Spa Francorchamps

If you've never heard that name, then you'll probably not care to much for this next bit. But if you have... then feel free to salivate over this selection of images we took today.

It seemed like a fairly basic track day, for Spa, which is way beyond anything you'd ever see back home.  This is somewhere I've wanted to visit for more years than I can remember and although we were only there for an hour, it ticked a very big box for me.

And I should probably mention, Im actually typing this from Haus Ringblick in the little town of Nurburg, which has this kinda ring road running around it and off into the country side.  We arrived too late to do anything about it, but will rectify that tomorrow.

Until then... here's some Spa action to go on with...

Oh, and here's another random from somewhere else that just dropped in... :)

But more on that later...
Need my beauty sleep now.
I've rather a big day tomorrow.

Menin Gate ceremony video

I filmed the entire ceremony, just over 9 minutes, but you can easily skip the middle half.

If you didn't know, the walls of this monument are inscribed with the names of the WW1 allied soldiers who have no known grave. It includes thousands of Australians. We attached just a sample in yesterdays blog. There's far too many of them. Far too many.

The city of Ypres conducts this simple ceremony every evening and thousands are drawn to it.  A very rough estimate put this crowd at around 1500.

And those 4 bugles, perfectly in time, in that acoustic chamber... It really was a very special experience and we're very proud to be able to share it with you..

Brugge

Beautiful sunny day in Brugge today. Here are a few photos of our walk around this amazing city.

 

 

 

Menin Gate

I'm having a few dramas with the videos so with my apologies, we only have photos again for now.

Here is a selection from our visit to Menin Gate Last Post Ceremony on Sunday night.

Belgium

We rode up to Hull from Royston yesterday and boarded the ferry in drizzle at about 4.30. It was one of those typical english days that isnt worth bothering about. A highlight was a quaint roadside coffee stop where you could have anything you liked as long as it was deep fried. Although the coffee was good. We sat outside. The weather won out over the smell.

The crossing on the ferry was a dream. Ive never seen a sea so flat. You would never had known we were on a boat. Cabins were small but comfortable and really it was all quite pleasant.

Riding on, tying down and the whole riding off again thing was really cool. Hopefully the GoPro got it all so Ill wait till I can get the film.

And now a tip: If you're going to have a crash course in driving on the right, pick early Sunday morning. The roads were deserted which gave me perfect oportunities to get my head around it all in a safe and controlled environment. Turns out its mostly easy but having Janelle in my ear with instructions sure helped.

The weather here is pretty much perfect, so we went to Bruges for lunch, will check it out properly tomorrow, and tonight we rode the 100km or so trip down to Menen Gate for the Last Post ceremony. Truly inspirational. Seriously.

So lots of pics and a few short clips coming up.
So till next time.
Must sleep now.
Have a great day.

My office for the next 5 weeks.

Yeah.. I know.  Tough gig huh.
But someone has to do it.

And the view from the Go Pro.  Lots of little compromises here, and I'm sure things can be tweaked, but for now, this will get us out of trouble.

Off to Hull tomorrow and a date with a ferry.

London to Royston - Picking up the Ducati

Had a very jet lagged day yesterday in London. Just couldn't get fired up, so decided a day of walking, window shopping, and a little bit of theatre would be in order.

Turned out we walked about 12 kms from Camden along the canal to Regents Park, up to Primrose Hill then a lap of the park, including a little row around the boat lake, and back.

Then off to meet Paul in Little Venice and as it turned out, a last look at our wonderful sanctuary from last year. It's been sold and Paul was expecting settlement literally any day.  Sorry Paul, the gods held it over for us to say goodbye.  But seriously mate.... was just so damn good to see you again. We look forward to seeing your new home on our return to UK in 5 weeks.

Then it was onto Charing Cross (Trafalgar Square) to catch up with Loui again for dinner and a show. Not just any show mind you. We saw The Lion King in all it's amazement.  What can I say... if you've seen it you know.  If you haven't, then go on, treat yourself.

Woke up this morning to another warm day, packed our gear and off again. Bus to Kings Cross Station then a train to Royston.  And here is where the experience last year was completely blown away.

Mick from Open Road Rentals met us at the station and drove us to the hotel where we dropped our luggage, changed into our riding gear and then he took us to the bike shop just out of town.  As we drove up the driveway, our lovely Italian thoroughbred was sitting proudly in the showroom, ready and waiting for us.

Took a while to get through all the paperwork, then run through the tech of this amazing machine (more of that later) and we jumped on and rode out.

We thought Cambridge sounded like a nice destination for a first little run.  We went right into the heart of the tertiary area to be surrounded by hundred of students, all riding pushys. The friendly parking officer did eventually ask me to move the bike, but he allowed us to finish our coffee first. So nice of him. :)

Then back to Royston. And we began the long cherished black art of finding how to cram as much as possible into the smallest possible space.  And that happy little challenge will have to be carried over till tomorrow. 

A glass of red has wiped us both out.  It's not even dark and we're ready to crash.

Tomorrow we'll test the GPS and assorted camera's, Finish the clothing tetris and prep for the ride to Hull for the ferry.  Strange but everyone we talk to gets a funny look when we say Hull, then seems very relieved when we tell them it's for the ferry to Belgium.  I suspect we'll find another Dover.

Anyway, here's some more random pics.

Cya later.