Bruges Episode 2: Canal boat ride

Like I mentioned in Episode 1, we went on a canal boat ride. This post will be all about that.

Just behind Burg square was a departure point to take a boat ride along the canals.

We're off!
(We didn't get on the first boat after queueing up, but we were the first in line to get into the second)

buildings on the canalside

There was actually a dog sleeping in that open window...but I missed catching it on camera :/ The dog is probably there quite often, because the guide mentioned it.

ducks (and that's a nice door too :P )

This is just after going under the bridge from which I took this photo (from Bruges Episode 1, linked at the beginning of the post), recognise the buildings?

This is where we did a U-turn at the end of the canal.

some building beside the canal

flea market (we went there later)

another place to take boat rides

that's a curiosity shop (this photo was taken later, from the other side of the canal)

buildings under renovation (again!)
This is the Church of our Lady, which houses Michaelangelo's Madonna. Unfortunately we only had a partial guide of Bruges (lousy hostel gave us a lousy guide) so we didn't know it at that time.

I don't know what this is

lots of ducks and swans here

some doorway

The boat took us back to where we left from. Where we went after that will be for the next episode!

Superchook is dead

Do you remember Superchook? If you are around my age or older, I mean. It is so old that I can't find a single image of it online.

If you don't remember it, Superchook was KFC's mascot before Chicky. (Is Chicky still its mascot?) I remember when Chicky started...uh, its "career" with KFC, I was wondering, "Have they forgotten that they had Superchook?" (I never liked Chicky because it had usurped Superchook's rightful place :P )

We had a Superchook soft toy, one wearing a KFC shirt. When I got back to Kuantan recently, I found out that it was gone. However, it left behind an inheritance. Its shirt. The only problem is, who is worthy to accept this priceless relic?

There is only ONE way to decide!





Well, what do you think?

Edit: I found some pictures of Superchook after all!

Bruges Episode 1: Burg

Bruges...lovely Bruges. My favourite town in Belgium :) It was only unfortunate that I didn't know about it earlier, and had to fork out a load more euros to take the Thalys to Brussels (it's cheaper to take the train from Paris to Bruges, then the train around Belgium!)

We reached Bruges rather late at night, since the others weren't on holiday like me (I had finished my internship by this time) and they could only leave on Friday night. While waiting for the night bus to take us to our hostel, we took photos outside the train station.

Those four coloured bars seem to be a Belgium thing. I saw it again outside the train stations in Antwerp and in Ghent.

some weird stone seats outside the station...I wonder whether anyone ever sits there.

Our hostel takes up a whole stretch of buildings along one side of the road. The first building here is where we stayed, but the check-in building was several doors down.

a couple of interesting balconies on the way to town

the view from a bridge we crossed to get to town

the other side of the bridge (we took the boat ride later and passed this spot as well)

we arrived on the Burg square

a panorama view (or should I say "cut-paste end-to-end view" :P )

the town hall

the Governor's residence, maybe? (see next photo)

a national monument nicknamed "the Governor's carwash" because it's close to the Governor's residence

what you were wondering :P (click for larger version)

Chapel of the Holy Blood

inside
A lot of people walked up there to touch the vial which is supposed to contain Christ’s blood.

According to our brochure, in the basement of the Crowne Plaza hotel, we can find the ruins of the St. Donatian's Church. (It's just beside Burg square) So we went down to the basement.

I wonder whether this sign was put there by the hotel management...it looks kinda new.

Since this is episode 1, you can be sure that there will be episode 2...and there will be more than that! ;)

A short discovery of Lille

I wrote about my trip to Brussels earlier. My next trip to Belgium was several months later, and this time I went to a few different towns in the country.

But before reaching Belgium (Bruges actually, which was my first destination in the country for this trip), I had a two-hour wait in Lille, a town in northern France. So I walked around a little, snapping photos as I went along.

gare de Lille-Flandres (the train station I arrived in; there's another called Lille-Europe not far away)

the small square straight down the road from the train station (Place du Théâtre)

both sides of the square

the opera

chambre de commerce (chamber of commerce)

la vieille bourse (the old commercial exchange)

Just behind the bourse, there is a bigger square (Place du Général-de-Gaulle)

See the vieille bourse on the right? And that tower is the chamber of commerce.

that's the bourse and the building in the previous picture

the side of the square opposite the bourse (you can see a part of the white building on the left)

a better view of the statue in the centre of the square

From Lille, I took the train with three other friends to Bruges (they took a different train to Lille). That will be the next travel post. :)

I want to upload photos!

For some reason I have been unable to upload photos since yesterday. When I try, I get "internal errors".

Which means that you'll have to wait a little longer for more travel posts :/

Does anyone know anything about this problem??