A quick detour to Ghent was factored into our Brussels to Bruges drive. Not too far out of our way, I expected a cute little town where we could spend an hour or so before carrying on. What I didn’t expect was how utterly gorgeous Ghent would be. So blown away by this city, we all […]
One of our favourite things to do, wherever we go, is to stroll around in the evenings and after dark. No exception to that in Bruges, night-time was (almost) the best time for me. The day-tripper tourists had all gone, the streets were empty and exploring was such a pleasure. Markt, the main square still […]
“Tourist trap”, “over-hyped and over gawped at statue”, “not worth it – one of the top ten things to avoid”, all stuff I read about the Manneken Pis pre-trip. However we couldn’t go to Brussels and not seek him out. As it happens this little guy (along with waffles and chocolate) was one of Son’s Belgium highlights. […]
The Passchendaele 1917 Museum was not one I had researched or planned to visit during this trip. Not sure what there was to see and do, but having spotted leaflets just about everywhere we went in Flanders I thought we might as well go since we were in the area. The little village of Zonnebeke is […]
Blue skies, hot and sunny weather, what could be better than a day at the coast? Beaches and Belgium, you wouldn’t necessarily associate one with the other, however we found golden sands galore and a perfect family day out. A couple of days later in the week were set aside for war museums and sights, we figured […]
Bruges, I think, is one of Europe’s most handsome small cities. That perfectly preserved centre with its fairytale buildings made us feel like we were on a film set or that we’d been transported to another era. The architecture is just stunning with styles ranging from medieval to the nineteenth century. All of that and then […]
A smooth ferry crossing to France, we disembarked in Calais and had an easy, one and a half hour drive on straight and not too busy roads to Brussels. Our trusty sat-nav took us right to the centre of the city and our hotel without incident or hassle. Bags were speedily thrust into the hotel room […]
Our second day visiting the World War 1 sites saw us drive back towards Ypres but this time follow signs for Sanctuary Wood. This is a fascinating place. More than one hundred years after the first shots were fired in this terrible conflict, you can still see the trenches, shells and muddy craters in one […]
Our World War 1 expedition finished at the Irish Peace Park. Another place I hadn’t planned on visiting but with our Irish links and the proximity to Ypres decided we must. A bit tricky to find, right in the middle of the Belgian countryside but when the replica Irish tower loomed on the horizon we were […]
