brugge - belgium

in paris we joined the busabout crew (more contiki than we initially expected) and set off on our continental europe adventures. first stop was brugge, belgium (see above and below), which has lots of medieval architecture and bicycles.

belgium is infamous for: beer, chocolate and....tintin (also lace, which is generally ignored in this entry due to the importance of the previous three and my slight disinterest in lace stein holders). after a much anticipated trip to the tintin shop (which has the most uncompetitive prices imaginable) we moved onto the beer and chocolate. we visited a bar which serves 300 types of beer, all of which must be consumed from a very specific and unique glass (a far cry from cracking open tinnies on the balcony at beverley). please note that this creates much (unnecessary) washing up.

we visited a local brugge brewery 'brugse zot', where we marvelled at heat exchangers (left) and other wonderous beer making equipment.

we also found on our walks a playground that looks like a castle. i had slightly more fun than ramsey, who is sulking because of a head injury sustained in climbing to the top of the playground fort (see below). despite all the beer and chocolate and tintin, our favourite part was hanging out with the locals at the fresh produce markets (below). here we sampled an array of fresh fruits. due to the rain, notice that ramsey has quite stylishly and practically, and in the spirit of tintin's pantaloons, rolled up her pants.
another canal shot...