Bruges

We walked into the city today from the camping ground which is a few kms and its just as well since I just had to have a Belgian waffle with cherries and cream…see photo…but I did share it.  There are lovely canals with lots of greenery, just beautiful to walk along. The canals have lights just like the streets do, so that the boats have to stop. When the vehicle lights go red the bridges lift up and the lights turn green for the boats to continue on their way – a rather unusual arrangement.

You do have to watch out for bikes everywhere here and I am wondering what Netherlands will be like when there are heaps here.  I still cant quite  come to terms with the language though, it would be better if everyone spoke French as I had expected, but Flemish is just so weird to listen to. Most restaurants have their menu in at least 3 languages though, catering for everyone. I did find it difficult in the post office as I wanted a stamp but I couldn’t figure out which button I needed to press for my ticket to wait until called, as they only had Flemish and no French or English.

It is not cheap to drink here and most cafes/restaurants have their plat du jour – menu of the day for lunch offering 3 courses for lunch, about €20. We found a cafe with baguettes which cost about the same as Australia for lunch and coffee.

Funny I found the only thing that annoyed me was the tourists got in my way, there were lots of them. How dare they visit when we are visiting and hog the footpaths and places we want to go!!! How rude!!

We had got into the habit in England of looking in all the op/charity shops and quite enjoyed finding a bargain. In England I think we bought about 30 books as Scot was afraid we wouldn’t be able to get english books to read in Europe. So as we wander the streets I find myself looking for op shops to find a bargain. I did buy an awesome coat for £4 and a great jumper for Scot for £3, oh and a cute pair of red boots for £1.25. There arent as many in Bruges as in England.

Off to Ghent tomorrow.