YPRES (IEPER)

A few snaps from the town of Ypres in northern Belgium

BRUGGES

Brugges, also called the Venice of the North, is a little village just over the Belgian border, that has been frozen in time - much to the delight of hundreds of tourists who flock to the town for their fix of lace, chocolate and ye olde authentic horse and carriage rides (this town probably has the highest carriage per person ratio of anywhere in the world outside of Amish settlements).

IN BETWEEN

We often travel out to the Mont Noir region on weekends - a footstep over the French border in neighbouring Belgium.  It's basically shopping on the cheap as a lot of goods (namely alcohol and cigarettes) are taxed differently in Belgium. As you'd expect, weekend shopping pilgrimages out to border towns are a common habit for northerners. Aside from the cheaper booze, there are also many lovely countryside walks in this area, and I'm a sucker for an autumn ramble...