Antwerp and Rotterdam - 7th to 8th of August 2010

50 minutes northest from Ghent to Antwerp, a city with the obligatory picturesque main square lined with cute buildings, but one that doesn't really hold a candle to Bruges or Ghent. Of course being the centre of the diamond world, it had its share of jewellers wedged between the Frite (hot chip) shops and waffle makers. We deposited our bags in lockers at the amazing train station and had a wander before moving swiftly on...

Just over an hour on a train and we were in a different country, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We made it to our hotel and had just started our touristing before the rain came down, so we hid in a little pub in the old harbour and waited it out. 3 rounds later the rain was still coming down, so we completed our little circuit in the wet, dried out in our hotel and hit the bars. Other than being known for its port (the largest in Europe) its also known for its nightlife, and being a saturday night we gave it a shot.

Ghent and Bruges - 6th to 7th of August 2010

45 minutes northwest from Brussels to Ghent, a town right in the middle of Belgium's "big three" - Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp - and often overlooked. But we had a tip it was worth a stop, so we offloaded our bags at our hotel and tripped into the old town for a walk through its picturesque squares, beside its lovely canals, and through its markets.

Two hours later we were done, so jumped back on a train for 20 minutes to Bruges. Bruges is another canal-lined old town filled with chocolateries and beer cafes, and is the main destination for tourists in Belgium. It was certainly heaving with snap-happy foreigners, us included of course. These photos make it look like we spent the whole day eating, and I wish I could say this wasn't the case - although we did only have the 1 beer (but at 9% alcohol that was enough!!!).

Brussels - 5th to 6th of August 2010

Leaving a sunny Nice behind, we flew an hour and a half north to a very rainy Brussels. After sitting out the storm in an internet cafe, we went for a little stroll around the city that is actually surprisingly pretty - it has one of the coolest main squares we've seen. Of course we couldn't say no to mussels for dinner, a few Belgian beers and some waffles!!

August bank holiday weekend - 28th to 31st of August 2009

The last bank holiday of the year, and for the first time in a long time, Ange and I did our own thing.

My bank holiday started a bit early, at about 6am on Friday. My mate Conor picked me up and we jumped on the Eurotunnel to France, and then cruised along the Belgian motorways for about 3.5 hours past Brussels and deep into the Ardenne forest to the circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Its the longest race on the F1 calendar at just over 7kms, and if any racetrack can be beautiful, this is surely it. We spent all weekend at the track, eating frites and drinking beers, and made it back to London mid afternoon on the bank holiday Monday.

Not too sure what Ange got up to. May have had something to do with a bunch of girls and some funky looking drinks...? When I got home on Monday she was still out, apparently at the Notting Hill Carnival.