Belgium

Parkes and I ventured into Belgium last weekend as Granny B kindly looked after Beth. Beer and food were firmly on the radar for the weekend accompanied by some lazy mornings.

We caught the ferry from Ramsgate to Oostende on Friday afternoon which proved to be a delightful experience. The sun shone, the sea was fairly flat and the four hour journey passed serenely. We saw a dolphin/porpoise off the coast of Ramsgate (what a crazy mammal!) and also the Red Arrows were practising their manoeuvres overhead. I now see boat travel in a completely new light!

We spent Friday night in Oostende and enjoyed ourselves. It is a very modern town, clean and has a buzz about it. Parkes and I stayed in the Hotel Prado which was clean but maybe slightly overpriced. We ate our evening meal at Jan's Cafe which was spiffing. The mussel starter was delicious and the Chateaubriand was delightful. We went back to the Hotel after eating and savoured a Slippery Nipple in the cocktail bar.

On Saturday, after a brief look around the shops in Oostende, we drove to Gent. Gent is a beautiful place. Slightly less stuffy than Bruge and although there were many tourists in town it still felt like a working town. There was a 2 day local festival as well with the streets lined with tables and chairs and makeshift bars. We stayed at Hotel Harmony which was well worth the money with it's waterfront location. My favourite bar has to be the Waterhuis with it's home brewed beers and selection of other fab Belgian beers. Outside the Waterhuis on Sunday evening we watched a dude called Bai Kamara play some souly, bluesy, afroey, folky tunes on his guitar. The guy has a great sound and his music reverberated around the centre of Gent.

Our journey home on the Monday was on fairly rough seas but Parkes and I managed to hold it together. When we about an hour into our journey a Belgian rescue helicopter appeared out of nowhere and, in heavy seas, proceeded to drop two it's crew onto the deck of the ferry. It was awesome dude and certainly helped pass the time on a long ferry crossing.

Pictures will be posted over the coming week.