Back home again

I'm back. And what a week it's been. I've just spent five days in Belgium - mainly Bruges (or Brugge, as Flemish speakers prefer) - with my girlfriend and her son.

And the result?

Well, I can confirm that Bruges is suitably entertaining for a 12-year-old. After climbing to the top of the clock tower, visiting the chocolate museum, riding on a horse taxi, taking a boat trip, visiting windmills and hiring bicycles, we were happy to eat chips with mayonnaise until our stomachs and arteries were full.

Bruges is a gentle sort of city - not unlike Arundel in many ways. Once a busy port, it's now a clean gothic-looking tourist destination. And perfect if, like me, your grasp of the language doesn't extend beyond clearing your throat. The guy on the supermarket checkout spoke English (unprompted, may I add - although my 12-year-old companion's non-stop conversation may have given the game away). The woman in the pub did the same. Spreekt u Engels? and Dank u wel was pretty much all I needed.

Anyway, it got me thinking about Arundel's missing tourist opportunities. I reckon a horse and carriage would work really well. Although I'm not sure how you'd handle the downhill part when it came to the High Street...

PS: I can thoroughly recommend the apartment we stayed in. It's called Die Drie Koningen (The Three Kings), it's close to the city centre, it's much cheaper than a hotel and it has friendly, helpful English-French-German-Flemish speaking owners.