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Published: November 10th 2017
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Geo: 51.2094, 3.22523
This morning I was at the post office at 8.45am, waiting for those doors to open. I picked a desk which had Prioritie on the sign above it. I assumed that meant priority, and as my case is unusual, I thought that might be a good place to start. The clerk spoke very little english. Did you know when you you say baggage in a french accent to a french dude...he has no idea what your saying. However , he did call over another clerk who spoke a little more english. They worked out I was trying to get a bag but they needed the post number, which in my haste yesterday I had not thought to ask the Air Seychelles rep for. I had my licence in my hand which I put on the counter while I dug through my bag looking for the Air Seychelles report (cos that would help!) The first clerk picked up my license and must have recognised my name. He ducked into a little room to the right and emerged with my bag....I nearly hugged him!
I rolled my bag back to the B&B. Sent off a quick email to Air Seychelles to let
them know I had it, photo for Facebook, and as I now had 3 hours till my train departed, I figured I'd head off to see that cathedral. It is a lovely cathedral but very plain. Its huge and has massive imposing columns but very little art work. I guess the french aren't as showy as the italians. To be fair this church has been destroyed twice. Once in WW1 when 3 quarters of it was destroyed, rebuilt between 1920 and 1934, only to be bombed again in 1944. The cathedral has never been complete. According to their pamphlet, there is supposed to be a bell tower and a peristyle. Still pretty impressive for an incomplete job.
After the cathedral I returned to the B&B collected my bags and headed for the train station. Had a fairly uneventful ride to Bruges. Made my connecting train at Lille with no dramas, very pleased with myself. I arrived in Bruges and caught a cab to my B&B. Well this place is more like a home stay. Olga, my host, does not speak english, aside from a few words. She walked me around the house and showed me everything, speaking very slowly in
russian. I think I understood what she was getting at but who knows?
After checking in and making sure the wifi works, I was off to explore Bruges. I think I love this place. Almost everyone (so far) speaks english, the town is gorgeous and the weather is beautiful and warm. Which convinces me that France hates me. 1) broke my wrist on the first attempt at Paris 2) lost my bags on the second attempt at Paris 3) the weather was all over the place and 4) my bags were only returned to me on my last day in the country. Like its saying to me, here's your stuff now rack off. Well bugger that, Bruges rocks! There are lots of grand old buildings, green spaces and canals. I think I've taken more photos today than I took in all of Paris. There are windmills at the end of my street.
After a quick bit of lunch I made my way into what I think is the city centre. Funny I got to know my way around Paris and Arras, now I feel lost again. I found a souvenir shop and brought a tour guide. Then I decided to
take a boat ride. The boat went around the canals while the driver gave a commentary on the buildings in english, french and dutch. After that I felt it was time to un-wine in the sun. I found myself a nice little cafe (with wifi) and had a few wijnen. Life is so tough.
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kat
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Sounds awesome! I want to visit Brugges now....right now! And I'm a tad jealous you're looking so summery while I'm still running around in scarves and gloves. Did you take a pick of the windmills?