Beautiful Belgium

The next morning in Luxembourg dawns with grey skies and persistent steady rain. So we up sticks and head north to Belgium. We arrive into Brussels around lunchtime and end up in the city centre where Ruth insisted there way a campground (there wasn't!). After this little booboo we find the other campsite we had up our sleeve and find the camp reception shut until 2pm. Bloody campground siesta! We head up the street to kill some time and try in vain to find a supermarket or bakery open on a Sunday to get a fresh baguette for lunch. As the heavens open once more we head back to camp to check in.

Its a very small campground which is fine but our site is awful amenity wise, its on gravel and though the size is okay it feels cramped with people to all sides and only wire fencing rather than nice hedges or trees separating us. As the rain continues we settle into camp for the rest of the afternoon.

The next morning we're up early and catch a bus into town, this takes almost an hour as it seems to be a bus collecting commuters from all the outlying streets on the way to the central station. Eventually we arrive in the central station and look to pick up a city map. There's an information centre in the station, but signs state clearly 'no maps'. Helpful. We head out of the station and guess which way the centre of town is and start walking. Eventually after failing to find a decent map or decipher the cryptic tourist signs on some street corners, we ask a retailer for directions to the Grand Market.

Once we get into the thick of the centre we are impressed by the city and then we step around the corner into the Grand Market. The Grand Market, or Grand Place is a good name that aptly describes it, its grandness was impressive! We looked around for a bit trying to figure out which building is the Hotel de Ville until realising its the Gothic style building that more closely resembles a church! It was the only building to escape bombardment by the French in 1695, ironic as it was the target! The square of the Grand Place comes from all the ornately decorated Guildhalls.

From the square we explore the surrounding streets and come across a shop dedicated to all things TinTin. We get our sampling of chocolate truffles and pralines underway at the many chocolatiers in the central city. So creamy, so chocolate, so good! Chocolate fountains with biscuits to dip are popular and we understandably can't resist! We come across de Bier Tempel which stocks over 550 Belgian brews. We grab some to wash our lunch down with and enjoy our baguettes on a bench in the middle of one of the town squares.

After refuelling we see Galaries St Hubert, which was a European first in terms of shopping arcades, opening in 1847. We head to the St Michael and Gudale Cathedral which has an impressive organ. From there we wander to the Manneken Pis fountain. The small statue of a little boy peeing into a pool is a national symbol (god knows why!?) and is surrounded by camera flashes with people lining up for a photo with him.

After sampling more chocolates and buying some to tuck into later, we head back to the central station via Rue des Bouchers, the city's famous dining streets, where mussels and frites abound aplenty at restaurants lining narrow alleys. Back in camp we cook up some ribs on the bbq and add some frites and salad and soak up the late afternoon sun with a couple of the local tipples in hand. Ah the good life.

The following day we head a short distance up the road to Ghent arriving before lunch to a beautiful camping ground near the canals just outside of Ghent. We kick up a stink when the site they put us on is a dog of a site in the corner hidden under trees and muddy. We get changed to a much nicer site where we set up camp and then cycle into town, which is probably only 15 - 20 minutes bike ride away (we're not a long way west of the city like Lonely Planet would have you believe!).

We walk through the centre of town and have lunch with our legs dangling over the edge of a canal. The architecture of the town is gorgeous, but it's a shame that there's dusty road works and scaffolding everywhere as the city sets up for its annual festival held in July. After a look through the Graveensteen, a castle which largely seems to have been used in the past as a prison, torture centre and place for executions by various methods, we take a break with a couple of good tipples at a pub serving over 250 national brews, some of which serve an excellent punch at around 9 - 11%!

After perusing, tasting and purchasing the sauces and dips of a gourmet food store we head for home. Several hours and tens of kilometres later we arrive weary from the little adventure Ryan's sense of direction gives us. In his words, 'a nice bike ride home, but I ended up getting a little bit lost...'

The next day we hop less than a hour up the road to Bruges. Described as touristy, overcrowded and a tad fake by Lonely Planet (not the be all and end all, but normally a good starting point) we find Bruges to be none of the above! Our campground is just 2.5km from the city centre, just a 10 minute bike ride through some cobbled streets into the heart of the old town. As soon as we bike through the gates across the canal and enter the old town its like stepping back in time. Bruges has been suspended in time and is a great medieval city, and contrary to expectations we found it to be no more crowded than any other town and no more touristy. At least here we'd left behind us all the bottle openers in the shape of a wee boy peeing!

We arrive in the centre to find the historical Markt bustling with a local food market. We try some of the Pommes frites from one of the two caravans that sets up each lunch time and compete for customers. We ask for Aoli sauce, but swear we end up with tartare sauce instead! On our way to the Choco Story museum we come across another chocolatier and when they offer us a sample, its been so long between samples (we struck out in Ghent!) that I'm sorely tempted to respond 'I thought you'd never ask!'. The Choco Story museum is well done and aside from the history of chocolate, including in Belgium, there are some great sculptures of chocolate, including a life size one of Barack Obama! There's a demo which finishes with a tasting at the end. Mmm my kind of museum! On our cycle home we stock up Belgian beers and then soak up the late afternoon sun before firing up the bbq.

We have a second day in Bruges, so cycle back into the central Markt and climb the Belfort tower (from where I can gather the city used to store all its important documents). The 366 steps to the top were totally overpriced at €8! Though we did get a few laughs from some Americans who climbed the tower at the same time as us - you can always count on them for a bit of humour (laughing at, not with!). Back down at ground level we tuck into some more frites before strolling the back streets behind the market and canals. We come across a chocolate shop and make up a 500gm box with the pralines and truffles of our choice. Back in camp we delve into our choccies and sunbathe for the rest of the day.

That night a massive thunderstorm strikes with series after series of lightning and thunder passing over. We aren't the only campers who scurry outside in the middle of the night to let down one side of the awning!