Summer - Came and Went

Last weekend was summer. (Short, I know, but that’s Belgium for you.) We had two days of sun in a row, so Andrew and I decided to make the best of it.

We got up early Saturday morning. We had been told the builders would arrive at 8:30 to work on the railing. They were in the building at 8:30, but they didn’t appear at our flat. At 10:30 we decided to give up and go do our errands. When we went downstairs, there was no sign of anyone. I’ve lost all hopes of seeing the railing. Ever.

After our errands were finished we decided to test out the new Prius with a bit of a road trip. Andrew loves the new car. We named her Vertigo (Vert (green en Francais)-i-go, for all you punsters). I am in love with the fabulous GPS system – a map addicts dream. She has a very posh British accent so we’ve named her Bridget. Not very original I know.

Vertigo is a very smart car. And quiet – it’s amazing really, how you can coast through the streets with the windows down and not hear any sound from the car at all. The electric motor really has made a huge impact on our gas mileage. So far, we have no complaints.

We decided to drive to the Belgian coast and enjoy the sun. I’ve slagged the Belgian coast before. When you’re used to the endless rocky shores of Atlantic Canada, and even the slightly more crowded dunes of the Netherlands, 69 kms of jam-packed coast just doesn’t seem like much of a getaway. But even though I still won’t be buying a holiday home at the Belgian seaside, we did have a pleasant day-trip.

One of the biggest downsides to going to the Belgian coast on a sunny day, is the insane traffic. We braved the crowds, to start at the top of the coast, near the Dutch boarder, all the way down to De Panne, at the French boarder. We stayed in the car, following the coast tram route (someday I’d like to take the actual tram, the longest in the world according to Wiki) until we reached De Panne where we parked and headed to the beach.

The architecture along the beach at De Panne, won’t be winning any awards soon. It’s your typical, European beachfront, concrete monstrosity. The beach wasn’t too crowded though and we found a bar with beach chairs, good wine and apple tart. We stayed until sunset and then Bridget led us home again.

In other news, a month from today my parents will be arriving in Belgium for their second Euro Trip. I have all of our hotels booked and I’m working on some activities. It’s a jam-packed month and I’m looking forward to hitting the road again. I’m especially excited about Malta, I am so hopeful for some sun to make up for this dreary summer.

Right now, I’m waiting impatiently for tomorrow’s adventure…