BACK in Bruges!

So, so, so much to write about but not much time. All these years of writing my travel blog and I've been so faithful about sharing this journal of my travel experiences, but this time with the intermittent Internet access and the busyness of my itinerary, the time to write has been minimal. I hope that I am able to remember the details to write about later. But in a short update...(well, knowing me, it probably won't be that short...), I will share some recent happenings with hopefully more to follow.

At this moment I am lying in a luxurious room in the Grand Hotel Casselbergh in Bruges. I stayed here on my recent trip and when I rebooked for last night they said they were upgrading my room for the same price. One thing I've learned in my travels is to not expect anything with the hotels. Was a bit disappointed with the room in a palace hotel in Lisbon, but that is for another time. I walked into this room and expected a little cozy room again and walked in, beyond exhausted,and was in awe. The room is stunning, 2 stories high with a gorgeous crystal chandelier right in the center of the room. The room is not large, but the decor is elegant. Not as fabulous as my birthday hotel in Lucerne 3 years ago, but I'd never have known a room like this is tucked away in this hotel! The windows look out onto a small courtyard and into the other part of the building, but the view isn't the focus. The two story windows are covered in elegant drapes. The bathroom is large, all done in white tile with a frosted glass door. And for me, probably the most wonderful thing is that the air conditioning actually works and I am snuggled with soft sheets and a cozy duvet in a cold room! A rare delight in Europe! The room in Portugal was lovely with a great view and a wonderful large white and green tiled bathroom, but it was warm, even after having the maintenance man in who claims to have reset the thermostat in the ceiling before and now for another American (that would be me), who just wasn't satisfied with the 23C that they like, supposedly he set it all the way down to 17, but I'm sure in a very short time it was back up. Unfortunately I don't sleep well when hot so I wasn't comfortable at all.

But back to the luxury of Bruges...I did sleep well although with the day I had I think I would have slept well anywhere! It's a shame not to have more than one night here. I slept a full 7 hours and hate to go back to sleep and miss experiencing the comfort of the room. Breakfast is being served but I think I'll patiently wait until my waffle shop opens at 10 for my breakfast. I arrived last night exhausted but still walked into the central square for some frites at my favorite stand. While there chatting with a couple of young men as we waited for our order, they were shocked I'd been there so many times with out trying a Bickey Burger. Well you know me, how could I resist trying something new recommended by locals? And since that is what they were ordering I knew it wasn't a joke, so I added the bickey burger too. It is a hamburger and I'm not sure I liked the meat but you barely taste it so that is okay. It has a chili sauce on it, nothing like our chili, and has cucumbers on it, which turns out to be like our pickles but with a different flavor, and crumbled fried onions. Enjoyable but not sure it will be one of my Bruges staples when I visit. But now I can say I've had a Bickey burger!

I am thinking about the short time I have here and just realized that there is a big market on Wednesdays. I think it would be worth checking out since the timing is right. Might get some grand pictures there. Then I will visit Lilys for at least one of my favorite waffles and to drop off the cards I made for the owner with 2 different pictures of waffles on them. After that I will pick up a box of chocolates, have frietes with stouffle on them, pick up my roll on luggage and head for the journey back to London.

Seeing Cesar in Portugal was nice, but we had so little time together and he was so exhausted, that it was far from our usual exciting time together. He didn't even have a cake for me, which is a BIG deal to me. We did take a lovely ride along part of the coast from Lisbon almost up to Capo de Roca, the westernmost point of land in continental Europe. The day was miserably hot, the first like that in 3 weeks, and of course it would be the day I was there. but as we got towards and past Cascais, it was cooler. We stopped near where the road ended so I could get some photos of the beautiful turquoise water along the rocky coast and it was actually cold with the wind and we enjoyed just standing there soaking in the windy cold air listening to the ocean crashing on the rocks. A lovely setting and memory. The coastline of Portugal is beautiful and we passed lovely beaches filled with people making the best out of the weather. The Portuguese people love those hot days and the seaside towns are filled with tourists.

We stopped with some of the cards I'd made with Portugal photos at the hotel where Cesar used to work, to see if they would be interested in selling them since they are right where the hotel is. It was a nice visit because the people were excited to see him again. The surprise was the warm greeting I got from several of the staff who remembered me too. I did visit several times while he worked there and it was nice that they remembered me and welcomed me so warmly. Several of the traditional kisses as a welcome. Unfortunately the conversations reverted back to portuguese so I was left out. We did talk to one of the managers and he said they would be VERY interested in selling my cards there if they were postcards instead of greeting cards. He said he was being totally honest, not just kind, when he said the photos were excellent of the area. So he asked me to take several photos of the hotel and he would talk with the CEO when I come up with a price I would need to get to see if it will work out. The hotel has now become a 5 star hotel and is quite modern and lovely so it was really kind of exciting to photograph parts of the hotel at his request. If they decide to go with the idea he said he would like me to go back and photograph more of the hotel too. Imagine going to Portugal to photograph a 5* hotel! As a job! Cesar has told me he thought my photos would sell well there with the kind of clientele they get from around the world, so now we will see!

The time in Lisbon was short, and though not exciting, it was quite comfortable. I think it would be what it is like to visit family, an experience I no longer have. However being in Portugal for that visit was a nice part of my birthday extravaganza, as my celebration continues, although it is quickly coming to an end.

Yesterday I woke up in Lisbon. Being at the airport was quite a hassle, it was packed and so disorganized that I could write a whole entry about that experience itself. At one point I had to call out to Cesar to help me because a guard wouldn't let me into a part I'd been sent to. He wasnt allowed to accompany me to an area where he used to be able to go as I checked in. He came up near me and explained in portuguese what I'd been told and the man let me in. That is NOT a place I would like to be without him to help take care of me.

The plane was late leaving, another common occurrence with the airline. But all was well and after circling heathrow we safely landed and I was on to my next new experience of a day filled with them! I went to a new area and boarded the heathrow express to paddington station. The wonderful concierge at my London hotel had told me that if I bought the ticket ahead of time it would be 16 GBP rather than 24 at the train. I can not tell you how worth it that was to be in a comfortable setting and be in the center of London in 15 minutes! I would pay that anytime for the comfort and convenience. Then I found my way out of the beautiful station to the taxi stand where I got in a taxi bound for St. Pancras station. A delightful driver pointed out the sights along the way, the famous Madame Troussards wax gallery, the London zoo, baker street of Sherlock Holmes fame and more. We arrived at the station and I bought another ticket on the eurostar, since I was there much earlier than expected because of a ticket chane from Lisbon. Ahh, the flexibility of travel, or actually the lack of it.

I had over 2 hours before boarding the eurostar for my high speed trip under the English channel to Brussels. I chose a table at a restaurant near the entrance and had a delightful waiter. I mentioned I'd flown in from Portugal and he was telling me how much he loved visiting the Azores so I gave him one of my cards of the beautiful bouganvilas next to a building with peeling paint. He couldn't thank me enough and then came back and gave me a business card and he is a professional photographer! Another interesting new friend. A man came and started talking to me and asked if he could join me. Turns out he was a 72 year old priest, hmmm not mr. Right for me! Then another lady came up to talk about the steak and mushroom pie I was eating and my waiter came back and laughed that I sat down alone and had attracted a group around me. He knew this trip was my birthday trip and I said I guess that was my party and he and the American lady sang happy birthday to me, pretty funny impromptu party! And then the big part of the journey arrived, the eurostar journey. It was amazing! I arrived at Brussels and with a little help I found my way to the right train to bruges and made it! So in a day I was in portugal, London, the French countryside and Belgium. This afternoon I head back to London and sadly early tomorrow I head home....


Short? Yeah right!