The weather has clearly hit winter. We saw our first snow of the season on Canigou while driving back from Spain to Ceret yesterday, and we've had quite a bit of cloud and some spits of rain. Still not enough moisture in the ground to allow the council to start up our fountain or fill the town's little culverts with the normal running water.
After all the steps of the coastal walk, we had a couple of days off walking, though we are still trying to get through a 30-day online yoga course before we leave Europe this year. It will be touch and go whether we finish it.
We managed to catch up with a Swedish friend for lunch in the square below us. His arm was in a sling because he'd fallen and broken an elbow 2 days before. He managed to eat his meal ok, and was very chatty. He is yet another of our friends who is now looking to sell up. His Norwegian partner (who'd fallen and had a huge bruise on her face so didn't want to come to lunch and so be seen in public) has her house on the market and is planning to buy a summer home in Italy instead. Meanwhile, Mats is Swedish and he will put his house on the market next summer and buy a place back in Gothenburg where his grandchildren now live. Mats and Marianne will then split their time between Sweden and Italy. We now know of nine couples who are in the process of selling up, or are planning to.
With Ceret being very quiet at this time of year, and wishing to make the most of it as a base for exploring, we decided to jump at some cheap Ryanair fares on offer and booked to fly to Belgium. The fares give us a window of just five days, Sunday-Friday, and the flights are via Perpignan, so we can use the 1 Euro bus to get into town and back. It seemed too good an opportunity to miss.
The flight this morning (Sunday) was mid-afternoon so it wasn't a rushed start to the day. However we found out that bus services are fairly limited on Sundays, though we caught one into Perpignan bus station without a problem. There were then none for the 10 minutes trip to Perpignan airport. An Uber lift filled the gap, and was much cheaper than a taxi. The driver was a really nice guy and John enjoyed chatting to hm the whole way. We had a few hours to spare at the airport before the flight. It was a very windy day and we were expecting a pretty bumpy flight but it was turned out to be generally very smooth. John and I ended up at opposite ends of the plane because we hadn't paid Ryanair the extra fee to be seated together but it didn't matter. I snoozed for part of the flight anyway.
We'd left Perpignan where the temperature was a very warm 20 degrees and arrived into Charleroi airport outside Brussels to cloud and just 7 degrees. For the next few hours we successfully navigated the bus into Brussels city centre, followed by the train from Brussels to Bruges and then a 15 minute walk to our B&B. By this time it was dark and chilly but there were still plenty of people out and about.
Our first impressions of Bruges have been delightful. We remember the two days we spent in Antwerp in 1982, where we loved the architecture, especially the guildhouses. The buildings here in the historic centre of Bruges are very similar. The streets are wide, paved, and largely pedestrianised, the shops frontages look very inviting, there are plenty of restaurants with outside seating complemented with outdoor heaters, and the buildings are lit up in the evening. There is currently a lot of activity going on in the main square with the Christmas market stalls being set up.
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| The famed belfry tower from the movie "In Bruges" |
Our host suggested a few places for dinner. The first one was fully booked but we found a spot in a bustling local eatery. We had a hankering for a burger and chips, something we haven't eaten for ever. Instead we ordered a couple of different pork dishes and a plate of vegetables. They were absolutely delicious, and we thought extremely different from what would typically be served in France.
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| De Republiek |
One thing that has struck us since we arrived is how much at home we feel here. For the first time in a few months we don't feel as though we stand out as 'foreigners'. We do when we are in France, Italy or Spain. Here we feel as though we look pretty much like anyone else. Seated at the restaurant, we thought we could so easily be sitting in an eatery in Auckland, Christchurch, Melbourne or the like. The only difference is that most of the people around us were speaking Flemish (Dutch). The first wave of European immigrants to settle in England in the 500s AD were from this area and further north in the Netherlands and Denmark (the Angles and to a lesser extent the Saxons). The genes that many of the British (and subsequently Australians and New Zealanders) inherited are very clearly in evidence here. It feels odd but very grounding.
Another difference we have noticed is that in southern Europe a bottle of water is invariably put on the table for you to drink during your meal. Not so here. You order beer, and then order another one if you are thirsty. I think the drinking culture of England, Australia and New Zealand has its roots in northwestern Europe and Scandinavia........
