Wednesday 9 January 2013

Belgium - part 1....

I'd like to say hi to my new followers Terri, May and Izzy - welcome aboard and hope you enjoy my blog as much as I enjoy writing it. 

I can't believe I've been back from Belgium for a week now and not posted anything yet. Both John and I have been brought down with this flu virus thingy that is spreading like wildfire and probably caught on the tour coach we were on in Belgium. We've both laid low for the last five days and for John not to go to work and take to his bed - well that says it all.  But hey ho, the sun is shining today and it's onwards and upwards into the New Year which I trust you will all have a happy one.

Well our trip to Belgium was lovely, the weather wasn't perfect - only raining at night - but mostly we had some sunny but cold days. We visited Ostend, Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Brussels during the four days but my main focus was on Bruges and Ghent.


Bruges is located on the River Reie and is the capital of the province of west Flanders. Often called the "Venice of the North" it connects with Ostend, Veurne, Ghent and Sluis via its canals.

  


This medieval town with its cobbled streets and assortment of shops is a photographer's dream




Beautiful lace shops



And chocolate shops



As well as the pretty waterways


These canals were everywhere and you just can't stop yourself from snapping them!


The buildings were so pretty - these look like old almshouses 


and churches - way too many to photograph



 We were only here for an afternoon and wished we'd had more time. I'd rather have missed the trip to Ostend that morning and spent more time in Bruges. Have to come back again methinks! 

I'll pause here  -  but will return with a few more photos from Ghent and Brussels.

Has anyone else been having trouble uploading photos - the browser button isn't appearing in the "Select a file/photo" box. I checked the Blog help page and it seems there is a problem at the moment when uploading from Internet Explorer. They suggested going into HTML mode to upload a photo and then going back into Compose mode to write the post. So annoying and time consuming.  They are working on it and here's hoping it goes back to normal very soon.

Bye for now

16 comments:

  1. I'm glad you had a great time in Belgium Patricia and hope you and your husband get better soon.

    The places you visited look very interesting and pretty. I'm not sure I'd like to live surrounded by water like that though I think I'd constantly worry about damp among other things.

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  2. Some lovely photos. I went to this area years ago and it was great to be reminded of how beautiful it is. Jx

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  3. Super photos, Patricia. We have talked often about taking a trip to Belgium, and your post has whetted my appetite- in more ways than one! people often talk about edibles when they talk about Belgium, don't they!

    Well justr about to write my new blog post so hope the photo situation has improved - it doesn't take much in the tehcie department to knock me off my perch! Watch this space!!

    Looking forward to your next set of Belgium pics. Lx

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  4. Great photos of your trip to Belgium.
    I have been to those areas.. but mainly Ghent.. we have family there.
    Its all so neat and well kept.
    Hope you are both better now from the flu.
    My son has had it for some days now...its even here..
    happy week Patricia.. looking forward to your next photos and post.
    I have had no problem with blogger.
    val

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  5. Great photos - took me back to when we visited many, many years ago. We visited Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. I loved seeing the wayerways and the trams.
    Looking forward to Part 2.
    June

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  6. Bruges looks a lovely place,I'd love to see it one of these days.

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  7. Beautiful photographs.. I have been to Bruges many years ago... Glad to hear you & your husband are feeling a bit better... Hugs May x x x

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  8. Your pictures are lovely, they make me want to go there!

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  9. That must have been a lovely trip – too bad that you caught the flu. Have you tried using Firefox? That is what I use and I don’t have any problems with my photo.

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  10. Looks like you had a wonderful time, I remember those chocolate and lace shops from when I was there 20 something years ago.

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  11. Thanks for these beautiful photos, I love Bruges, such a lovely village..Hope you and John will be felling better soon..
    Hugs
    Erna x

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  12. I've always wanted to visit Bruges and it looks just how I imagine it. So glad you had a super time. Hope you feel better soon:)

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  13. Hello Patricia:
    We have much enjoyed looking at these photographs as they brought back very happy memories of our sadly all too short a time in Bruges many years ago. It is, as you say, the most delightful of towns and is glorious seen from a canal boat. Too often we feel that one can motor through Belgium whilst en route to another destination and Belgium in itself is a most beautiful country well worth investigating further.

    Internet Explorer is often not a friend of Blogger we found in the past. We resolved our problems with a switch to Google Chrome, perhaps this may work for you too?!!

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  14. Besutiful photos of your trip. The Beguinage in Bruges is one of my favourite areas, but it's all lovely. I hope you are soon feeling better after your bout of 'flu. The tulips are pretty and the bobbins are another gift to enjoy.

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  15. Sorry you both have had the flu hope you are now both on the mend. Your trip to Belguim looks wonderful.I have seen pictures of Bruges and have wondered what it was like , I shall have to add it to my list of places to visit.
    We use Google Chrome and haven't had a problem so far,I hope it is soon sorted out for you.
    Sarah x

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  16. Hi Patricia, I do hope that by the time you read this you will be feeling better. Your photos are amazing. The only time I see places like these are in the movies. They seem so surreal . . . like a movie set. Thank you for sharing your travels, I love being your cyber sidekick traveler :)
    Have a lovely day and get well.
    Your blogging sister, Connie :)

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