Bruges – Belgian chocolates & Belgian beer!

We arrived on the outskirts of Bruges on Saturday night, stopping at a branch of Quick (Belgium’s McDonalds) for a bite to eat. We continued on, finally parking on the street in the heart of Bruges.

The following morning we checked into the Motorhome Aire and in the afternoon we ventured into town. As it was now mid November the days were getting really short and so we only had a couple of hours to look around at the city and to find some Geocaches.

It was my third visit to Bruges, the city of Belgian beer, Belgian chocolates and lace, so you can imagine it’s a city I like. Once back at the motorhome we decided to watch the film ‘In Bruges’ and Joy and I had to agree with the actor who described it as ‘A Fairy Tale Fucking Town’.

On Monday we walked back into town to take photographs. Joy also felt the need to buy some Belgian chocolates which she later forced me to help her eat.

I did not need to be forced to drink the Belgian beer however and I made sure we stopped in at Cambrinus, the well known bar that has up to 400 different beers to choose from. Joy does not like the taste of beer so I advised she order a Peach beer whilst I had a Westmalle Triple, only one mind you as it has an ABV of 9.5% and I hoped to be driving later that day. Unfortunately it was still too early in the season for their Christmas market and their Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival.

By late afternoon it was time to leave Bruges. This time tomorrow I would be back in the UK, my European tour over! The drive to Calais was short and we arrived at the port to buy a ticket for the ferry. We purchased a ticket for a morning ferry and the office advised that we were welcome to overnight in the car park. It was a strange feeling that night as I reflected back on my European adventure. I’d seen some amazing things and had my share of highs and lows. I was desperate to get back to something more familiar though and could not wait to set foot on English soil again, even with all its faults!