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Published: August 6th 2007
Millenium Bridge
with Tate Modern Art Gallery in the background.I was fairly busy today preparing spreadsheets relating to the relocation of Sumitomo coming up soon. Walked down to the Thames for lunch and was surprised at how close the Millennium Bridge was. It had to be closed for a while after it first opened as it was a tad wobbly. When it opened back up it was quite different with massive reinforcements running along either side of it. I’d say it doesn’t quite have the same aesthetic appeal now but hey, at least it won’t fall down (like London Bridge). The weather was getting finer and warmer now, and it’s funny to see that the Brits will strip off at the first hints of sunshine, eager to darken their lily white complexions.
Tuesday 3rd April Trivial matters of no concern to all but the most devoted of blogsumers.
Wednesday 4th April Cambo’s shout at the Bar SW4 in Clapham due to him getting a new higher paying job proofreading and editing a tender document. If he was editing the last sentence he would see that it is fragmented and I should consider revising it. But I won’t. I’m still being
Millenium Bridge
with St Pauls in the background. I work in the building next door to the glassy one. with St Pauls in the background. My work is next door to the glassy building.stuffed around with my first pay. It’s quite complex as I have to deal with 4 companies - SMBC, JRI, Computer Futures and 1st Contact, and all of these require some sort of timesheet which all need to match. All I can say is….thank god for the 6 months no interest on my credit card!
Thursday 5th April BRUGGE!! I think I broke the Bank -> Clapham record in order to get home at 3pm to try and get a head start on the mass exodus that leaves London every Bank Holiday. We had about 3 hours to get the 80 miles down to Dover to catch the car ferry, but it ends up taking about 80 minutes to get 10 miles through London. My clutch leg was getting tired from constant feathering and I was starting to panic a bit but as soon as we reached the motorway we could cruise at 80mph for most of the way. In the end we got there at 6.20pm and they let us leave on the 6.45pm boat which was good, the less time
The White Cliffs Of Dover
Saying goodbye to England waiting in the docks the better I say. The Pug was spoilt after the abuse of the last few hours with a relaxing channel ride next to Ferrari 430.
The trip only took about 1hr 15min and we jumped back in the Pug and scooted out on the wrong side of the road into Calais. Driving on the right was a bit freaky and I was half expecting to be cleaned up when going around roundabouts anticlockwise. Cambo’s non-pigeon-like navigational skills (even with a GPS) meant that it took us about 70 minutes to find our hotel and by that time we’re starving, alas nothing is open save an English Pub that we score a few pints from before they shut.
At the hotel we are greeted by a guy at reception who tells us the room is only meant for 2 adults and 2 children, not 4 adults! So after calling for the manager and sticking our heels in, we manage to keep our room but 2 of us will have single beds. No biggy, at least we have somewhere to sleep. The room turns out to be quite modern and clean and we can’t complain for
Emma's Heaven
We haven't even hit the continent yet! only £80 between the 4 of us. We retire and discover the delights of French TV
Emma's Heaven
We haven't even hit the continent yet!with copious amounts of advert nudity. Oui Oui!!
Friday 6th April Wake up at 8 to some croissants and coffee, and then hit the frog and toad to Belgium. The traffic is very clear so we’re there in just over an hour. Nice green pastures were passed along the way with the occasional wind farm. Entering the narrow (even narrower than England!) cobbled streets of Brugge we found our way to the Lybeers Hostel and unloaded. We discover we’re booked in a 4 bunk bed room sharing with 6 others. Ah, the joys of hotels. Bugger that we said, so Em managed to swindle a single bed room which we threw another mattress in. Sweet!!
We sampled our first Belgian cappuccino at a nearby cafe and discover that you get more than just a coffee when you order a coffee. Although the cappa cuppa was smaller than we were used to, it came with a nice spiral of thick cream with flaky chocolate on top with biscotti and a little chocky on
Cambo
... had a bit too much sugar in Calais the side. Being Good Friday, Easter Bunny’s were about handing chocolates out to passer-by’s. Being in Bruge at Easter while a Chocolate Festival was on, was not going to be good for my waist line (not to mention the beer!).
Walking through the ye olde streets that looked like they hadn’t heard of the 20th Century (or the 17th, 18th or 19th for that matter) we found that chocolate shops were everywhere, probably about one in ten or so. Horse and cart, bikes, people and cars (in that order of priority it seemed) all shared the roads, usually quite efficiently. Cathedrals must have been quite popular back in the day as well as one could be found almost on every block. I spotted an old man who looked like he’d materialized straight out of a Fairy Tale book who had a wind up organ type thing (don’t be dirty), so I dropped a Euro into his pot and had my photo taken with him while winding furiously. It was surprisingly hard to keep an even wind so that the music would come out smoothly. I guess he’d had a few years practice.
After window shopping for several hours
past lace / chocolate / beer / souvenir / sculpture / clothes shops, restaurants and café’s we honed in on the supermarket where we were told all the beer and chocolate bargains were to be found. And they weren’t wrong! We bought about 10 boxes of chocolates costing about €1.50 - 250g each. I’d seen the same boxes back home for about $10 or more. The beer (which ranged from 4% to about 13% alcohol) would cost around €0.80 for a 440ml stubby. After packing the trolley (literally) choca block with only beer and chocolates and going through the checkout we discovered that they only accepted Euros, no cards or Pounds. Doh! I went back for it though after scouring the town for an ATM.
That night the four of us went to the recommended “The Tolkien” restaurant for dinner. The meals there were fantastic and I rated my dish as one of the best I’d ever had, the “Chef’s Special Surprise” - pasta with bits of everything thrown in - prawns, beef, chicken, baby octopus etc. Cambo and I then indulged in a huge glass of Hoegaarden beer followed by a icy shot of Jagermeister….and desert…*burp*
Brugge Fountains
I say can you hear me?!?! Saturday 7th April We got up and helped ourselves to a very nice breaky. The owners of the hostel were the friendliest guys and went out of their way time and again to help us out. If you’re ever in Brugge do look up the Lybeer. Onwards to the Belfry, a 366 step tower overlooking “Market”, the central square in town. Em wasn’t too fond of its uncleanliness and the very narrow winding steps up to the top, but it had great views of Brugge and it is said you can even see the ocean on a clear day.
Off to the “Chocolate Story” for a quick tour and history lesson on the production of chocolate, then a pick-me-up at the “De Medici” coffee shop, touted as serving the best coffees in Brugge. It wasn’t too shabby either; as usual they were small in size but big in flavour and came with chocolate, biscuits and a mouse type thing on the side. After that we crossed town (about 1.5kms) to check out the Diamond Museum which we found a bit overrated, no free samples or anything! Cheapskates!! As the canal tours were boarding just a stones throw away,
Windey Piano
Check out the technique! we hopped onto one and zoomed around the town. We saw parts of the town we’d never been to, guided by the skipper who had his work cut out for him reciting the town’s history in three different languages.
We were both pretty knackered at this stage so back to the Lybeer for us for an ale and a rest. Em continued to recharge her batteries whilst I went back (kinger of Zot in hand) to Market to check out a band festival that was playing that night. The square was packed with people, all watching a 6-7 member folk band who did well to get the crowd in a festive mood. I have no idea what they were singing but it had my toe tapping and that’s the main thing.
Sunday 8th April Today we wanted to cross a few things off the “things to do in Brugge” list. First off we hired some bikes for €10/day and pedalled east to the edge of town (which is bordered by canals) where we found some nice windmills to climb up. We had a quick caffeine injection at a small café overlooking a canal before finding the
Chocolatier
Show us your chockies. famous lolly shop owned by a living treasure of Brugge, an old lady who has run the shop for more than 50 years now. She still has “Discipline and Respect” signs about the shop and I don’t think you’d want to knick a Snickers or you’d receive a kick in the knickers, more than likely.
I was getting thirsty and it was approaching 11am so we found, tucked away on a tiny back street, the oldest pub in Brugge, built in 1515. We sampled some of the local Brugge Zot beer and cherry beer and soaked up the warm Belgian sun in the beer garden out the back for a while. We then cycled around alongside the canals, which surprisingly, are full of rather large fish that some of the locals occasionally pulled up.
Next stop was the Chocolate Festival, where all the chocolatiers from Belgium had stalls with samples of their goodies and demonstrations of chocolate making and sculpturing were held. We tasted 100% Cocoa chocolate, which was interesting to compare against the more commercial types. We tried to taste at least one chocky from each stall.....until we got to about the 20th one! I didn't think
At "The Tolkien"
Scull, scull, scull!! I'd say it, but I'd had enough chocolate for one day, even if it was free. Some of the sculptures were very impressive; nude models, Pinocchio, several canine characters, but the award for the biggest one of the day would have to go to the chocolate swan that Em and I stood inside......yes, inside!
Although we both had the tummywobbles, we had to press on, as I had a Zot brewery tour appointment which I didn't want to miss. The tour guide was very entertaining as she guided us through the brewery explaining some of the history of Belgian beer and gave us an idea of what happens before it gets to the tap. Finished off with a sample pint in the beer garden before heading back to the hostel to get ready for dinner. Tonight we had a booking for "The Hobbit", right next door to "The Tolkien" quite appropriately. The service wasn't as good as the The Tolkien, but Cambo and I made the most of the "all you can eat" ribs and ended up with a pile of bones on our table that made it look like we'd devoured a small farm.
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