And so ends the first day of our annual trip to parts of Europe. Louise started a new job this year so it’s just a short trip to Bruges (or Brugge if you prefer the Dutch spelling).

I should have guessed things would be less than perfect when we hit heavy traffic as we approached the M25, but it wasn’t really bad until LeShuttle arrived in France and the car wouldn’t start. To give them credit, the Eurotunnel people were good and quick and had someone to us for a jump start in a couple of minutes, but it was a bit of a shock.

So we aimed for an auto parts supplier and found one that deals with Renault vehicles, which was useful since Louise drives a Clio. However, when we arrived, the parts counter was closed until Monday. So we wait, I guess.

In the hotel we found my laptop doesn’t like the VPN we set up. We’d checked it under several conditions, but it doesn’t work at all in Bruges, whether using the hotel’s wifi or my phone as a modem. Of course, it works for the phone and for Louise’s laptop. Sometimes I just give up.

We needed to relax, so we decanted to the Huisbrouwerij De Halve Maan for some food and beer. A burger and a waffle with some unfiltered Brugge beer set us off nicely. I mean Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrick aren’t that rare in the grand scheme of things, but unfiltered from the source makes them something special.