Ypres Excursion.

I'm not sure that our excursion to Ypres would have been any less poignant had we visited at any other time, but the fact that it coincided with the anniversary of the beginning of the First World War just one day after there had been so many tributes in remembrance, made the air a little heavier.




Admittedly I don't know much about the First World War and don't know of any relatives that were involved but it didn't make the trip any less moving or interesting. The visit to the town of Ypres was kind of staggering given that it was completely destroyed and was rebuilt from paintings and photographs as reference. We didn't stop off at the Flanders Museum as after visiting Tyne Cot cemetery and Hill 62 though as we all felt a bit overwhelmed.





I'm afraid these photographs are a phone job as I had a bit of a battery problem with my J1 in the morning. I think it's served pretty well though even if the pictures have come up a bit skinny.

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Gran had a raw beef sandwich when we stopped for lunch, didn't sit well with me but she said it was tasty.


The Menin Gate.


Kind of a shame that the main square had been taken over by fairground rides (that no one was even using) that day. It would have been good to get a proper picture of the rebuilt Cloth Factory.





Rich in recent history, and a pretty town, Ypres was worth the trip both thanks to the beautiful weather and the timing of our visit. I believe lots of events relating to the First World War centenary are coming up across the next few years if you were planning a trip to Belgium at any point.

Being In Bruges :: Photo Diary

It's only been a week since I was in Bruges but it feels like an absolute age ago already. I've been rushing around seeing friends and family, bumbling along with my 9-5 and have overall been trying to organise myself creativity-wise and about the house - it's not 'really busy' but it's busy enough.

I'm still riding high on it all though and I had a truly wonderful time. It was mainly just really nice to spend some quality time with my Gran and sister, something we don't get to do so often any more.




♥
Bruges is a beautiful city, like a chocolate box, around every corner is another picture-perfect scene. We were able to fit in every 'touristy' thing we could in our short 4-day stay and we weren't rushed for time either, with plenty of allowance for cheeky afternoon naps.



We found it very easy to navigate and managed to find the 2be in Bruges Beer Wall and take ourselves on a horse and cart ride all by ourselves. The downtime we had between the tour operator's walking tour, brewery trip and a day excursion to Ypres meant that we never found ourselves twiddling our thumbs when we didn't want to.



View from the top of the Half Moon Brewery.








It would be rude not to try a selection of Belgian beer.





With our horse, Manuel, 21 years old and still going!


We were told Bruges at night was beautiful but only made it out on our last night, it's pretty special what some simple floodlights can do.











I couldn't recommend Bruges any more for a city break and despite the fact that I wasn't able to practice any Dutch on anyone and everyone in our tour party thought my sister and I were super-young and had been dragged there (ridiculous), I had a really great time.

One of my favourites was quoting In Bruges while exploring the more well-known landmarks in the city. If you haven't already, I suggest you watch it.

"The view of what? The view of down here? I can see that from down here..!"