I enjoyed very much this journey through the Belgian and the French Flanders.
In 1677 the king Luis XIV of France won a battle against the Spanish and the Dutch soldiers in Noordpeene (battle of the Peene) and so a part of Flanders became French. In Lille Sylvain Lienart is promoting the armored combat or buhurt (in French béhourd): a team of 6 men is fighting another team of 6 men.
I enjoyed also the visit of Bruges: the belfry , the water canals and the buildings with the stepped gables (the walls between the house to avoid fires): then the excursion to Ellezelles where we see a typical Flemish house (built in 1773): the common room with the chimney and the kitchen: we see also the wattle and daub technique used for the restoration of building.
Flanders is also known for some typical animal races, the Flemish turkey, the Flemish pig, the Flemish rabbit and the Flemish horse (called in vlaams paard), the horse disappeared in Flanders but Denis Beck and other horse breeders fought his horse in the Amish communities of Pennsylvania and they brought it back to Flanders (now there are about 350 Flemish horses in Flanders, a very good work horse.
We make also an interesting encounter with Florent Ladeyn, a young chef who knows vry well the plants of the Flemish lanscape: he collects this day an edible boletus, water pepper, and visit his friend who breeds pigeons: he offers then in his restaurant (une étoile Michelin) pigeon meat prepared with boletus and water pepper.
Flnders is also the country of the dunes at the North Sea Coast: the French naturalist Julietet Martin explains to young boys and girls the ecosystem of the dunes and they taste wild berries: in another part Julien Piette and some ornithologists are observing the migratory birds which fly over the dunes (starlings and cormorants).
Then we discover the marshland of Saint-Omer where truck farmers cultivate about 50 differents vegetables in the parcels between the water canals (they take care for the cleaning of these canals): besides there is a guild of the cauliflower growers who promote this vegetable in the market of Saint-Omer. Besides we meet Nicolas Nudelle , the postman of Saint-Omer who delivers the mail using a boat through the canals of the marshland.
Ienjoyed very much the encounters of Sophie with Nele Bekaert (the fishing of the prawns in La Panne), with Joris Goens (the very pleasant town crier of Furnes), with Manu (the gardener and lanscaper at Cassel), with Bruno Desmondt (the automatons maker), with the Flemish bowling players in Bailleul, with Bruno Pruvost (the historian in Zuydcoote), with Jean-Michel Legrand (the biplace airplane pilot), with Claudine Deppoter (the revue of the Grand Cabaret du Nord, with Rémy Colin and his family in Saint-Omer and with Audrey the brewer (Festival de la bière) artisanale: very nice encounters with very kind Flemish men and women.