is located in eastern France near the mountains that divide France and Switzerland. We are all excited to meet Lucas's family and spend a month or so immersing ourselves in the local culture. I expect that we will all come out of the experience with our conversational French much improved.

June 20, 1919 8:30 pm L

We are aboard the train headed toward Paris. We decided on a night train so that we could get some sleep before arriving in Dijon. This train has sleeping compartments rather than the open style of the transCanada train. I am grateful because the bunks can just about accommodate my legs.

We stopped for a few hours in Brussels to take on passengers. Elizabeth and I took a quick jaunt to a lace shop that is well known here. We had called from Rotterdam to have them set aside a lace tablecloth for a wedding that will be occurring while we are at my family's this summer. While we were there, we saw one that will be perfect for the dining table in our new home. It was an antique and not for sale, but they will make one similar and ship it to us. Elizabeth was happy that we have made our first purchase for our new home from Brussels, a city that is dear in her memories. We had thought about spending time in Belgium when we first planned our summer but decided to keep it for a future trip to Europe. Belgium was occupied from 1914 until last year and suffered much during that time. We were pleased to hear that despite all, the next Olympiad will be held in Antwerp next year. The country is rebuilding and recovering, and we will return. When we do, we will be sure to stay at the hotel that Elizabeth remembers from a visit with her parents. She gets nostalgic, in a good way, each time we visit Union City as apparently it is quite similar. I enquired about it with Mr Smith and he said that it had survived bombing in the area but that the neighborhood was actively in the process of recovering from the tragedy inflicted on Belgium during the war.

June 20,1919 9:00 pm.E

I see that Lucas made an entry about our shopping trip in Brussels. He was the one that spotted the antique tablecloth that is to be the model for one that they will make for us. All of the work is handmade in the "bobbin lace" tradition of the area. It is going to look splendid in our new home. I couldn't help but cry happy tears when Lucas purchased it. While he was at it, he also bought several lace collars that he says Rosie will have added to blouses for me. It seems quite the luxury, but I could see how happy it made him, so I accepted without my usual fuss with such matters. We didn't have a lot of time, but it was a nice quick stop. Someday, Lucas and I will return to Belgium with our children; I have so many fond memories of a trip with my family; but we will give the country more time to recover from the devastation of war. Our life in western Canada has kept us shielded from the tragedy that this war has brought to so many. Here in Belgium, there were a half a million men from the two sides, that died in one campaign alone. So many families are decimated by loss.

On a more cheerful note, we will be arriving in Dijon early morning. Lucas has family picking us up. They are also sending a truck for our considerable pile of luggage. I am bit nervous but mostly excited to meet Lucas' s family. He has been trying to explain to me the family tree and it is quite daunting. On a happy note, there will be many children Jack's age to play with. He doesn't have much chance for interaction with children his age in Hope Valley; some day when he begins school, he will have the opportunity to make more friends his age. This next month is sure to be a good opportunity for him.

It is getting late, and it is time to retire for the night. Lucas is happy to have a compartment with a bunk long enough to accommodate his height. I am technically supposed to climb up to the top bunk, but I am doubtful that I will ever make it that far. Fortunately, the bunks are just barely wide enough to fit booth of us.

June 21, 1919 8:30 am L

I thought we would wake up at the stop in Pari, but we were all tired enough that we slept through. I am down in the dining car waiting for the rest to join me when they are finally dressed. Even Jack is sleeping in late which is rare for him.
We are planning on spending two weeks at the family estate before Elizabeth and I return back to Paris for our official "honeymoon" alone. We will cancel our plans if Jack doesn't acclimate to the family, but I have a feeling life in the country with lots of children and animals to play with will suit him more than fine. Laura will give him comfort as a familiar face and I know that there are several women in the family that will be delighted to have him for the time we are gone.

We intend to be in Paris by the 14th of July when the celebration marking the true end of the war will be held. In addition to wanting to give Elizabeth a honeymoon in Paris, we decided that Jack would be safer with the family than in the crowds that are likely to be in city for the event. We were sheltered during the war out on the frontier of Canada, but this is the dawn of a new age in our world and we are looking forward to being there. Antoine will be meeting us in Paris just for a couple of days including the day the celebration is scheduled. It will be wonderful to have him with us as he was one of the fortunate to have survived the trenches in the fight for freedom. He will be meeting a few of those that survived from his unit while he is there. We are hoping to meet a unit of men from Canada that will be joining the festivities, to give them our thanks for all they have done to bring freedom and peace to Europe.

Finally my three companions are joining me so I will put this aside for now. So excited for the next chapter in our journey!