April 8
Well, for the 3rd day in a row we had a dry day!! Well, not exactly as it did sprinkle just a little yesterday but since it only lasted about a minute and we’re desperate for dry days we’re calling yesterday rain free.
After leaving Lille we headed to Dunkirk where we visited the museum honoring the rescue of over 330,000 British, French and Belgium soldiers during Operation Dynamo in May/June 1940. It was a relatively small museum but very nice. We didn’t take many pictures of the artifacts as they looked exactly like the artifacts, we took pictures of in the other 5 WWII museums we were in but there were some very interesting pictures.
After the museum we took a walk down to the beach. It was so foggy we could only see about a block in front of us. We didn’t make it down the the English Channel as we couldn’t see it. It could have been a block away or a mile; we had no idea.
Then we headed into Belgium and the town of Ostend. We parked in a 20-minute only spot and took a quick stroll down the boardwalk. We found a place for lunch but couldn’t find anyplace else to park the car, so we decided just to head to Brugges.
Brugges is a beautiful town on canals, and we decided to spend the night here. We had a wonderful lunch in a restaurant on the canal which is what we’ve been waiting to do for the last 5 1/2 weeks. Sitting in the sun at a sidewalk cafe. We’ve been in a couple of outdoor cafes, but we were usually sitting by a heater to stay warm. This afternoon was wonderful. It was in the 60s and sunny. We sat over lunch for quite some time, chatting with a couple of kids from England.
After lunch we checked into a small hotel, we found on the same street we found parking. It’s a cute little place and the room isn’t any more expensive than an Airbnb flat. Right now, we’re enjoying drinks in the main sitting room. Peter is coming up with a plan for tomorrow while Lynn works on the blog.
Once we got settled into the hotel, we went for a walk along the canal. We found a couple of windmills then went back to a cafe for a nightcap. It was a nice, relaxing day. Tomorrow we’re going to visit the Cathedral where there is a statue by Michelangelo before heading on to Gent and Waterloo. Not sure where we’ll spend the night, but we’ll come up with something.
