We were joined by Benny’s friend Manuel who was able to give us incredible insight into the architectural history of Brugge, it’s story, and some of the ‘hidden’ aspects of the town. Including the Church which housed the relic of the dried blood of Christ.

Beautiful at this time of year - I imagined how much nicer it could be in the warm weather - especially Spring. It seems that due to the high cost of the area it is essentially a ‘commercial‘ district, and becomes very quiet in the evening when everyone goes home.

Sometimes dubbed ‘Little Venice’ because of it’s waterways.

And not to be missed was the bar which boasts hundreds of different beers. Although with a beer garden overlooking the river we were grateful for the warmth inside the little shop with there friendly, helpful staff.

BRUGGE

We approached Brussels, it was dark, so we followed Benny’s lead out to the exit with Hotel Mandarin in sight. From there it was an easy walk to the hill leading down to Grand Place.

A chance for a quick snack from a roadside snack bar, Benny leading the way to the famous tourist mark that Petrus was insistent upon seeing.

The statue of the little boy ‘weeing’.

Benny would not be able to stay with us for the evening so he kindly showed us round the various locations we wanted to visit that night.

It was very sad for me seeing Benny vanish down into the underground and out of sight, not knowing when we’d meet again.

Time for a quick Chinese meal and after relaxing at the hotel we were off into the night, to find our bars.

Nightmare time! We went first to ‘La Belgica’, Rue Marche au Chabon. I will say that the staff were really nice, but crowded !! It was the beginning of my experience of some of the most ill-mannered people I’ve come across - no sense of ‘excuse me’, ‘thank you‘ etc - simply barging, shoving, and an attitude of cold indifference.

Worse at ‘Le Boys Boudoir‘ where I was pushed over a table by some people wanting to get out.

In ‘Dolores‘ this was pleasant, but somehow I ended up with a bottle of water with our drinks, that I hadn’t ordered, but was charged for.

Out of the over crowded bars we went once again to ‘Wind Surf‘ where we could be guaranteed some comfort.

I wondered after being to the other crowded bars, what would happen if there was a fire..............

Lunch at a delightfully small taverna ‘La Dolce Vita’. Here Lasagne, Pizza Proscuito, Coffee, and tea came to 22 euros.

And later, after more walking round some much needed hot chocolate in one of the many cafes.

In addition to the meal I had last time I also tried a raspberry beer - beautiful, but settled for there more traditional beer for the meal. I must mention the Crepes De Chez Leon.

This consisted of two layers of pancake, in between which was some vanilla ice cream. On top a scattering of mandarin slices, over which was poured some mandarin liquer, then set alight - stunning !!

Then after this beautiful meal - we endured the bars again hoping it may be more sensible on a Sunday night. Wrong !!

Monday morning, day of departure.

To the airport. A fond hug farewell to Petrus. And a challenging day for me. Flight cancelled.... bus from Brussels to Amsterdam.....flight from Amsterdam to Newcastle..... flight to Cardiff.

Thank goodness my driver had got my messages and was at the airport waiting.

So, in summary, I achieved my goal of saying goodbye to Benny. Brussels has some beautiful sights, Brugge is beautiful. To eat in Brussels a real treat ! But the bars . Hmmmmmmm - perhaps it’s because I’m British ??