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Jim Mason · Guest

Hi all

Trip started off last Saturday without any problems on the A77
roadworks. The enforced speed limits were being observed without
exception and made a stress free journey to Symington where we enjoyed a
fantastic lunch at the Wheatsheaf - coincidentally 1 year to the day
since our last visit to PIK.

Turned off the Monkton roundabout just in time to see the new Barbados
flight pass overhead westbound over a very windswept Firth of Clyde.
My concentration on the sight almost meant I missed the `new` roundabout
between Monkton and PIK. Mrs M was less then impressed. She was even
less than impressed when we discovered I had opted for Car Park 5 and
had to wait on a courtesy bus back to the airport!

Still we arrived 3rd in the check-in queue which opened 2 1/2 hours
before take off and in the desirable first 69 :-)

Bumped into my financial advisor who was flying off to see the progress
of his villa on the Murcia flight. His disguise that included a Falkirk
sweat shirt and baseball cap certainly fooled me :-)

Took off 15 minutes early and we were delighted to once again achieve a
wing exit seat. Flight uneventful except for the appalling English
spoken by the senior attendant. Her safety instructions were far more
intelligible in French than they were in English.

The 737-800 flight was approx 75% full.

Arrived at CRL a full 1/2 hour ahead of schedule and the tiny airport
size and efficient baggage handling meant we were very soon ready to
depart to Brussels. This was to prove a disappointment as the bus to
Brussels still left at the same time and left us hanging waiting. We
left as per schedule for Brussels and the bus cost ¤10.50 each meaning
our total flight and transfer costs were ¤133 for two (including taxis
from Brussels Midi to our hotel).

Our hotel was situated next to the Gare de Nord which is in the new
business area. We stayed at the

http://www.presidenthotels.be/wtc/en/welcome.htm

which is somewhat less glamorous than it looks. It claims to be a 4 star
hotel but was nowhere near it. It was clean and functional but basic and
out of the way. Mapless we explored shortly after we arrived and were
quickly aware we weren't in the most salubrious area of town but we
stumbled across a most excellent cafe and the outlook improved a bit!

http://www.lecorbeau.be/

Sadly our geographic sense hadn't found us somewhere we fancied eating.
Well actually it did but the http://www.metropolehotel.be/ looked a
little too grande for our budget but if only we had looked closer into
the excellent Cafe Metropole would have meant avoiding Pizza Hut!

Sunday proved to more illuminating re Brussels. You could be in Glasgow
or Edinburgh when you walk about the city. Also on a march Sunday two
steps away from the tourists traps - Brussels is shut. We did find the
excellent Cirio http://realbeer.com/nmvbp/cirio.htm but sadly ended up
in http://www.oreillys.com/Brussells/brussellswelcomepage.htm watching
football - hardly the Belgium experience!

Sunday night was no better (we were trying to experience the local side
of Brussels - not the obvious tourist side) and ended up eating through
desperation at the Brussels Gill beneath the Sheraton Hotel - think
Berni Inns and you will get the picture.

Monday we went to Bruges by train from the Gare de Nord Station. ¤22.50
each return and an excellent 1 hour trip to a stunning city. The whole
experience is much more in line with what I expected from Belgium and we
return soon - probably via Rosyth.

Notable places for food and drink were http://www.brugsbeertje.be/

http://www.hotelerasmus.com/default.asp?lang=eng

Schare, 2 Hooistraat,

Staminee De Garre -
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beerfly/user_reviews/1235/

A very enjoyable city.

Sunday in Brussels was much more enjoyable - things were open!

Lunch in Cirio's and several beers in various bars of which Mort Subite
was the most traditional

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beerfly/user_reviews/2289/

We finished of with a mussels and fries in a restaurant in the St
Catherines area whose name escapes me but finished off a wonderful day.

On Wednesday we arrived at the Gare de Midi to catch the bus to CRL. We
had 1/2 an hour to spare and had a wander round the station. What a
place! This railway station is what I would love EDI, GLA to PIK to be!
You could spend all day in here just shopping and visiting the bars
without ever considering commuting.

Uneventful trip back to CRL except it was 18C outside and the bus driver
didn't feel it necessary to put on fans never mind air conditioning.

Flight left on time and arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Once again
we had wing exit seats - much easier this time as the flight only had
around 70 pax.

Jim

Jim Mason · Guest

Jim Mason · Guest

In article <d1khl3$4jr$1 (AT) sparta (DOT) btinternet.com>, "John Dundas"
<j.m.dundas(takethisout)@btinternet.com> says...

Clive Braham · Guest

"Jim Mason" <jim.mason (AT) spamtrappedukonline (DOT) co.uk> wrote

Iain · Guest

"Clive Braham" <clive (AT) braham5 (DOT) freeserve.co.uk> wrote

bill · Guest

Jim Mason wrote:

bill · Guest

John Dundas wrote:

Jim Mason · Guest

In article <hwy%d.96782$ug2.18905 (AT) fe2 (DOT) news.blueyonder.co.uk>,
[email]boing (AT) boing (DOT) com[/email] says...

bill · Guest

Jim Mason wrote: