We had a few days in Paris (essential for one to become completely Parisienised - ok i just made that word up), and then left for Belgium. We were headed for Brugge.
The night we stayed in a Formula 1 hotel. I must make note of these, for this was probably the 6th Formula 1 we had stayed in. Some would call them the cheapest, nastiest and worst hotels in the world, i call it good fun. Lets just run the drill. You go in, and there is no desk, you stick your credit card into a machine, and it issues you a room number and code. This is the great part. The code and number NEVER match. Like a am serious about this. We had to swap codes, and all sorts of things before we got the right one. Anyways, these places are almost staff-less. The rooms are mainly triples, that is a bunk with a double below it, and, ummmm, thats it. There is a TV, its in the top corner, way out of reach, and behind a screen, and the remote is bolted to the bed frame, again, some call that cheap, i call it: ingenuity! There is a basin and a mirror. Oh, and one more thing, Formula 1's (and i am someone privilaged enough to refer to this chain of hotels in a plural sence!) always have a particular character about them, again, some would call it smell, i call it character. All the smells are as bad as eachother, but refreshingly unique. For example, i can smell rotten eggs, and say, 'oh, wait a minute, F1 Bordeux!' or a septic tank and say 'ummm that one's F1 Nice', and so on. Ah the memories. One last thing, the toilets and showers are an 'experience', the toilets, im sure, have been ripped straight out of aeroplanes, honestly! They even come complete with little speakers to tell you when there is turbulence, haha, jokes! But the showers are great, again everything is staff-less, so when you leave the toilet or showers, the automatically clean themselves, but you try to trick them, by going in and leaving, only flushing and not actually doing the business, they become stubborn and dont clean, they outsmarted us on several occaisions! Smart loos! But the Formula 1, at least in Europe, because i am proud to say we have them in Australia as well, are something to be seen, and definately something to be experienced, if its only to spend hours trying to pry the remote from the bed as we did. But it was a cheap accomodation and we were all together, having a great time, so who am i to complain?
The next day we were in Brugge, this is a pretty little place. I loved it here so much. The colours, the unique architechtural style, the amazing upkeep on the buildings, it is all mindblowing. But Brugge had an air of familiarity about it, i felt like i had been here before. It wasnt until we passed the Mayor's House that i recognised it. I had sung here when i was 13. We had sung in that exact building and spent a night in Brugge. I remembered where we had bought chocolates, and the boat trip we went on, i even remembered the exact church the white madonna was in. That was spooky. But this has to be one of the prettiest places in the world, easily. It has a gorgeous river running through it, and all the buildings are so gradeous, but so intricate. I love it. I could have spent three weeks there alone! But unfortunately (ok not so unfortunately), there was more to see!
Paz