Up at around 8am this morning, a good long sleep for us! Breakfast was a bit weird as we didn’t recognise anyone, having become quite used to knowing 20-30 people every morning!
After breakfast we checked out and walked to Earls Court underground station (ironically we had been moved to the only part of London we know quite well!) and got the tube towards Kings Cross. Forgetting it was a Sunday we got off at Covent Garden to do some shopping. Everything was closed, and it confirmed to me that Londoners do not get up early on weekends! We carried on to Kings Cross train station and got the 12.30 train to Stirling. The whole journey passed without event, with us eating all our remaining stroopwafels and me watching the minute by minute commentary on NZs excellent draw with Italy.
Both J and I commented on missing our tour buddies, and that it felt weird that we were on our own today. We very quickly got used to being part of the group, with the security that brought. It felt a bit uneasy to be wandering alone through London with our suitcases.
Changed trains for Alloa in Stirling and we were back home by 6.30pm. It all seemed like a bit of a dream and it felt like we had been away for months. We were greeted by our cat, who seemed rather surprised to see us.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
European Vacation Day 16 - Amsterdam to London via Bruges
Very tired this morning. About 3-4 hours sleep, but we managed to get up and have breakfast before jumping on the bus.
By the time we go to Bruges at 12-ish we were well rested, and went in search of food. Bruges seems to be populated entirely by pensioners and tourists, mostly English. It is a very nice town, with some amazing buildings.
We got some vegeburgers and Belgian frites (just like chips but double-fried to make them crispier) and then headed back to the bus.
One of the recurring themes of our trip has been scaffolding. Wherever we have gone there has been a monument or similar under some scaffolding. From half the Pantheon, the end of St Marks Square, St Stephens cathedral, Golden Lane, Matthias church, the Palace in Amsterdam (though I think it was under scaffolding in 1999 as well) there has been loads of scaffolding. Bruges is no different, with the Church of Our Lady being covered top to toe in scaffolding. It’s not been a problem as there is so much to see that I’m struggling to remember it all.
After Bruges we carried on to Calais ferry terminal, where we said goodbye to our driver TomTom. On the ferry J slept while I protectively guarded our luggage from middle-aged Londoners. At Dover we got on a new bus and were taken to the drop off point at Bayswater in London. The goodbyes were very quick and people immediately started dispersing to their own hotels. We went to ours round the corner only to find out our room was flooded so we had been upgraded to a better hotel. We got a courtesy cab ride to Kensington and got checked in. We went out for dinner to a nearby Italian restaurant where J had penne arrabiata and I had gnocchi alla pomodoro, exactly the same meal we had in Milan on our first night!
Exhausted, we walked back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep, safe in the knowledge there was no bus to catch tomorrow morning.
By the time we go to Bruges at 12-ish we were well rested, and went in search of food. Bruges seems to be populated entirely by pensioners and tourists, mostly English. It is a very nice town, with some amazing buildings.
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| St Salvator's Cathedral |
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| J outside the Provincial Court |
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| me at the Belfry of Bruges |
We got some vegeburgers and Belgian frites (just like chips but double-fried to make them crispier) and then headed back to the bus.
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| Bruges City Hall |
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| the Basilica of the Holy Blood (dark grey building centre-left) |
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| the Church of Our Lady, under heavy scaffolding! |
One of the recurring themes of our trip has been scaffolding. Wherever we have gone there has been a monument or similar under some scaffolding. From half the Pantheon, the end of St Marks Square, St Stephens cathedral, Golden Lane, Matthias church, the Palace in Amsterdam (though I think it was under scaffolding in 1999 as well) there has been loads of scaffolding. Bruges is no different, with the Church of Our Lady being covered top to toe in scaffolding. It’s not been a problem as there is so much to see that I’m struggling to remember it all.
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| Bruges is very picturesque |
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| as I say, very picturesque |
After Bruges we carried on to Calais ferry terminal, where we said goodbye to our driver TomTom. On the ferry J slept while I protectively guarded our luggage from middle-aged Londoners. At Dover we got on a new bus and were taken to the drop off point at Bayswater in London. The goodbyes were very quick and people immediately started dispersing to their own hotels. We went to ours round the corner only to find out our room was flooded so we had been upgraded to a better hotel. We got a courtesy cab ride to Kensington and got checked in. We went out for dinner to a nearby Italian restaurant where J had penne arrabiata and I had gnocchi alla pomodoro, exactly the same meal we had in Milan on our first night!
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| ah, back to good old Blighty! |
Exhausted, we walked back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep, safe in the knowledge there was no bus to catch tomorrow morning.
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