Friday night and Saturday had Lille jumping as the French take the weekend seriously. We discovered the older part of Lille on Friday night and an incredible “eat street” with all manner of dining styles that included an “Australian Pub” that did nothing for us.
Friday we ate in a cute little Mexican restaurant followed by a Thai restaurant on Saturday night. On our visit back in 2009 there were very few restaurants that served anything but French food. Fortunately we have been doing a lot of walking to wear it all off.
On Sunday I decided that the best way to get to Bruges was to hire a car for the day, as trains were limited and went via Brussels. They were hugely expensive too.
The visit to Bruges turned out to be a disaster however. It was crowded with tourists and the weather was very unfriendly with an arctic blast almost knocking you off your feet. We walked all over a very picturesque town (if you could see past the crowds). We escaped for a very late lunch in a restaurant with an open fire!
On returning to the car I discovered a 40 euro parking fine as I had made a mistake in paying the fee with my card, as all instructions were in Flemish? Suitably unhappy we stopped to replenish the fuel before dropping the car back at an Esso on the highway.
The machine rejected my card and a nice family guy tried to help. Again it refused my Visa, so I went inside and paid some cash. Upon getting back to Lille I found my card had been charged 350 euro at the service station! I can only think that the attendant had accessed the card, so I’ve had to freeze it while waiting bank instructions.
The joys of travel……… f..ing Bruges!
Doesn't sound like fun in Bruges - Someone spent $1.15 at KFC in America so our fraud section at my bank picked it up. They try something small then if it goes through they'll try for bigger amounts. Had to cancel my card pain in the butt, hope they chocked on their KFC. Also had to pay for my rego last week and it was dishonoured because they blocked the card. Have fun for the rest of France. Kerri
ReplyDeleteYes it’s a pain. Have been through having my credit card replaced twice in the last 12 months.
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