Eurostar to Belgium

---

---

Up early for the train back to London Waterloo Station, hopefully it will be more time efficient and easier than the way down.
Linda made us some bacon sandwiches for the train ride, much appreciated, and it was off to Wool Station for the ride back. Train was on time and off we went. 10 minutes late into Waterloo, not too bad considering the trip down.
Off to the tube station for the last time to St Pancras International Station, turns out on the noisiest tube we have been on. Too much grease we think.
Arriving at St Pancras with lots of time to spare we found quite possibly the biggest coffee's I have ever seen, I think they are classed as 'bucket' size.
Grabbing some snacks for the Eurostar and off to departures where we came across something very unexpected, passport control.
I guess the changes as a result of the Brexit decision have already started to happen. Probably the current climate also impacts.
Good for us as we got an extra stamp in our passports ?? ➡️ ??
Off to the Eurostar, found our seats and off to Calais we went. Amelia didn't take long to determine a sleep was in order and quicker than we realised we were there.
Catching a taxi, a very flash black Mercedes mini van, it was off to Calais itself and our hire car, aka people mover.
As the boys were organising the car Amelia and I wandered off to find a bank. As we walked around the corner a quite amazing church, not surprisingly called the Notre Dame, filled pretty much the skyline. They certainly know how to build churches here.
And then the adventures began... Driving on the wrong side of the road. Philip did a good job although tense is a good word to describe his posture ? a few close trips to the middle of the road but otherwise not too scary especially as the speed limit on the freeways here is 130km/hr. Speed reduces to 110km/hr or 90km/hr in wet or bad weather.
Coming past fields of hops, suddenly we were in Belgium and onto Ypres.
Luckily having the gps we found our accommodation for the next couple of nights, Alice House.
Turns out it is right on the square and with quite possibly the most spectacular view out of the windows of the Gothic Church, the Cathedral of St Martin.
This cathedral had been almost completed destroyed in the war and rebuilt, finishing in 1965.
It was then off to find somewhere for dinner and of course belgian beer. It was a good as we thought and cold!! Still can't believe how much cheaper beer is here. €6.20 for two beers, approximately $9.
After a long day of travelling it was back to Alice House, a couple of beers and bed.

---