A Flemish Finish

Our penultimate night in Europe was spent in the small city of Leuven, about 20 miles east of Brussels. It's a compact city that has two main claims to fame. Firstly it's the home of the Stella Artois brewery and secondly it has one of the oldest universities in Europe. It has a large student population, who account for about half the residents at any one time. Our hotel was located near a canal just a few minutes walk from the historic centre, dominated by the 15th century town hall.

Leuven Town Hall

With an afternoon and a morning to explore we set off on foot shortly after arriving. From the town hall we walked through the Oude Markt, lined with bars all advertising special offers.

The Oude Markt, Leuven

Leuven is not only home to Stella Artois but also several other Belgian beers. Beer is important here. Resisting these temptations (for now) we eventually found ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of the city walking through the tranquil cobble lined paths of Groot Begijnhof van Leuven. A beguinage was a religious community for women. This one was founded in the 13th century and has about one hundred homes. It's now part of the university and provides accomodation for students. It still retains an atmosphere of calm and the shaded streets gave some respite from the afternoon sun, as did a bar we found walking back to the centre.

Groot Begijnhof

Needing a drink we opted for a traditional bar, ordered a beer and started chatting to the friendly Chinese bar maid who was working there. She wasn't rushed off her feet so had a chance to sit outside with us and talk, being interested in our travels and wanting to know which Belgian cities we'd visited and which we liked best. (For the record, it's Antwerp, visited in 2024).

Refreshments time

Refreshed we wandered back to our hotel for a bit of a rest and then found somewhere to eat. 

The next morning, before leaving Leuven we had breakfast in a small local cafe just up the road from our hotel, mixing with people on their way to work and other locals. A twenty minute walk away from the centre, passing some of Leuven's street art, brought us to the entrance to the Botanical Gardens. Its Belgiums oldest botanical garden which was orginally created in 1738 to grow medicinal plants for students at the university. Its owned by the university and has a diverse plant collection that still includes medicinal plants. Its also free to enter. Wisteria was still in bloom and we stood for 10 minutes watching a heron on a pond.

On one side of the gardens a man was singing with arms spread out in what sounded like Dutch. It wasn't quiet - he was singing something (I guess) from an opera at full volume.

Around the gardens are statues as well as neat lawns and lots of trees. 

A hothouse provides space for various tropical plants. As we walked along the path we almost trod on a turtle - and then found a whole lot more just around the corner. A pond of giant lilies was inside, with some in full bloom. It was a beautiful space and very calming - although you have to keep an eye out for escaping turtles.

Hot houses at Leuven Botanical Gardens

A turtle making a bid for freedom

We made our way back to the hotel and collected the car having enjoyed our brief time in Leuven. I set off to drive north to our last hotel of the trip, located in the seaside town of De Haan.

We arrived shortly before mid day and parked the car close to the promenade which was spotlessly clean. White beach huts were located below the sea wall on the beach, statues were placed at periodic intervals. whilst expensive apartments faced out to sea. 

The seafront at De Haan

De Haan is a prosperous seaside town, with some lovely residential homes and in the centre some equally lovely hotels.

One of De Haan's elegant hotels

What De Haan doesn't have is affordable places to have a sandwich or light lunch - as we were soon to find out. We walked along the seafront and then headed into the town centre looking for a bakery or cafe. Despite it being a sunny June day nothing was open. There were restaurants serving sit down meals but that wasn't what we were looking for. We spotted a park cafe and thought that might be a better prospect. Fortunately I scanned a QR code to see the menu before we walked in. A croque monsieur (essentially a toasted sandwich) was priced at €18.00! I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for good quality food but draw the line at paying £15 for a toasted sandwich. We eventiually found an upmarket supermarket and bought a couple of filled wraps a couple of drinks and a bag of crisp which set us back €12. Even this experience wasn't entirely pleasant. Using the self check out, I had just completed the payment and took off my rucksack and opened it to pack away our purchases when a security guard rudely asked to inspect the contents. I'm not sure De Haan understands how to make visitors feel welcome and valued. 

Free from any further unpleasant interactions we headed to the seafront again and ate our sandwiches. Afterwards we treated ourselves to some local cuisine....a waffle, topped with hot chocoale sauce. Freshly made, they were warm, chewy and delicious. 

Waffle time....

We then had another stroll to rid ourselves of some calories before making our way to our hotel which was a few minutes drive away in the countryside. The welcome here was a complete contrast - the receptionist was friendly and helpful. 

We were situated opposite a nature reserve full of trees and criss-crossed by hiking and cycle paths. Beyond this was a road and steps that led up the high dunes and down to the beach. After settling in we took a walk through the reserve and over the dunes to see the sea gain before having dinner in the hotel restaurant. I had a traditional belgian beef stew - cooked in beer. It was very tasty.

The beach outside De Haan

The next day was our last of the trip. I'd booked a late afternoon crossing so we had plenty of time to get to Calais for our return to England. As I'd be sitting down for a lot of the day we had another walk to the beach after breakfast and, part way along, spotted a solitary seal by the shoreline. 

A seal waving us goodbye...

We then drove to Calais but instead of going straight to a hypermarket or the shuttle check in I headed to Calais Plage in search of a dragon. 

The previous evening I'd been researching what we might do before it was time to check in for the return crossing. I came across a reference to a giant, mobile dragon that was to be found at Calais on the beach. It seemed curious enough to want to find out more.

We have never visited Calais before, so the beach was a pleasant surprise. The beach front was redeveloped about five years ago and the beach itself is long and sandy. At one end a harbour wall and breakwater separates the long beach from the port.

Calais Plage

Parking is free and we were soon walking along the wide promenade. It didn't take long to spot the dragon. It's a giant animatronic version, which breathless 'smoke' and, for a fee, you can ride on it.

Here be dragons...

Were were content to watch and then stroll along soaking up the sun's rays. The bars and cafes are not that upmarket but we found one serving coffees and then later another one serving lunches. We only wanted something light. I thought am omelette might suffice. Someone needs to talk to the business about portion size and profits. I reckon they must have used half a dozen eggs in my omelette, which came accompanied by a large salad and a large helping of fries.

We drove on to the hypermarket, walking round with post food sluggishness, picking up some wines and beers to bring home, but sadly no French cheeses as they are currently banned from entering the UK due to foot and mouth restrictions - unless you are a food importer with all the necessary paperwork. 

Our long trip had finally ended, with a large store of memories to take home with us, and at least a thousand photos to sort through. It had been fun.

This was the first time I'd driven in Italy and the first time I'd taken a long trip in an electric car. I must confess before setting off I had some concerns about the practicalities of charging but in the end everything worked out just fine. European roads are much better maintained on the whole than UK roads, the EV charging infrastructure has expanded and there are now plenty of options for re4charging with a good mix of rapid and slow chargers. Italian drivers are stereotypically unpredicatable. I quickly learnt two things:

1. No-one sticks to the speed limits. I did!

2. Indicators may be an option extra on Italian registered cars....no-one uses them!

As long as you give yourself time and space driving in Italy is actually no worse than anywhere else. The EV handled mountain roads and hairpin bends with ease. A combination of instant power, precise steering and regenerative braking made the twists and turns a far more relaxing driving experience when compared to the constant changes needed in a manual petrol or diesel car. Plus the intelligent cruise control meant on motorways I could drive without touching the pedals. The car maintains a set speed, slows down and speeds up without the need for any human intervention. Its a bit unnerving at first and not fully autonomous driving but it certainly makes a long drive less tiring.

So to the future. Mrs B always wants to know if my thirst for travel has been sated and whether or not this will be our last big trip. I know there will come a day when age and/or health may mean I'll have to forgo the pleasures of planning and then experiencing these adventures but for now my mind is starting the slow process of mulling over possible future travels...who knows what will come next?