Just Heard Favorite Daughter is Safe in Belgium via Chunnel

9 07 2009

. . .and she’ll update us more thoroughly tomorrow. Whew, I was getting a little anxious!
(Overactive imagination.)

en route

p.s. I guess I should just be grateful they didn’t take the original chunnel as proposed in 1802. That would have been a lot harder on a mom . . .

“In 1802, French mining engineer Albert Mathieu put forward a proposal to tunnel under the English Channel, with illumination from oil lamps, horse drawn coaches, and an artificial island mid-Channel for changing horses.”

Unschooling Europe tag

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5 responses

9 07 2009
Dana (22:59:50) :

I crossed the channel twice and both times we were supposed to use the chunnel and ended up using the ferry. Annoying tour company…Glad she made it safely. Belgium is gorgeous.

9 07 2009
JJ (23:15:17) :

Thanks Dana. :)

I’ve been musing about that mid-channel island for horse-changing though. Think what a cool life that could’ve been, for the folks who would have lived on that island to tend the horses . . .

9 07 2009
JJ (23:16:02) :

I crossed only once, in 1985, by hydrofoil.

10 07 2009
Beta (03:43:51) :

We usually take the ferry from the coast to either Hull or Rosythe, because when we’re in Scotland we want the car for traveling. Back in my footloose and fancy free days, before Alpha and I were married, I crossed once via Eurostar through the chunnel.

I kind of like the idea of oil lamps and horse drawn coaches, although that would make for quite a long time underground. Thanks for the interesting history tidbit!

10 07 2009
JJ (14:07:41) :

Latest update just posted on their family blog:

A OK in Belguim with Kik’s family, and just to reassure all of you again no, we did not die yesterday. We were just on trains all day and therefore unable to update. Kiki’s Aunt and Uncle are marvelous, and simply mind-blowingly kind and hospitible to me. Staying with them just outside of Monds (understand we have some readership out here) until the 15, and then to Amsterdam.

Updates may be scarce the next few days, as we have very little time to write in between the eating of three-course meals and the sleeping for nine to ten hours. Don’t panic if you don’t hear from us quite as frequently as you did from Edinburgh, we’re in very capable hands.

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