The gags just don't stop coming do they?

Our second day started with a good breakfast at the tea room opposite the hotel and I was really jealous of Mrs F's Farmer's Ommelette, but she took pity and gave me a mouthfull to try and it was really lovely. There was also a gorgeouis little waitress for Old Nick to flirt with too.

Fortified we ventured out on the streets and headed towards the canal for a boat trip, which was a pleasant way to spend the morning enjoying a waterside view of some of Bruges's magnificent architecture all for six and a half Euros per person.

Back on dry land we ventured into the centre of Bruges and dropped into the Basilica of the Sacred Blood, a very interesting church that reputably has a phial of Christ's blood in a reliquary that believers can touch under the watchful eye of a priest who looks not unlike Adam Hart-Davis.

And on to lunch at De Vier Winden just off the central Square. Off the set menu I chose the Smoked Salmon toast which came in a very generous portion and was very tasty, followed by a steak which to be honest was a bit tough and could have done with a knob of garlic butter to moisten it. What with only two beers, a diet coke and a couple of Coffees I thought it was a bit pricy at 92 Euros for all three of us and they had the nerve to charge us two Euro for a tiny pot of mayonaise too.

It was only then when Old Nick picked up his beer glass that I noticed he had started to shrink to Dennis Waterman proportions

The afternoon was spent exploring more of Bruges architectural marvels including the Church of Our Lady which had some interestingly decorated medieval sarcophagi and the tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary, the Cathedral of San Salvatore and more chocolate shops and bars.

In the evening it was back to the pub of 300 beers where I had a bottle of Kwac a strong ale that comes in a special glass with a rounded bottom so you also get a wooden stand to keep it upright. Legend has it that the glass was designed to make sure that coachmen didn't spend too much time hanging around in boozers, not sure that making them drink it down in one was a good idea though it was about 9% proof.

Then on to the Gran Kaffee de Passage for yey another plate of Flemish stew for me and lamb chops for Mrs F and Old Nick. We didn't make the mistake of having a starter this time so the bill only came to 62 Euros with a bottle of rose and we still left well stuffed.

Popped back into t'Brugs Beerje for a nightcap wher I enjoyed this little number

named after perhaps the second most famous fictional Belgian after Tin Tin, and then on to bed before our journey home on Sunday

Passed the back of the British Museum on my way into work today and it was rammed with black Mercs and Beamers with fat blokes wearing cheap suits in the driving seats.

Wonder what's going on there?

My theory is that Ernst Stavro Blofeld is holding a Bond villain teamm building day, complete with exercises like building an underground missile silo from office furniture and taking over the world with just a laser pointer and Topic Bar.

Setting off early on Friday morning we arrived at the swanky new Eurostar terminal at St Pancras. Very pleasant check in, ticket through the gates, machine that goes ping manned by polite staff with hardly any waiting, no taking your shoes off or pissing around with stupid bags for liquids, then a cursory nod from a French copper on passports, thats it, you are in, way way better than paranoid city airports.
Once you are inside there are places to get coffee, clean free loos and a couple of shops, but the shops and coffee bars do get very busy so if you want a newspaper or a mag I'd get one before checking in.

Onto the train and again much nicer than an aircraft, comfy roomy seats and if you are sitting in an aisle seat you don't get constantly rammed in the shoulder by hostesses with trolleys full of tat. Two hours later we were in Brussels. Eurostar tickets for Brussels (I think we paid £29 each way per person) can be used for any station in Belgium so after a chat with a very nice youung man at information we were on the train to Bruges which took about an hour.

Leaving Bruges Station it was about ten minutes to our hotel, the Academie. We shared a quite large room with an en suite bathroom and I thought it was quite good value at about £150 for the three of us. Dropping off our bags it was time to hit the town so off we went for lunch at a place called the t'Minnewater where I enjoyed a hearty Flemish beef stew with Frites, Mrs F and Old Nick had a plate of Waterzooie (Chicken in a creamy sauce) and a couple of Bruges Beers not bad value for about 60 Euros.

Feeling quite stuffed we wandered up the street where Spudsey was delighted to run into an old mate

"Oi Gummidge you old bastard" he bellowed "Still shagging that Aunt Sally bird?"

"No" the depressed scarecrow replied "Cos I lost my fucking head didn't I"

Having picked ourselves up from the gutter we ascertained that Worzel was just keeping watch on the Goodies bike while Tim Brooke Taylor and Graham Garden were shopping for some new cycle clips and a can of WD40

"Since Bill Oddie found fame as a TV naturalist they only need seats for two, but if I make sure no one nicks the bike, they are going to take me on as a prospect." he continued.

Moving swiftly on it was time for Mrs F to get some chocolate so we went into the De Proverie tea room where she enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate, Old Nick had an Irish coffee and I had a Japanese tea all accompanied with some Belgium chocs. The tea room serves as a reminder that Belgium gave the world some of the greatest surrealist painters with its fine selection of portraits of people with dog's heads.

Strolling further up Katelijnstraat and enjoying the architecture Old Nick was delighted to find Jerry's Cigar Bar where he could have a puff and a drink without having to go out in the street. after that it was time for another drink so on we went to 't Brugs Beerje a pub where they have 300 beers and the logoed glasses to go with them, I enjoyed a Piraate (steady on lads) and a Nostradamus and contemplated whether it would be fun to make up names for beers to see if the barman would go off and search for them.

From there on to dinner. After wandering around for a bit in the rain we eventually found the Gran Kaffee de Passage. A wonderfully dark, candle lit restaurant who's smell of cooking was absolutely mouth watering. Last time we were in Bruges it was packed out, but we were early so we had no trouble getting a table this time. We enjoyed a massive feed of Chef's pie (a cheese flan with bacon cream and veg) for me and pate for Old Nick and Mrs F and an even larger portion of Flemish beef stew and frites all round. It was bloody delicious and with wine and beer bloody cheap at 92 Euros for the lot of us. The starter was so massive it would have done as a main course!

So nothing for it but back to 't Brugs Beerje where I had a passion fruit beer for a nightcap and back to the hotel for bed.