Bruges or Bust!

Well sportsfans, I wasn't a chicken!  Thank you for all the supportive comments, and this boat did get out of port, and is having a grand time!

We were up early on Sunday morning (after a rather disturbed night), a nervous breakfast (of amazing croissants of course), then we decided on grabbing a ride to Reims station - so we packed everything up, loaded the champagne delivery van and were chauffeured to the station where we waited.  Nervously. Well I was nervous and Mike was excited.  We had 3 trains to catch to get to Lille, and weren't sure where we would stay that night.  So off we went.

The first train from Reims to Laon was easy peasy - so much space for the bikes, a great 2 hour break where we drank coffee, ate pastries, bought our lunch baguette and cheese, and wandered around the village in awe of the huge fort town on top of the hill.  AMAZING.  So far, so good.  Then the next train took us to Amiens (with a yum lunch picnic on board of aforementioned amazing bread and cheese), with a bit of a stressful changeover to the final train to Lille.  The train was pretty packed, there was only one carriage for bike storage, and we were lucky to get ours in - we had to take all the panniers off and hang them on the hooks - in the end there were 10 bikes and 5 bike hooks, so things got pretty hectic.  The train conductors weren't impressed either and we all got a lecture around if there are no spare hooks you have to get off!  But we made it to Lille.  And the time was coming to get on the bike.

We wandered out of the station, Mike had the route on his phone, we walked out for a couple of hundred metres, jumped on, then off we went.  YAY!  We were on!  We had booked an apartment on the train when we realised we were actually going to make it to Lille (we were never quite sure if the bikes would be allowed on) - so we had a challenging, yet lovely 25km ride to a little village across the border into Belgium called Menen.  We made it just as I was beginning to cramp with all the stopping and starting from riding in city traffic - though most of the way we had excellent bike paths, the paths still had to follow all the traffic lights - so the poor old right calf and hip were struggling a bit by the end.

We had a great aparetment - lots of space and cosy, with a night at the Friteur for dinner - a very strange Belgium kind of take away shop - but where EVERYTHING is processed and fried.  But we ate up.  We had a great sleep, which was lucky because the next day was big.

We woke up, had our leftover baguette for a quick brekkie, then hit the road.  We had an incredible 55km ride to Bruges, which we weren't ever sure we'd make in one day, but there you have it.  We did.  We were totally forked by the time we got here - but what a day. Incredible bike paths, gorgeous scenery, wonderful weather, respectful cars, a bit of a head wind, pretty average food (I think it's a Belgian thing), and a bit of a death march the last 10km, but we got here.  We had a bit of mechanical excitement, about 6km out of Bruges Mike got a puncture (and it's so sweet that a couple stopped their car to check we were ok), we were both totally knackered, Mike stayed cool, calm, and collected, and changed the tube, and we pressed on.  And we made it to this amazing city.  Wow!  Just wow!  

This place is so beautiful, it's the cutest of cute.  And it has waffles.  And lots and lots of chocolate.  And yesterday we'd already decided that if we made it all the way we would have a rest day, which my butt was grateful for!  We found our cute hotel, right next to one of the cathedrals, had long long long hot showers, went out to explore, ate some more frites, then watched some telly - we have our Chrome Cast with us, so put on In Bruges with Colin Farrell to get us even more in the mood for today's exploring.  What a BRILLIANT MOVIE.  What a BRILLIANT CITY.

We spent the day walking, eating, resting, and getting some work done on Mike's bike by a local bike mechanic.  It's funny, I haven't had a loving relationship with Belgium, our last cycling trip here was pretty underwhelming, but the last two days, and especially Bruges, has changed my mind.  Loving Bruges.

I've put in a heap of boring tourist photos down below for you to see.  And Mike is going to make a guest appearance with his first drone footage - we'll whack it at the end, it's worth a look, it was from our ride yesterday.

So, we are both very taken with the place and the vibe of Bruges.  We will be sad to say goodbye tomorrow as we head off for the Netherlands.  It looks like about a 30-40km ride tomorrow, and the first NIGHT IN THE TENT!!!  Stay tuned...

Just to whet your appetite - here's a glorious pic from my touristy boat tour this morning - so beautiful.

Now, let's go back to chronological order...

Sunday's train journeys

Reims station - getting it all ready

Our first stop in Laon for an espresso and pastry

Getting the bikes between platforms in Laon - see the fort town in the distance?

Heaps of space for the bikes on the first two trains

Not so much space on the final train to Lille

Our cute little apartment in Menen

And we're off on Day 2 - the bike paths and scenery were gorgeous

Our picnic spot for lunch - terrible bread (the Belgian thing), but yum fruit

And we made it - 55km and we arrive at the city gates of the old town in Bruges

And we wandered...food and tourist photos below...

Our cute hotel, Salvatore

The view from my bedroom window

Breakfast waffle - a healthy fruit and nut version, by the canal

Afternoon waffle!  With cherries and cream - YUMMMMMM!!

Swans

a 900 year old hospital - 2 mins walk from our hotel

The hotel that Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson stayed in In Bruges

MIKE'S DRONE FOOTAGE FROM YESTERDAY