With that piece of business taken care of we went to the car, got in
and drove around for a bit. Driving in Bruges is difficult. All the streets
are narrow, one way, and many closed to vehicular traffic. We decided that
we would see more walking so we found another legal spot (please, God) and
went to the park on the canal that surrounds the city, hung out for a bit
then walked around some more. This is something you could do all day for
several days. Every corner you turn has some new surprise. Bruges is a very
scenic town. But after a while the feet begin to protest and we headed back
to the old Seat.

     I thought we were on the wrong street as all the cars were gone. All
except ours that is. I spotted a sign that hadn't been there before, I
swear. It said "No parking except for local residents" or "No parking
between 10:00 and 17:00" or something, I don't know, it was in Dutch.
Whatever it said it was enough to scare away everyone else, so we left also.
Our streak was still alive, no tows and no tickets.

     Figured we'd drive to Charlie Rockets and drop off our stuff and plan
the afternoon. After several attempts to get there driving through town and
being thwarted at every turn, it seemed rational to leave town, drive around
the outer ring just outside the canal and reenter the town on the road that
the hostel was on. This almost got us hit by a bus. It seems that there are
bus lanes, bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, each with their own traffic
signals, as well as the ones for cars, of course. I think that I'm a pretty
good driver (who doesn't) but it would take me a little longer than a couple
of weeks to get the hang of it all. Anyway the bus missed us and we survived
to tell our tale today. Actually, the bus wasn't that bad, try getting
chewed out in Dutch for stopping in a bike lane. These "cycle trash" can get
very irate, in Germany as well. Pedal power rules, man! Get in my way and
I'll chew your ear off.

     We found the proper bridge, crossed it and parked just down the street
from the bar/hostel. It was a pay spot. They have these machines on posts
every so often and you put your money in and the machine prints a receipt
with a time on it that you are good until. You put the receipt on your dash
and that's it. Until it expires. We took our stuff up to our room and
crashed for a couple of hours. Got up, paid for a couple of more hours
parking and started walking again. It was a little early but we stopped for
dinner at a small restaurant, the Aquarel, I think because the waitress was
so good looking. Turned out she was married to the chef anyhow. While we
were waiting for our meals Tony used the phone to call ahead and try to
secure tours of the remaining Trappist joints. The meal was great, shrimp
salad (me), goulash (Zeke), and fish stew (Tony), and it cost just slightly
more that our breakfast.

     A little more walking and we arrived at the Beers of Bruges. On the way
we passed a lady sitting at a table outside of a lace shop. She was giving a
demonstration of lace making. We had passed her hours ago on our morning
walk. Hours later we would pass her again. She was working on a piece about
two inches wide. Each string of the lace was tied to a metal weight that she
would weave in and out to form the particular pattern she wanted. After
working on it most of the day she had completed about seven inches in
length. Talk about patience. Oh yeah, beer.

     The Beers of Bruges is a small place, classical music playing on the CD
system, dark, comfy. They have a beer menu listing the Belgian beers by
province. We sat and had a few. We tried Bush, the strongest beer in
Belgium, it had a golden amber color and a nice balance of malt and hop. A
strawberry lambic from Chapeau, the nice people who also bring you lemon
lambic and banana, mmmm. Then Zeke got a Piraat, Tony a Saison, and I tried
the Kwak. I had to try something that comes in the most outrageous glass in
Belgium. It's like a yard of beer glass only about 18" in a wooden holder. I
kept taking the glass out of the holder, drinking and putting it back until
an older fellow in the place showed me to pick up the holder and drink it
from there. Duuuhh. Maybe beer does kill brain cells. Feel good though. So
we hung there for several hours. I just wish this place was my corner tappy,
it kinda felt like home, even if everybody didn't know my name.

     Eventually we left, found another place, drank some more, ate mussels,
not bad, and meandered back to Charlie Rockets. Yea Jim, I crashed and Zeke
and Tony went out looking for more. Ah, youth why have you left me. Since I
can't stop time I guess I'll just have to keep getting older. Beats the
alternative. Think I'll kill a few more brain cells.

Next time - Poperinge and Westvleteren via Zeebrugge

Pictures -  A square, street on a canal