Waffling about Belgium

Belgium is a funny sort of place. Home of the European parliament, it's famous for simultaneously being gorgeous and captivating (Bruges) yet maintains a solid reputation as being dull, grey and bureaucratic (Brussels). For a Eurostar weekend getaway package with our fellow Aussies-in-London Beth and Dan, we thought we'd check out both towns and draw our own conclusions.

Sweeping out of the fabulous St. Pancras on Saturday morning, we were in central Brussels before we knew it. I suspect it took longer to get our bearings and actually walk to our hotel (the Hotel Metropole - well-located, massive rooms, with a charming faded grandeur befitting its way-too-cheap-to-be-five-stars price tag).

We took a turn around the centre of town, taking in the innumerable chocolate shops and the surprisingly attractive Grand'Place - here's Beth in front of her namesake choccy shop, the aforementioned square, and a mussel's-eye view of our lunch, taken in the rather cute Rue des Bouchers district (which our guide-book had recommended against), where restaurateurs vie to undersell each other for your business.

No trip to Brussels can (apparently) be complete without a visit to the Mannekin-Pis, the fountain of the "pissing-boy" which is supposed to perfectly capture the "irreverent and whimsical nature of the Bruxellois". Yeah whatever. It's a huge tourist-puller (try finding a restaurant or shop nearby that doesn't have a urinating toddler on the front of it) - but there are some hidden gems in the streets of Brussels - like the random bits of Tintin-esque graffiti-art that adorn the ends of some buildings:
Plenty of walking and a three-course lunch conspired against us on the Saturday afternoon though, and we all retired to "quiet time" in our rooms for a while, before heading out for a six (!) course dinner. These Belgians love to eat well, and it's important to try and get a feel for the culture, after all!

The following day we dragged our distended stomachs off to Bruges (via a waffle-shop, naturally) - and discovered that our Eurostar tickets included free train travel to/from any destination in Belgium! Bonus! We left the big city behind and headed into the lush, green, and incredibly flat Belgian countryside, arriving in Bruges just in time for lunch! Yes, this was definitely becoming a Flanders-food-fest, and none of us minded one bit. Bec even got into (quite a lot of) Belgian beer!

We liked Bruges a lot - a very attractive and historic little town, perhaps best observed from a canal boat - but before we knew it, it was time to go. We just had time to make some strategic "souvenir" purchases at one of the myriad chocolate shops before heading back to Brussels and then London. All in all, a sweet weekend!

The Daddy of all Visits

We've recently been playing host to Johnny's Dad, who has been flitting around Europe for a month or so. He spent most of his time in Munich, and came back raving about it. We felt we had to show him how good London can be, but without the regulation tourist-traps which he's done many times before. So on his last day in Europe, we gave him a tour of some of our favourite "secret" London spots - this is actually a tour we would recommend to anyone coming to London:

Starting from Trafalgar Square, we ambled through St. James's Park, feeding the waterfowl and laughing at the squirrels.

Pausing to watch a brass band play, we continued up past the Queen's House and passing the other grand houses overlooking Green Park, before Tube-ing our way down to Borough Market, home to tons of fantastic gourmet food. Unfortunately, we'd lingered over the squirrels for too long, and the market was packing up, but we still got some coffee and cake at one of London's best coffee-houses, Monmouth's. Really good coffee is still a bit rare in the UK, but Monmouth import their own beans and know how to make a good strong latte. Dad had been flagging a little with all the walking and far less than his usual 6-cups-a-day, but his caffeine levels were soon fully restored!

From Borough Market we wended our way to a pub in Southwark, sinking a pint and watching some cricket before walking over Tower Bridge, and then it was time to get Dad back to Paddington and the Heathrow Express.

It was great to show Dad a side of London he hadn't seen, and we must have done alright, because now he's threatening to come back in Summer 2009! And of course, we'll be delighted to have him. Now, better start planning next year's Secret London tour...

Feeling The Fratellis

We've been enjoying the fantastic London music scene lately. A Summer Series of concerts was held at the lovely Somerset House, including two of our fave British bands, The Feeling and The Fratellis. The courtyard, used in Winter for ice skating, provided a wonderfully intimate and attractive setting.



Both bands put on a fantastic show. They're quite different in both style and approach, which was also reflected in the crowds they attract. One is all about rocking out, playing loud and hard with very little chit chat in between songs. The other is much more chilled out and mellow, engaging with the crowd while pumping out their unique brand of harmonious and oh-so-catchy pop rock. See if you can tell which is which...

The Fratellis:

The Feeling:

Our verdict: It's gotta be The Feeling, they create an amazing atmosphere and really get the crowd feeling the love (you almost want to turn and hug your neighbour at the end! But you don't of course, this is London after all). They've got so many recognisable hits - if you live in England that is - and when they throw in covers of 80's classics "Take on Me" and "Video Killed the Radio Star", the sing-a-long can be heard in France, without a doubt.

As for The Fratellis, well nothing beats live music, but a little personality wouldn't go astray. You could get almost the same experience by inviting a few friends round and putting the CD on at high volume, with the added bonus of not having strangers jumping on your feet and thrusting their elbows in your face.

Toy Time: Specialized Langster

After a couple of weeks of taking the Underground to work, I'd had enough. The weather has been unfeasibly warm (anyone would think it was summer!), making it like an oven in the carriages, and tourists (pah! ;-) were everywhere. The entrance to Oxford Circus Tube was starting to resemble the inlet to a meat-grinder - I guess the full trains coming out the other side were the sausages.

As a bike-fan from way back, it seemed to me that a bicycle was the answer. Google Maps confirmed it by telling me it was 5.3km to work and that the biggest change in elevation would be the three steps down from our front door. After a few days of visiting bike shops, talking to colleagues and trawling t'Internet, I found exactly what I was looking for on good-old eBay:
The Specialized Langster in SR-71 Black. Eagle-eyed readers will note there's just one big cog at the front and one little sprocket at the back, rather than the usual proliferation. Yep, this is a one-speeder, and that means all the extra mechanisms, cables and levers can be left off, saving a heap of weight. And I'm sure any Tools reading this will confirm that one Sprocket is all you need!

To use the trusty car analogy, if a mountain bike is like a 4WD, and a road bike is a sports car, then this bike like is a Formula One car - absolutely everything non-essential is stripped away in the name of performance. Over here this machine sells for £400 new - with no pedals - but I found the deal of the year on eBay. I got the bike, as new - ridden 5 times for a total of less than 50km, plus clip-in pedals, the matching shoes (in my size), helmet (in my size), windproof jacket (in my size) and a bike computer (aka speedometer) - for £250. We've speculated that perhaps the previous owner bought all this gear while going out with a bike-mad girl, and just wanted to be rid of it when the relationship ended? Who knows - but one thing is for certain, I scored a sweet deal!

So what's it like commuting on the mean streets of London Town? Well, I was expecting the worst. Back in Australia I had given up on using the roads to bike-commute after a halfwit in a ute ran me off Burwood Road and I brought myself to a halt using my face. My Melbourne experience taught me that peak-hour traffic can be aggressive, unpredictable and intolerant - so logically London should be 3 times worse, right?

Wrong. I couldn't believe I was riding in one of the world's biggest cities! Perhaps because of the Congestion Charge, perhaps because driving in Central London is best left to professionals, the roads are quiet, and the drivers observant, courteous and patient. Taxis move across to let you slide to the front at traffic lights. Bus drivers flash their lights to let you merge in. And people understand that there's no point roaring past a bike when they'll be passed back at the traffic lights 100m down the road. It's a weird feeling trundling along at 15 miles an hour while an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish purrs quietly behind you, waiting patiently and leaving plenty of space!

So I'm hooked. Each day I ride in I save £4 in transport costs - this bike will pay for itself in no time. It takes 20 minutes door-to-door, plus 5 minutes of freshening up when I get there; so I can leave for work 10 minutes later than I did before. I'm getting good exercise, but it's actually less sweaty than taking the Tube on a warm day. The only question now is, can I bring it back to Melbourne?