Bonjour

Our first day of holidays: we set off from Manchester to Brussels, in Belgium. We flew with Jude (a friend from church) who was meeting her Belgian fiance over there, Yves-Pascal (Y.P). We had the amazing pleasure of staying with Antoine and Linda, who are both Violin Makers. Antoine is French and works in violin restoration and Linda is and Aussie and makes original violins. How cool is that! We saw Antoine's workshop and were given a brief lesson of the process. Absolutely fascinating. (You can just see some of their tools in the background of the photo).

Belgium was beautiful. We 'did' all the 'must see/taste/touch/smell' things like waffles, beer, french fries, (which by the way does not mean fries from France; rather, the word 'french' actually translates to 'cut': 'cut fries'). One of the 'must sees' in Belgium is the 'Mannequin Pis' - which has many myths attached to it, and has been stolen twice. To be honest, it was a bit of an anti-climax; though the Grande Place nearby was impressive, not the mention Belgian Chocolate!

We spent a night in Le Da Panne with Jude and YP, just out of Brussels in a caravan on the beach! Beach! Beautiful quality time with them both, playing silly games on the beach and experiencing a true Belgium breakfast thanks to YP. I have never tasted croissants like it! I couldn't eat for the rest of the day! They are so rich!

We also spent some time in Brugge which is a beautiful little town, lined with cobbled stones and renowned for its lace and good chocolate. There is a horse and cart to take you on a trip around the town if you so desire. We sat in the middle of square sharing a baguette with ham and cheese: how very French of us!

Back in Brussels we packed up and had time to try one more beer at Antoine and Linda's 'local' which prides itself on their menu of 350 beers for sale.

Be sure to check out our Photos of our time in Belgium too!

Off to Poland!