Its my lovely ladies 30th coming up soon and I was thinking of going away for a few days together.

I’d like a little bit of luxury like a spa or similar and had been looking at places in the Lake District but no confident it wont be peeing it down all week.

As an alternative I was looking at city breaks fairly close to home and was thinking of Bruges as we could take the Eurostar so avoids the hassle of flying and early airport check-ins etc.

I’ve heard the stereotypical views of Belgium as being a little boring but wondered what peoples actual experiences are of the city? Any good to celebrate a birthday together? 🙂

Watch out for midgets and Irish contract killers.

Great place for a weekend – the beer is sold in things like this:

Lots to see by walking around.

If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn’t, so it doesn’t.

Maybe that’s what hell is, the entire rest of eternity spent in f***ing Bruges.

In all seriousness though, my mum went there with a friend and they had a great time I think, I didn’t really pay much attention to what she said when she got back.

Can I also suggest Amsterdam? Yes, there’s a couple of blocks of grot, but outside that it’s a sublime city for a weekend away. Doable by train as well, I believe.

Hire a bike, ride around and look at all the lovely houses. Lots of great little places for lunch/dinner (If you do go, let me know as I can recommend possibly the finest meal in the ‘Dam if you like!)

My brother and sister-in-law went for a couple of nights and loved it.

Thanks for the suggestions – keep em coming. Loving the ‘In Bruges’ references too 😉

Bruges is nice for a short visit. Drink beer as per above, then hire a tandem, wobble out along the canal, and get a boat back. Then eat some chocolate and drink some more beer.

Or Krakow, it’s ace. No Eurostar though.

Bruges is “fine”, the bottle shop is ace over 700 different bottled beers! De Haan along on the coast has lovely beaches too.

For me though Antwerp was far more interesting, I love the railway station and could stay there all day looking at the amazing architecture, where trains are coming into the station on different open levels, so you can see all the trains on top of each other!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antwerpen-Centraal_railway_station

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k For the sound of music and shows how big the central hall is. The zoo is next door too.

Bruges is ace, you should eat at the Ponte Veccia just off the market place, superb food. Plenty to look at and loads to do, the tourist office is really helpful with English speaking staff, have fun.

Went there with a girlfriend years ago on a ‘day trip’ and we both loved it. Didn’t have a lot of time there, obviously, but it’s a very pretty place, and very quiet, or it was back then, because the streets are built on sand. Never did go back, but I’d be more than happy to go back for a weekend. I’m certain you’ll both love the place. Oh, and don’t forget the camera!

Just watch out for all the vacationing hit men…