Ghent

The last day before returning home. After 75 days away we finally go home tomorrow. This morning we went to the station and got the train to Ghent. I expected it to be a quick journey but thanks to the train stopping about ten times it seemed to take as long as it did the previous day to get to Brussels which is more than twice as far away. As usual with seemingly all modes of public transport there was an irritation to put up with. Somewhere behind us there were two people (on a half empty train) sitting on opposite sides of the carriage thereby having to shout to conduct their conversation. The mans half of the conversation was punctuated by all sorts of stupid noises, squeals and at times a passable imitation of the Fonz from Happy Days. Why on earth would you sit on opposite sides of the train if you intended talking to each other? I never cease to be amazed at people who think the whole world wants to hear their entire conversation. When we got off the train we had a long walk to get to the town. It was another hot day, quite amazing for October. I can’t believe the weather is typical of this time of year. It took about half an hour to reach the town and suddenly we were in the tourist centre and it was rammed with people! Our first impression wasn’t the best as the place was so busy. Once again we found ourselves not liking it very much in spite of all the beautiful old buildings. Lynne was looking for chocolate shops to buy gifts but there didn’t seem to be any. Very quickly we decided to go back to Bruges for the chocolate. We did walk round looking for somewhere to eat but everywhere was full except for a vegetarian restaurant where we actually sat down briefly before realising everyone was eating with plastic cutlery out of cardboard containers. Call me a snob, but I hate plastic knives and forks! Needless to say we didn’t hang around and eventually as we walked away we bought sandwiches as we headed back to the station. We then sat in another small square to eat and watch the world go by, mostly on bikes!

The train ride back was marginally less irritating and once back in Bruges we set about finding chocolate shops. Well, in Bruges we were spoilt for choice and Lynne soon finished her gift shopping for this trip. Nothing like leaving it until the last-minute is there? It being a Saturday evening Bruges was heaving with people but somehow it didn’t spoil the experience. Bruges I would say is one of the nicest Belgian tourist destinations with or without the crowds.

Sunday morning came around and we had to pack up to leave. After so long away you would have thought we would be ready to go home but I think we were in total agreement that we had no desire whatsoever to return! The journey to Calais went without incident and we were almost the first on the ferry. Sitting in the lounge during the crossing, I sat watching my fellow compatriots. We really are a motley bunch. Big, fat, small, thin. There was an old bloke sat by us who must have had maybe 4 or 5 teeth left in his head, and they were all a manky shade of yellow/green. A fine advertisement for British dentistry. Having been among the first to drive on to the ferry we were also among the first off. I had to think a bit so as not to end up driving on the wrong side of the road. I’ve always found that after driving on the continent, it’s when you get home and relax that an unguarded moment can catch you out. Back on the M25 we were soon sat in the obligatory traffic jam. If we weren’t depressed already at being back in Blighty we certainly would be after a crawl round the M25! So, after the best trip of our lives and so many different places visited we were finally home. The weird thing was that being home we suddenly had loads of space again, but I would still rather have slept in the drop down bed in the motorhome. I suppose, on a soppy note, it’s a testament to our relationship that after almost three months living in a tiny space and driving just 30 miles short of 8000 miles together we still got on as well as ever. I can honestly say I was only ever tempted to strangle Lynne about 3 or 4 times! I don’t know what on earth I’ll write about now although I don’t imagine there’ll be too many people grieving over the lack of content in the coming weeks but there will be other trips and we’ll be back with more story’s if only to cover the occasional photography days.