Saturday 27th March

Breakfast in the hotel starts at 8am and so that's when we got there.

Our main task for this morning was to pick up the rental car that we would be using to travel around France. Although we don't leave for France until tomorrow, the rental outlet is closed tomorrow. The hotel explained that they provide free parking for guests about a block away from the hotel. She gave us the security code and the directions to get there. We decided to go there first. When we tried the security button, it didn't work - even after trying a second time. We went back to the hotel to check with her. She assured us that it is the right code but you often need to try several times before it works.

Since the rental outlet was only about 2km away, we decided it would be easier to walk. We got there by 10am. We were pleased to find that they had given us a BMW. After checking over the car, we managed to navigate our way back to the hotel's cark park. It took three attempts but eventually the entrance door opened.

Suzy was keen to get to an open-air market that was due to close at lunchtime. After doing some sightseeing along the way, we got there at about noon. Thankfully Suzy didn't want to stay long. She commented that Belgian people must go through socks more quickly than us because many of the stalls sold socks.

Next we went to one of the most popular chocolate shops where Suzy bought a selection for us to try later. Then we went back to the large plaza in the centre of town and had lunch in one of the many open-air cafes. Part way through our meal, the waiter closed the awning above us and turned on the heaters. We weren't too sure if he did so because he was expecting showers or because he thought we were all too cold.

After lunch we strolled through more of the streets along the walk recommended by the hotel's map. We reach the Groeninge museum that has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide. It contains paintings from many of the Flemish masters.

By the time we had finished at the museum, we were feeling quite tired and so we decided to go back to the hotel. On the way we stopped at a cafe next to a canal for coffee and Belgian waffles.

In the hotel, we planned our itinerary for tomorrow's trip into France.

At about 6:30pm, we set off on the tourist walk that heads east from the hotel - the opposite direction to the main tourist area in the centre of town. This path took us through suburban streets lined with terrace houses until we reached the canal that runs around the town. Here there was a park next to the canal and two large windmills.

We found our way back to the centre of town and had dinner at a brasserie. By the time we had finished dinner, it had started raining.

Today we had done a lot of walking but that was a good thing because we had had quite large meals at lunch and dinner.