Antwerp

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After an overnight stay in Dover (where we visited a great restaurant called The Allotment), we took a Norfolk Line ferry from Dover to Dunkirk.

Driving from Dunkirk to Antwerp took just over an hour and was easy. The tricky bit was driving around Antwerp.

I knew our hotel was somewhere near the Central Station - always an easy landmark to find in a city - but unfortunately there were roadworks right outside the Radisson Hotel where we were staying. This meant we couldn't turn directly into the road we needed but had to go round the block, get stuck in a traffic jam, avoid cars, pedestrians, cylists and trams! But eventually got to the hotel and checked in.

This meant we had the afternoon and evening to explore Antwerp. For me, it felt like a mixture of Krakow, Amsterdam (but without the canals) and Barcelona. There was an excellent shopping high street and a historic centre and square, where we had supper (pizza as we were still full from the meal the night before).

I would like to return to Antwerp for a few days and explore properly.

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