Hello to everyone. How are you all? We have been so busy here at Boho HQ. Lots of planning, plotting and discussing. Kelly C here bringing you today’s post. I am taking the afternoon off today to run a few errands and treat my daughter to her favourite meal after she got a superb school report yesterday. I am very much looking forward to putting my feet up for a few hours. Before I head off to enjoy my lovely afternoon I want to share these fantastic images with you from Rebecca Douglas Photography. This is a three-part series from Rebecca and today we are sharing her first instalment with her Europe-Brugge/Brussels images.

Europe Part 1 – Brugge

I’ll pass you over to Rebecca…….

We recently bought our first house in Ashford and we are a short stroll to the train station which is Ashford International and the Eurostar happens to make stops there. So, for ease of connections and travels we wanted to try out travelling from there. Since then I have just moved to my first business suite and can see and hear the Eurostar zipping through and I think of these trips each time I hear it!

We found out that you can use your Eurostar tickets for any train in Belgium which we thought was wonderful, just book to Brussels Midi/Zuid! Our train left at 7.28 and we sat back and relaxed. It was lovely to have breakfast and coffee on the train, read up on the guide book and before we knew it we’d arrived in Brussels. Our train to Brugge was only a 15 minute wait in the glorious sun and we loved looking at the fields springing to life and all of the quirky houses.
When we arrived in Brugge, we took a gentle stroll through Minnewaterpark alongside the river. We ambled along enjoying the still spring day, looking at the birds, inhaling the scent of the spring blooms and enjoyed the warmth from holding each others hands. When we got into Brugge we spotted two swans that formed a loving heart on the river, which was super cute! We grabbed a cone of traditional Belgian Chips and Mayo before heading up the Belfrey right in the centre of town. It is 83 metres tall and it was so worth the climb up ever diminishing stair cases! You can see the working bells inside and get stunning panoramic views across the city. We spied our hotel, the Hotel Dukes Palace , from up there and that made it easy to find it later!

After the decent from the Belfrey, we decided it was time to treat ourselves to a much anticipated Belgian Waffle and we were in a sensory heaven with cherry, cream and chocolate shavings being my topping of choice. Throughout our stay, I was fascinated by the textures, the architecture, the quirky doors and windows and just loved seeing how different each city looked. The hotel was gorgeous and I loved the windows into the bathroom as it bought so much light through the room. After an early start and a day of walking, we had a nap and the popped out for a few beers and dinner.
On our second day, we treated ourselves to a bit of pampering with a lazy get up, a massage and time in the spa. We had to be back for a 16.56 train so we got into Brussels quite early and enjoyed a nice meal and a few beers in one of the restaurants opposite the train station. Then it was back to refuel our bags, sleep and grab the train to Paris the next morning. I’ve yet to look at all of the photos yet, so for now, here’s a few from Brugge.