Off to Bruges today on one of our Greys Express Tours
which mean no taxi pick up’s, dinner or porterage.
The idea is to have quick convenient pick up points and
stay in resorts/hotels where going out for dinner is part of the attraction.
Also being short breaks the luggage required is not large so we don’t require
porterage.
And the Hotel Academie is a perfect choice for an Express
tour.
My first pick up is in Petersfield at 05:30 and my last
in Milford at 06:20. All goes well and I’m away early from Milford and it has
been quicker than using taxi’s!
After a comfort stop on the motorway we arrive in Dover
at 08:25, plenty of time before our 10:20 sailing.
It is very quiet (and sunny believe it or not!) at the
docks giving me time to pop in the main terminal for a passenger registration
form which must be completed with everybody’s name on, something I should have
done yesterday but forgot! I was asked why we need to do this as they don’t
require one on the shuttle and the answer is that if the ship sinks then they
know who to look for!!
Being early we are loaded onto the 09:25 sailing and the
enormous Spirit of France ship, one of two new P & O ships on the Dover
Calais route.
It is a lovely crossing and the boat is almost empty so a
very comfortable hour and a half is spent by all. I would like to write and
tell you of the healthy breakfast of cereal and muesli I had but would be
telling porkies as I enjoyed the full on fat boys breakfast! Delicious!
Arriving in Calais on time which is unusual but not
surprising due to the lack of passengers. I am sure they slow the boats down
when busy to keep people spending longer or am I just being a tad cynical?!
From Calais we drive through to a very warm and sunny
Ostend to spend a couple of hours in this famous old sea port that is probably
more famous now as the town where Marvin Gaye stayed and wrote Sexual Healing!
I drop the group off on the promenade and then go to the
nearby coach park where they will all walk back to.
We are away from here at 15:20 and within half an hour
reach Bruges whe
re I drive around the ring road pointing places out and then go to the hotel. Well not exactly to the hotel but close by!
The Hotel Academie is situated in a small road close to
the centre and it is too narrow for a bus so I have to drive around the corner
to the back of the Novotel hotel and drop off there. I am able to park for a
while so walk the group through to the hotel and help check them in, arranging
to meet everyone in the bar at 17:30 for a welcome drink.
I go off and park in the coach park and that is me done
with driving until Wednesday afternoon.
I have two close friends on board, Barry and Jayne, so
could be a good night tonight!
We all meet at 17:30 and I’m expecting a glass of cheap
fizzy wine with a bit of orange juice in it but am pleasantly surprised to find
we can have a glass of beer, read, white or rose wine or a fruit juice. Very
good and a lovely start.
I wanted to take a group photo in the courtyard but we
are one short with Mr Stratton having his dinner in a nearby restaurant!
After a quick shower I join Barry and Jayne in a bar
close to the hotel while we plot our evening!
Not too far away is a pub that sells over 300 different
types of beer and this is our second port of call. There is a full menu for all
of the beers and you are definitely spoiled for choice so we ask the waitress
for a recommendation which she duly serves. Jayne is on wine but Barry and I
love trying the different types of beer and they are delicious but rather strong.
The average alcohol content is somewhere between 8 and 10 abd we even have one
that is 11.3%! Each beer has its own glass to serve in and we try all sorts.
From here we go for dinner at a restaurant we used last
year called Cambrinus which is located just off the main square and the inside
is like a Parisian cafe. Plenty of beer on the menu here as well. Unfortunately
we have to wait for a table so better have a beer then! So we do!
Two of our passengers, Mr and Mrs Tracey, are in here and
they booked their table before leaving home which seeing how busy it is, is a
wise move.
Mind you waiting 40 minutes at the bar isn’t too arduous!
The only trouble is you have too much beer and you forget what you had for
dinner!!
We had a great meal and on the way home wanted to finish
the evening off with an Irish coffee but are wary after being stung about a
tenner for each drink last year. We find a bar close to the market square and
haggle the price down to €7 each for a splendid drink.
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