ITTRE - Belgium

Ittre is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. It was the geographical center of Belgium until World War I.

Traditions mention the existence of the village of Ittre about the year 640, although the name is first documented in 877. But the site was already occupied in the Roman period and even in the Neolithic era.

I like Ittre very much and as there is also a very nice theatre I have a season ticket there. In Ittre it seems that the time stood still. The houses remained unchanged, and the little streets have still their cobble stones which makes it so difficult to walk with high heels. The people there are especially friendly and open and always have a little joke ready.

The main place is of course in front of the church, with restaurants, doctors and not far the theatre.



The foundation of the church of Ittre occurred around 640, and is principally known as the centre of the veneration of Our Lady of Ittre, which began in 1336, when a terrible plague was raging in the Low Countries. The statue of the Virgin, from the monastery at Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, was carried in procession from village to village and on her arrival in Ittre, the plague stopped. The inhabitants refused to return it to Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, and the Virgin remained in Ittre, despite subsequent litigation, in which the ecclesiastical courts always supported the church of Ittre. An annual procession was established in 1384 and has been held every year without interruption since then on August 15th. Our Lady of Ittre was especially invoked against hernias or ruptures.

I missed the carrying around of the Lady of Ittre, but went to another festival called "La fête de St. Remy" ! I couldn't find out who St. Remy was, but Ittre celebrated him  very much !






There was a flea market in front of the church and in all streets around.



Children had decorated trees with chicken and cows, it really looked funny



There was a lot to buy


The houses mostly are built with the same stone



That's a nice café for a drink



Ittre is quite hilly, and you walk up and down, later I felt it in my legs !



These had once been a trough for horses and now are used as flower pots !



The old pump is still working





The old forge which is now a museum




The well in the village middle was also nicely decorated

When we thought we had seen it all, we had a drink in the café and watched the people on the place looking for bargains.  Then we returned home. 

LAST STOP : MOFFAT - SCOTLAND

On our way back to Eastbourne, we stopped in Moffat which is situated in South West Scotland just off Junction 15 on the M74. It is a cute town full of beautiful flowers, it had been a former winner of Scotland and Britain “in bloom”, and is proud of its floral displays in Station Park, the High Street and throughout the town.

Moffat has a good selection of shops offering a wide variety of products.We had just enough time to wander around and some of our group did some shopping.

In the nineteenth century, Moffat was a Spa town and this tradition has been recently re-opened with Moffat Well.

The focal point of the town centre is the world famous Moffat Ram which sits on top of the Colvin Fountain. It looks quite impressive !

And these are the pictures I took while walking around









Beautiful flowers everywhere



Pub



Main street








A church near the bus parking from back and front



and another one on the main street, with a little place and benches









Shops and houses





Sheep races



Sheep everywhere ...



and the ram statue, symbol of the town.

It was a pleasant stop, before we continued our way.

LOCH KATRINE TROSSAC NATIONAL PARK SCOTLAND

September 6, 2016



After the Tattoo in Edinburgh, we returned the next day direction South and stopped at Loch Katrine which  is a 13km-long fresh water loch in the heart of Loch Lomond, in the Trossachs National Park.

It is a very beautiful area, the only drawback was the weather it was rather cool for August, but we were lucky the sun was shining and we all were in an excellent mood because we waited of our tour around the Loch on the Sir Walter Scott boat ! Ever since Queen Victoria famously sailed up the loch in 1869, following in the steps of royalty, tourists are travelling today on the historic steamship, Sir Water Scott. Launched in 1899, the steamship ferries passengers up and down the loch from the Trossachs Pier.

The name Loch Katrine comes from the Gaelic cateran meaning Highland robber, the most famous of which was born on the loch’s northern shores, famous folkloric hero Rob Roy MacGregor.

The beauty of the loch has long inspired literary figures, including Sir Walter Scott who was inspired to write his famed poem Lady of the Lake in 1810 after visiting Loch Katrine. It also inspired poets Samuel Coleridge and William Wordsworth.

The loch has served as the main fresh water supply for the city of Glasgow for over 150 years.









Restaurant and souvenir shop






Walking on the Trossac pier to the boat. The pier was decorated with beautiful flowers



Our boat




On  the boat it was really cold and we all got a nice warm Scottish blanket



A glance down to the machine room

and then we admired the beautiful landscape !





Strange "moss" on rocks







Holiday homes



Apparently a hotel now









The tour lasted about an hour, and then we got off the boat and warmed up in the sunshine !
It had been a wonderful tour !