BELGIUM HOLIDAY

I just recently came back from spending a week in Belgium with my family. I'd only visited Belgium on a school trip before so was really looking forward to exploring it a bit more. We stayed in a cottage on the Flemish Coast - in between Middelkerke and Westende. Our accommodation was lovely, especially the garden and I also had a cute little bedroom in the roof!

The first few days were fairly relaxed and spent exploring the area, It was lovely to be only a 5-minute walk from the beach and to be walking distance from the two towns. I really enjoyed spending lots of time outside and just appreciating the views of the beach, especially in the evening as I took some gorgeous photos! We also went swimming in the pool, it was freezing but very refreshing and definitely made me want to swim more regularly.

I wasn't expecting the weather to be amazing but it was fairly sunny and warm for most of the week, however, we actually went bowling and played crazy golf when the weather wasn't so great. My family and I hadn't been bowling in years so definitely weren't the most skilled players though it was a laugh and fun all the same! Now I've mentioned how much I enjoy crazy or mini golf on here before so was really pleased to see that there was a course close by. It was a really interesting one too, with various glow in the dark, neon and industrial obstacles. Some of the holes were particularly challenging and ended up being very amusing but most importantly, I actually came out on top! I've been trying to beat my Dad (who regularly plays actual golf) for so long and finally beat him by a whole 8 points, I have to say I did very much enjoy reminding him for the rest of the day haha!

  

 

We spent one of the days in Bruges which was about 40 minutes from us, it's a gorgeous city with such amazing architecture and I found myself constantly taking photos whilst we were walking around. It was almost like stepping back into the past, especially with the horse-drawn carriages! I really loved walking along the canal and definitely would love to go back to go on a boat trip. Since Belgium is renowned for its delicious chocolate I also thoroughly enjoyed looking around the many different chocolate shops, which smelled amazing by the way, we couldn't resist and ended up buying a selection! I always adore praline shells but was really intrigued by the different flavours of truffles, I have to say the orange was definitely a stand out although they are all so good. Belgium is also very much known for their chips so we, of course, had some, though I ate them before taking a photo haha, they were great though!

Luckily the Thursday was really warm and sunny which was perfect for a beach day, having such a gorgeous beach like this so close to us really makes me want to live closer to the sea. Although this was the best day weather wise and was pretty sunny, it still wasn't boiling so was fully expecting the sea to be much too cold. However, I was pleasantly surprised and after the initial shock, it didn't take too long to get used to it and then I was able to properly swim. My sister and I spent quite a while in the sea, the waves were very powerful and being short we often found with a face full of salty water but I guess that's part of the fun isn't it! 

 

On the last day, we had some time to explore other areas as our crossing wasn't until 8 so we headed back into Middelkerke to get waffles. We couldn't leave without doing so could we, and they didn't disappoint! I chose to have strawberries and chocolate which I'm very glad about as it was so good and not overly sickly either.

After that, we actually drove to Ypres, I'd already been there on a History school trip but it was nice to revisit and I also got more of a chance to walk around the town itself which was really pretty. We visited the Menin Gate first which is a memorial for all the missing British and Commonwealth soldier that died in the Ypres Salient, it's truly astonishing to see the vast amount of names. After walking through the town, past the In Flanders Field Museum - which I would definitely recommend checking out if you'd like to learn more about the history of First World War and the West Flanders region in particular. We then drove to the Tyne Cot Cemetry, the largest Commonwealth Cemetry in the world with just under 12,000 burials. It's certainly overwhelming to take in, the surrounding wall is also inscribed with over 34,000 names of British and New Zealand missing soldiers. I would urge anyone to visit if you get the chance, it's so important to pay your respects and acknowledge the history.

After a delay for our crossing and being diverted we got a much needed McDonalds and eventually got home at about half 1 in the morning. I had the such a great time in Belgium I would seriously recommend it if you've never been, especially as it's fairly close to the UK and is definitely underrated!