In Bruges...!

Belgium is a country I know little about, and so I was none too pushed about visiting it, in fact it was barely factored into our trip. However when Fergal told me he was in Bruges and it was wonderful, we decided to forgoe Luxembourg and drive straight to Holland, then spend time in Belgium, going home through Dunkirk and Dover instead of Amsterdam to Newcastle!

We booked into a campsite near Bruges called Camping Memling. On arrival we realised that the photos on the website were taken cleverly, what we thought would be a large site turned out to be a tiny little nook with limited facilities, nonetheless lovely and very homely.

Still on the cycling buzz from Amsterdam, we hired bikes and cycled into Bruges!

Bruge is a medieval town, surrounded by a moat, there was once walls which don't remain but the four gates are still there and are very impressive... Cycling over the drawbridge, I would have given anything to be on horseback! The whole town is cobbled streets, and the buildings are out of this world! Pretty, dainty, fairylike, Bruges couldn't fail to grab you by the heart and wrap itself around your little finger... Despite the bustling queues for horse and trap rides, and canalboats and the fierce prices of the central restaurants, you forgive Bruges instantly for its tack and tourist gack, and adore every stone under your feet!

We hung around for the evening, going for pancakes instead of dinner, served by a grumpy landlady in a local creperie... I ended up having a bit of a "hit the roof" moment in school french with her after our visa was roughly denied (despite signs on the door) and she started telling other customers about us wanting to use a credit card as if we'd asked for tick!

Despite this, we concurred that the belgians, perhaps, were generally of surly charachter, and so it didn't put us off... we just couldn't wait for tomorrow with a whole day to explore!