AussieGirl

Brussels and Bruges

We went to Belgium last weekend flying into Charleroi Airport. The tickets were part of a free offer by Ryan Air which meant you only had to pay the taxes (for both of us the cost was 50 pounds). Charleroi is about an hour’s drive outside of Brussels hence I think they were trying to get more people to use the airport as the alternative is right in town – plus the Eurostar stops there. I probably wouldn’t fly into Charleroi again as the bus was delayed and it actually took us quite a while to get to our hotel.

Our hotel was quite nice and I got us a good deal on the internet (3 nights for the price of 2). We explored Brussels on the Friday evening – it is quite small and can all be done on foot. My favorite area was the posh suburb of Sablon where there is a really pretty church, lots of cafes and antique shops. In the centre of Brussels is a big square called the Grand Place which had an outdoor exhibit of life-size cows in it.

On Saturday we went to Bruges which is absolutely beautiful. Full of cobbled streets and quaint shops. It is on a series of canals and has lots of horse and carriages to add to the atmosphere. We sampled a large pot of the famous Belgian mussels in Bruges and wandered around the central “Markt” and the “Burg” which are the two main plaza areas. The nicest part though was walking along the canals eating Belgium chocolates and soaking up the sun. Yes we were lucky with the weather as at this time of year we could have had rain all weekend.

On Sunday we ate breakfast at a posh cafe in the Sablon area and Christos promptly felt sick. We managed to see most of the Arts Museum though which had some really nice paintings by Bruegel. These are of winter scenes and feature people playing on the frozen lakes. Christos was too ill to see the Modern Art section though (his favorite) and so had to be put to bed and given some TLC. We managed dinner though and I had an excellent Chicken Waterzooi which I have since made back at home. It is really easy – basically you lightly cook chicken pieces and then add chicken broth and vegetables. At the end you add a can of evaporated milk (low fat of course) and this gives it a nice creamy taste – yummy.

Monday and Christos was feeling better so we visited the centre of town again and also saw the main cathedral which is where the Belgian royalty have been married (2 in the last couple of years). I would love to go back to Belgium by car next time and see some of the outlying villages and also to visit Bruges again. Christos can also recommend the beer and the chocolate!

Next Stop – Brussels

We got a cheap flight to Brussels this weekend (actually we are leaving Friday and back on Monday). Christos is particularly looking forward to the Belgium chocolate and beers. We are also going to do a day trip to Bruges which is meant to be one of the most beautiful (if touristy) cities in Europe.

I had my 3rd interview for the contract work and am waiting to hear the outcome. Turns out the 2nd interview fiasco was a problem with the recruitment agency. Anyway, it is an HR transformation project (organisation redesign) based in Harlow which is an hour from home (although this timing was done at 11am and I am sure it would take longer during peak hour). Getting out of Cambridge onto the motorway is just the pits – it can take you 1/2 an hour just to get through the city and even going around the outskirts takes ages. I would love to take the train if I got this job but the cost of rail fares in this country is unbelievable plus both end points are no where near the train station. The cost per day – 5 pounds a day just to park at the train station, and then 15 pounds for a return ticket to London (and that is with a network railcard which gives a discount and not travelling in peak times). (this works out to about $A48.00 – and that is each day) It is no wonder everyone takes their cars.

Weekend News

Had a quiet weekend with Christos. Finished reading Captain Correlli’s Mandolin which was really good and have just started on Lord of the Flies. I would be quite interested seeing Kefalonia in Greece where the book is set – sounds a lot like Corfu. Maybe we can visit on our next trip out there. Did some window shopping in Cambridge on Saturday – it was really cold and it seems that autumn is quickly becoming winter. I have a second interview tomorrow for some contract work – this was meant to be on Friday at 12.00 but they rang at 11.45 to say they needed to reschedule. The interview was in London so after 1 1/2 traveling to get there, I had to turn around and go back home. Not sure if I get a good vibe from this company so far but we will see tomorrow.