Wet, in Bruges

The next morning the heavens opened. We had come prepared as we had checked the weather before we left home. Never mind, first stop The Historium .  It was a little creepy I thought. The sleeping animatronic bishop certainly frightened a small child in the group. It was an interesting snapshot of medieval Bruges and you could get a wonderful panoramic view of the Grote Markt

 Next stop was Choco Story. It was actually an interesting museum with free samples and a demonstration on how to make pralines. Did you know that it is OK to store your chocolate in the fridge, in an air tight box. But when you want to eat it, leave it in the box for an hour before you tuck in...some chance! I also liked the story of the Spanish ladies who were stopped from drinking their cacoa during mass by the bishop. He was poisoned! 

After lunch we joined a free walking tour. I love these tours. Simon is a local with excellent English  ( everyone we met spoke about 4 languages ) We spent 2 hours dodging rain showers and learning about this beautiful city, from a little village besieged regularly by Vikings, to a very rich medieval port, to its final downfall into obscurity in the 15th century. The start of its decline was when they imprisioned the Emporer Maximiilan and executed his friend Lanchlas. Max was not at all happy and as his mate's name is very like the Flemish for long neck, he decreed the city must always have swans on the canals, oh and yes he moved the commercial centre to Antwerp. He did us all a favour because as the city fell into decline, there was no money for new building. So we have a beautiful medieval city to visit today. After such an interesting day, we went to dry out and sample another beer or three. 

My abiding memories of Bruges will be the smell of waffles and the sound of bells. The bells of the town hall even played " It's a long way to Tipperary " amongst other tunes, at random times. And while we call it Bruges, to the locals its Brugge. 

A weekend in Belgium

–We are having a new kitchen so cooking is impossible, so why not pop over to Brugge for the weekend? The flight to Brussels is only an hour and Bruges is 1 1/2 hours on the train, a doddle then. Er so why did it take 7 hours door to door? I booked in online, then we headed for the airport. Manchester security is a nightmare. Every time we go it is something different. This time my ziplock with the fluid stuff in was too big, and Phil had solids and liquids in his, a no no; oh and only one bag per person. Aagh! Ok made it through, calm down and have a coffee. The flight was then delayed.

We just missed a train, so had to wait 45 mins for the next. Nothing major, so why did the trip take so long? I really don't know. But we got to Bruges safely, and checked into our hotel, the Hotel Jan Brito. It is lovely. http://www.janbrito.com it is a 16th century building. We were in a room at the back with a clever lift in the courtyard, so it doesn't spoil the lovely old building. 

The sun was shining so we quickly went off to explore. A boat trip along the canals, was a lovely way of introducing ourself to the city. We then went for a walk and came across a group dancing in the Fish Market. It seems there is dancing there during the summer, folk on Friday, salsa on Saturday and Argentine tango on Sunday. It was brilliant to watch. Even a downpour was not able to stop them. I was so tempted to join in, but they all looked like they knew what they were doing. So we had a beer!