To the Land of Chocolate and Windmills: Belgium

The decision to go to Belgium was largely one of "well, why not?" We wanted to do something nice for ourselves for our one-year wedding anniversary and being that I had never been on a cruise before, I thought this sounded very new and different.
I had always liked the idea of cruises and had definitely heard about my share of cruises from my co-workers, so I wanted to sample the pie as well and see what it was like.

Choosing the cruise was very easy. We picked P&O Cruises because they seemed to have a good reputation, were British, and because they offered very reasonable two-night packages.

I chose a two-night package simply because I didn't want to dive in not knowing if I'd enjoy the experience so tasting it seemed safer, and cheaper, to me.

Now, on to the photo tour. I have a tendency to ramble on many of my posts, however this one I'll let the photos do the talking. I'll comment below each photo to help paint the picture and give context.

Ready? Let's go!

Our departure port was Southampton, which by coach took 7-8 hours. We went from Mansfield to Victoria Coach Centre in London and from Victoria to Southampton, which actually was a very pleasurable trip. South England does tend to look much different than the Midlands. The above was taken in Southampton along the main road to the port.

What appears to be the remnants of a castle and it's surrounding grounds.

In just the 1-2 mile stretch of road there were multiple statues. I enjoy the colouration of the sky versus the stone and the red leaves.

We thought this LAPD "Cop Car" was hilarious. Do you think those are "bullet holes" in the side?

Sure, we're in Southampton, but here's The London Hotel! We didn't go in but I thought it looked rather nice.

This is actually the entrance to the cruise terminal. It was definitely designed with cars and taxis in mind as the pavement ended well before the terminal so pedestrians could just go suck an elf. To the left you see the area to give them your baggage. From now on we're keeping it with us at all times because the numskulls actually broke the handle off of my husband's luggage. 

This is the pool area which lead to the buffet-style dining area. I wasn't terribly impressed, to be honest. I'd seen nicer layouts in many Florida hotels. This particular pool area was for both the kids and adults and it got quite loud at night. On the opposite side of the ship was one strictly for adults.

If only drinks like these weren't £8+ I might have partaken in more tasty adult beverages! 

Here is the cosy sitting area in our room. We opted to pay more for a balcony room merely because I get very stressed when I can't see outside. We didn't use the balcony too much because, while it was only mid-November, it was still very cold out on the ocean. 

This was taken just after leaving the dock at Southampton. The small dots you see are little rain droplets. 

Arriving in to Belgium in the pre-dawn hours. I was very glad that I had woken up so early to take in the beauty that is before sunrise. I love how peaceful and calm everything is. I love that the first thing you see is an island dedicated to wind turbines.

Zeebrugges port. I loved all the industrial sounds. Clanking and grinding and the sounds of work vehicles all around. I'd heard them before of course, but being in country you've not yet been to before, it just sounded exotic and almost harmonic.

The buses for the excursions. Ours was the one on the far left. We had chosen the Chocolates and Villages excursion.

On the bus ride to Damme we passed by a number of brilliantly coloured buildings and houses. This one was a school.

Damme town centre. The first flag you see, the red and white one, is representative of the area. Jean-Claude Van Damme, although not born in Damme, (pronounced Dahm-eh) was born near the area in Brussels. 

You can see our white coach in the background.

We were very disappointed these shops weren't open. They looked like absolute kitsch stuff but it would have been fun to browse anyway.

The closest I can find to what "Amaai" means is "gosh" in Flemish. So, Gosh!!

Here we have the Church of Our Lady, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk. We were able to walk around the gardens and admire the beautiful architecture.

Here we have the beautiful Loppem Castle.

"It was built between 1859 and 1862 for Baron Charles van Caloen and his family."

The interior.

Always remember to arm your bears.

This was a panoramic done by my husband after returning to the ship. We're still in Belgium at this point. The port of Zeebrugge wasn't particularly pretty, really, but I found it enchanting merely because it was another place I've always been curious about and now I can say I finally have an idea.

Here we are, back in Southampton. Time just went far too quickly on this trip.

We severely overestimated how much time we'd be on the ship that morning. They kicked us out of the rooms by 8 a.m. and off the boat entirely by 10 a.m.  This was just down the road from the port, looking out towards it. For those curious, that Red Funnel is a ferry to the Isle of Wight. 

This was taken on the coach in London. We were heading towards the Victoria station. Those mysterious blue orbs you see are the blue lights of the coach reflecting in the glass.

We had some time to kill before our connecting coach so we explored a bit.

Never use one of these unless you absolutely have to. They're disgusting and while it tells you it gives you 20 minutes, mine suddenly fell from 19 minutes to 8 whilst I was in there. Horrible things.

Bobos-Bubbles. I just thought it was funny.

Well, there you have it! There's a few more pictures out there but I think this encompasses the feel of the trip pretty well. As a couple people might have noticed, I use different photos in my blogs from my Facebook albums so you almost never see the same photo twice. I like to keep it fresh and interesting! 

My next post will be about Newark-on-Trent and Newark Castle. Until next time!