The next morning after a bit of a lay in we walked back into Bruges. It was another sunny morning. We went to a cafe for a waffle breakfast which was fantastic. By now it was about 10’' o’clock but not very much was open. We decided to take a canal boat tour. It was about 8 euros per person. We waited for about 15 mins chatting to some friendly Americans. There was a nail biting moment when the largest gentleman sat on our side of the boat and it felt as if we may topple out but the skipper did a good job of seating the remaining passengers by size to redistribute the weight load and balance the boat! Again this was a lovely way to see Bruges. The guide gave a very amusing commentary in both English and French. Some of the bridges were very low and our (bald) guide joked that this was where he lost his hair! It was lucky we went at that time because afterwards many boat firms that we passed said fully booked as there were quite a few coach parties.
All too soon our time in Bruges was ending. We would really like to come back here again and spend more time. Although Amsterdam and Bruges were similar with their architecture and canals we preferred Bruges. It has an olde world charm and felt unhurried but this may be because we went slightly out of season.
To exit the Aire you pay at a machine in the coach parking area which was quite easy to use and you could change and select your language to complete the transaction. As we had been at the aire for over 24 hours we were charged for two nights. We noticed that there is a drain and hose pipe here for the coaches to use but we did see a motorhome using this as well.
On the road for a short trip to Zeebrugge to catch the ferry home. Again with P&O ferries, this time on the Pride of Bruges. We arrived very early and were first in the queue but were soon joined by other early arrivals. When the ticket office opened we were then directed through to the waiting area. If you take your passport and boarding card you can leave this area and visit the terminal for a drink/ loo stop. We must look dodgy because we were once again checked, this time by G4 security. After another wait we drove onto the boat. This ship was older than the last one but was still lovely. It was clean and in good repair. Our room was really nice again and even more spacious than the last one. The bathroom was bigger and once again had nice White Company toiletries, fluffy towels and robes. We used the shower and it was unexpectedly very powerful!
We had paid for the meal deal for the return crossing as well so headed off to the buffet restaurant. There was an even better selection of dishes including Indonesian Cuisine. The staff were really friendly and attentive. Having eaten our fill we went to bed and slept really soundly.
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