from London to Belgium

(Lola, you would have liked the Tower of London, we got to see a rack, and another torture device that sort of squished people instead of pulling them apart.)

I thought I had solved my computer power issue, but alas, I have not.  Down to 25% juice, I shall have to try again tomorrow.  I spent a little while at the British Museum, an amazing collection!  I guess being the colonizer for a lot of years gives you a head start on collecting antiquities.  I will post a few photos once I have a way to recharge my tablet. (Lola, I took a picture of an actual human skull).

I have tried, but failed, to figure out which side of the sidewalk is appropriate to walk on in England.  Since they drive on the left, I wondered if that changed the usual rules about walking on the right.  If there is some protocol, I could not tell.  I seemed always to be going against the grain, whichever side I tried.

Today I took my first of several train trips, from London St Pancras to Brussels.  In order to board the train I had to go through French passport control, which was a surprise.  I should have realized, but did not, that I would be going through France.  I was excited about the Chunnel, but it was a rather dark and sleep inducing interlude.  My seatmate spoke only French, so we had very little to talk about. The train hurtled along at a high rate of speed (Clay, I need that app you have for telling the speed of the train).  At the places where we ran parallel to the highway, we were going much faster than any autos,

The French countryside looked amazingly like Wisconsin from the distance of the train.  I saw fields of corn, some legumes, and some plowed and empty fields, holstein cows and brick houses. I wish I could have said when we left France for Belgium but it was not marked as far as I could see.  As soon as I got to Brussels, I went in search of a ticket on the train to Bruges.  I had some language problems, and had no Euro coins for the toilet.  Not the most comfortable hour, but eventually ended up with a ticket and here I am.  I had thought that with the summer over, Bruges might not be so busy, but boy was I wrong.  And of course I failed to note that this is Friday.  So when I went to the hotel I had picked out, it was full, as was the one across the street.  Ok, deep breath, there will be a place somewhere.  I walked on and saw a sign for a B&B, and rang their bell.  They had no room but Benedict and Rita took my under their wing.  First I was invited in while they figured out who might have room.  Then I was upstairs in their living room while Rita searched online.  Then Benedict decided to escort me to the place that they thought had room. This turned out to be a false lead, and so we went on, with Benedict pushing his bicycle (he planned to ride it home after getting me set) and asking each innkeeper, who then suggested another.  One finally called the place I am staying now, and it was as much a relief to get Benedict off the hook as it was to get a room.  I am pretty sure he was repenting of his good deed by then, but unable to desert me.  If anyone is going to Bruges, check  out B&B Huyze Walburga (www.huyzewalburga.be), I can vouch for Benedict and Rita.  I still can`t believe they went so out of their way for a complete stranger. I have this room only for tonight, so I will have to make a new plan tomorrow.  But first I will explore this town.  It is incredibly beautiful, with canals, and medieval buildings.

Until I get my power issue resolved I will be offline from here on out, I fear.