A few more images of the fountain.
12 Comments CherryPie on Dec 18th 2010
By the time we had walked to the fountain in Zand Square the weather had taken a turn for the worse. I am not sure whether there was more water in the fountain or coming out of the sky. After standing around for some time whilst one of the party took a lengthy phone-call I decided to postpone the rest of the walking tour and resume it on a dry day.
The fountain depicts typical Flanders scenes and icons and was created in the 1980s.
For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.
16 Comments CherryPie on Dec 17th 2010
I am not sure how I managed it but I lost 0.5lb this week.
My eating routine has been all over the place through no fault of my own which has led to not making the wisest of choices. I have also been trying to fight off the office lurgy that I along with almost everyone else seem to have caught. Sore throat, cough, aches and vaguely cold like symptoms. This meant I felt hungry most of the time (which is unusual), so I listened to my body and ate more than usual.
14 Comments CherryPie on Dec 16th 2010
I had another busy day in Birmingham yesterday. It started off with packed standing room only on the train because there were only two carriages rather than the usual four but at least it ran on time. Just after I got on a lady got up and insisted that I have her seat which was very kind of her 
The meeting itself was a little chaotic because most of the staff from the regional office were off sick. The regional secretary was also off sick and the guest speaker was unable to attend.
The office staff who arrange the meetings were amongst those off sick. Surprisingly the meeting went without any serious hitches and the only thing that was missing was cups for the tea and coffee.
I was re-elected onto the regional committee which meant that I had to attend a small follow on meeting where duties were allocated to the newly elected committee members. After the meeting there was time for a bit of networking and catching up with friends.
I had to hang around in Birmingham a little bit longer than I intended because whilst I was sleeping my plans for my final bit of Christmas shopping had been rearranged for me and fast forwarded from the planned Friday or Saturday…
I finally got home at 9pm, but at least all the shopping is done now 
This is a photo from last Christmas, there was too much rushing around for a photo yesterday. The centre was a lot busier than it is in this photo.
10 Comments CherryPie on Dec 15th 2010
The next port of call on the walking tour was the Burg which is the most historic square in Bruges. According to 9th century manuscripts the Burg was the centre of civic and religious life:
It takes its name from the fortress of the ‘burg’, that was built here in 865 by Baldwin Iron Arm, the first Count of Flanders, as defence against Norman invasion, and around which a village developed. Popular events, including burnings at the stake and beheadings, were often held in the Burg.*
*Insight Guides, Bruges, Smart Guide
10 Comments CherryPie on Dec 15th 2010
It is difficult to tell if everyone was enjoying themselves
4 Comments CherryPie on Dec 14th 2010
After getting sidetracked posting pictures of the English winter I am now going to return to Bruges.
The day after the lovely sunny day spent in Sint-Trudoabdij Male and Tudor City Park was not quite so sunny. In fact there was a bit of drizzle when we set off in the morning, but not enough to stop the walking tour we had planned. By lunch time the rain had become quite persistent and I decided to cut the tour short before we all got soaked.
The first port of call was the Belfort which dominates the skyline of Bruges:
The belfort (belfry) dates from the 13th century. The final storey (with the clock) was built in the 15th century. A wooden spire one crowned the tower, but was destroyed, first by lightning in 1493, and then by fire in 1741, leaving it with its current truncated look. Look closely and you may observe that the 83m tower leans very slightly to the south-east, by 1.2m at the summit.*
There are 366 steps to the summit, I declined the opportunity because I am not good at heights. Unfortunately for those that did go to the top part of the view was blocked, so they didn’t get the full 360-degree view.
*Insight Guides, Bruges, Smart Guide
6 Comments CherryPie on Dec 13th 2010
