Beautiful Brugge

After a much-needed nights' rest in Roubaix we were up at 8am and enjoyed a French breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Of course, James had his 'usual' of croissant, yoghurt and juice. That boy is getting very used to this!

All the families were ready and on the road just before 10 am. With UD leading we headed north to Brugge, about an hour and a half away.We didn't realise that Roubaix was so close to the Belgian border and there wasn't much sign on the motorway that we had crossed the border. So no passport stamp :(

Our GPS took us to the heart of Brugge to an underground car park. Brugge is a medieval town where most of the center is for pedestrians, bicycles and horse and carriage only. Although it was Sunday morning there were still many people about. The sky was clear and blue and we all rugged up as it was chilly. Not that any of the children noticed. They were too busy running around in circles. All the kids except James were coaxed into good behaviour with lollipops bought in Lille last night. That kept them quiet! I decided that James had had quite enough sugar!

Coming into the main square I was unprepared for the beauty of beautiful Brugge. I had seen Martin's photos of course but you know how it's different when you see it for yourself the first time? The bells were ringing in the clock tower and there was such a magical atmosphere it made me teary! It was just lovely and I wanted to explore straight away! The main attraction for me was an ice-rink in the square. I was very tempted but it was more important to spend time with my family and friends. Next time! Surrounding the rink were Christmas market stalls and the yummy food smells were wafting our way! My tum was still full from two 'escargot' pastries from breakfast!

We decided to walk before the kids wore themselves out and we'd need to find lunch. Just off the main square was another square that Martin instantly recognized. It was bordered on one side by the Basilica of the Holy Blood, containing a vial of Christ's blood. The young boys were curious to see this, and Martin filled us in on some of the history. He was in his element and he commented on how much Narelle would love to be here. If you're reading this, Narelle, we really did wish you were here!

We wandered along the canals of the old town and the weather was perfect and it was a lot less crowded away from the main square. By now everyone was hungry again (what?!) so we headed back to the markets. Look at James' face in the photo with the waffle! He would only grunt at us as he ate and was like a dog with a bone! Grrrrr! I tried some mulled wine and it certainly warmed me up!

We were aware that we had to be back at Dunkerque by 5pm so we wandered back along the cobbled streets to the car park.Along the way we stopped at a chocolate shop (we were not leaving without doing so!) and everyone bought some delicious Belgian chocolates. We bought a kilo for 12 euros. And they're just divine, thank you!

So once again we drove in convoy back to the coast, a little weary by now. James fell asleep within minutes! We cleared customs and got passport stamps - yay! The sun was setting over the Channel and we all got onto the ferry glad to be able to sit and relax for a couple of hours. The kids, however, were straight back to the playrooms and didn't even ask for food! I wonder why...?

I'm not sure what time we arrived back into Dover because my time zones are all mixed up. But we got home to Windsor at 9pm and fell into bed very soon after. Can you believe that we did all that in 2 days?! We had a ball and I'll always remember my first European Christmas...

Photos are here. There is a small video clip of us here.