Monday, July 28, -- Bruges in the Rain

We were surprised to find it raining in the morning.  And not just a drizzle.  It was pouring down pretty hard.  Now we were glad we hauled our light raincoats halfway around the world.  We packed our backpack, put on the raincoats and walked 10 minutes to the "Station Centrale" (note the name, it will become most important later in the story), and caught the train to Bruges.  We enjoyed the trip.....nice and smooth and on time as usual.  We had to walk through a Park and about .5 mile to the center of town.

Canal on the way to through the park

Old town in Bruges

1669--That's an old house!!

I saw a lovely church and we went inside to get away from the rain.

Part of the pipe organ and sculpture inside the door.

They were having a display of old paintings, sculptures and other ancient items from church history

While doing excavation for repairs, they uncovered tombs of long buried clergy.  The commoners were buried in the churchyard.

Meanwhile, Jeff had woken up with cold.  Maybe it was the change in the weather, but his nose was dripping about as fast as the rain was falling.  The walk to town was fine, and so was the church tour, but we were pretty wet by the time we got to the main square and both needed a rest.  Especially my companion, Sneezy! We sat down at the first restaurant we could find with room and a view of the square and ordered lunch. We wondered why the meal was so expensive until we found out they charged us 4.50 euro each for water........stupid tourists.....they really saw us comin'

The bill for water--Val natuur med--Nine Euros= about 13 Dollars.  OUCH!

The expensive water....we drank every drop.

Finally the rain let up a little bit.  After lunch we walked around and enjoyed the old town square which is immortalized in the movie "In Bruges".

The Belfrey--on the bottom on either side are art exhibitions.  There was a Dali exhibit in the left side.

Some of the houses lining the square

Bigger buildings on the square

Mobs of tourists with umbrellas

We walked through the belfry and could see where you could go up 375 stairs to get to the top.  We both decided to skip the hike, but the belfry was really cool.

Belfry from the back....where the stairs start.

We walked the back streets on the way to the station. 

A bit of home in Bruges

Jeff was feeling worse and worse.  His sneezing, blowing and coughing were increasing in intensity and frequency.  I was feeding him Zicam and tissues and finally realized we better head for Brussels.  The walk back to the train seemed endless and the rain started up again.  But we made it to the station, got on the train and relaxed for the one hour journey.   Soon the announcer, who we couldn't understand even though she was speaking English, kinda, said something about Brussels Midi station.  I said, great, were here, let's get off.  It wasn't until we were off the train and in the station that we realized we were in a totally different place.  We finally found the exit and sure enough.....lost!  We had no clue where we were.  Then I spotted a ferris wheel in the distance.  I remembered seeing it on the way down to Bruges.  We had gotten off at the wrong station.  We found a taxi, and soon were back at our hotel, where Anna, the helpful desk clerk said "sure....Midi means south"  Turns out there are three Brussels stations. 

Well at least we were home.  Jeff found decongestants in his suitcase and took a nap and we enjoyed a peaceful evening.

Saturday and Sunday, July 26, 27: Adventures in Brussels

We got up early and enjoyed one last breakfast at the Ibis.  What a treat to enjoy the comforts and amenities that Bristol had so willingly bestowed upon us.  We hopped a cab, got to the train station early and were able to be heading west in short order.

The train systems are amazing - fast, smooth and on time - within the minute.  We got to London, cabbed over to St. Pancras station with time to spare for out train to Brussels.  We had a light lunch in one of the station diners and people watched for close to an hour.  It is so different sitting at a table and overhearing brief snatches of conversations in French, Italian, German, Flemish, Mandarin, Spanish and the unidentifiable.  It's also fun to sit and critique various styles of dress - conservative to see through, comfortable walking shoes to 4 inch spike heels - and that is just the male shoe apparel, don't get me started on the feminine foot fashions.

So we get to Brussels, find the hotel and are in for a nasty surprise.  The hotel room is a grim reminder of "The President".  Only with the added joy of the odor of old cigarettes and being far away from the center of town.  I can feel myself starting to meld down when Jeff, sensing my mood, says that we can find another hotel.  He says that my comfort is the most important thing.  Wow!  What a husband!  We leave our stuff and walk in search of something better.  On a side street we find an NH hotel, a chain that Jeff has stayed at before.  They had room, but even better, referred us to another NH in the center, close to the "Grand Place".  We taxi'd there in about 10 minutes and were soon settled in a comfortable, air conditioned room with a nice buffet breakfast.  Whew!  Disaster averted!

We are behind in our blogging so are going to devote a couple of posts to mostly pictures.  It takes a long time to download cause we are too cheap to pay for the fast internet, so bear with us!

St. Pancras Station, London

Waiting for the train at St. Pancras

Statue we saw on the way to our new hotel

 Brussels is a wonderful place.  The people friendly and kind, very international with every possible cuisine you could imagine, people of all shades, customs, dress and language passing on the space. intermingling with interest in each others origins.

The main square in Brussels is called the "Grand Place".  It has buildings going back through the centuries. Many are gold gilded.  On the way from our hotel to the square we passed through two blocks that are covered.  They built this covering in the 1800's and it is now a protected cover for shops and restaurants.

Covered walkway for fancy shops

The first night we were there, I was so tired after our train ride and the march to find a different hotel, that we didn't make it to the Grand Place. The Guilds, who were rich in Brussels, built the buildings to advertise their wares and wealth.  The next morning we walked through the "tunnel of ritzy stores" (as I called it) and it actually took my breath away!

Panorama of the Grande Place

The Old City Hall

Guild buildings

Really gilded

So ornate, each guild trying to outdo the other

Details on the buildings

We walked down and around winding streets enjoying the fresh air and looking at buildings and shops.  One of the most famous landmarks in Brussels is an ancient fountain called "Manekin Pis" which near enough translated means "pissing doll".  There are lots of shops selling replicas around the fountain which is actually quite small and unimpressive compared to some of the buildings and other fountains.

Manekin Pis

Right around the corner from Manekin was a store selling Belgian waffles.  Jeff had been telling me about them for 4 years.  He did not exaggerate.....they are beyond delicious.

I got strawberry and dark chocolate, Jeff got strawberry/ banana and dark chocolate.  We were in a chocolate daze!

After that delightful treat, we went back for the usual nap and shower.  Then out to dinner.....Monday we planned on visiting Bruges.

Stopping for a fruit snack

Beer with dinner....the Belgians are known for their brewing expertise.

Our laundry room

Friday, July 25--A Walk Around Old Bristol

Today was our last day in Bristol.  Both of us were sad at the reality of leaving this lovely town.  Even though we had been here almost a week, we still felt there was lots to see and experience.  We had picked up a brochure that described a walk around the old city.  Bristol used to be surrounded by a wall, bisected by four main streets.  On the wall were many churches and cathedrals.  The walking route in the brochure followed where the wall had been.  Sadly it was destroyed through the years from wars and modernization, most recently from a bombing during WW2.  So we sat off with water and walking sticks to see "Old Bristol"

We started at King St. home of some of the oldest pubs in Bristol.  The streets are cobblestone and the pubs are obviously well used.  We saw lots of evidence of partying.

Dress code

Someone missed clean-up time

We crossed the Bristol Bridge and on to our first destination.

St. Stephens Church.  It was smaller and more intimate than the Bath Abbey or Salisbury Cathedral, but just as old and pretty impressive in it's own right.

The steeple at St Stephens

Inside St. Stephens

The garden was hidden by surrounding buildings.  You had to walk through the church to get there.

After walking down some narrow streets and seeing historical buildings of many eras, we came to the oldest part of our tour.  The last remaining section of the wall was attached to the oldest church--St. Johns. 

Section of the old wall and the entrance to St. Johns.

Waiting at the door.  Alice, the volunteer, had stepped out for a few minutes.

Inside St. Johns

There is a crypt under the church.  Alice had a huge key to open the door.  But it was sticky so Jeff gave her a hand.

The key was huge, the door was small

Ancient tomb from the 1400's

Low ceiling and tombs in the floor

After our visit to the crypt, believe it or not, we were hungry.  We had also walked a long way.  So we found a secluded pub and had a nice lunch.

The Bank Tavern

They love their queen

We continued our tour and ventured down narrow streets covered with graffiti.  We arrived at a section of the city that had been a market.  There were still stalls and booths selling everything from hats to perfume. 

Narrow walkway following the wall

Not the usual graffiti.  We saw this several times.

Formerly a newspaper office from the 18th century, now a backpackers hostel

Stairs inside the City Hall.  There were couples there waiting to be married.

The market, and another church

Jeff considers a new hat.  Fred would love it here.

We concluded our journey around old Bristol with a cold beverage and a nice sit down in Queens Square park.

The view from our bench

And if you can stand a few more church pictures......after we got to the hotel I wanted to walk across the street and up the hill to see the Bristol Cathedral.  We could see the towers from our hotel, but hadn't actually seen the cathedral.  Jeff wanted to sit this one out, so I took a short walk to the Bristol University area where the Cathedral sits in a huge quadrangle.

The gate to the University of Bristol

Bristol Cathedral

One of the University buildings across from the Cathedral

As I crossed the street, I saw yet another church that we hadn't seen before.  There sure are lot of churches in England