Catch up Blog from arrival

Don't know what happened to the missing entries. Arrived London. Left bags at St Pancras and on to the Euro Train to Brussels. Lesson #1 take coins........the Belgium toilets are pay to p. With no coins it was an issue and they do speak a strange language. Found the IBIS which is a half decent cheap hotel (costs 69 Euro) so stayed there. The morning was less easy. Getting from the town to the village next door was a bit of an adventure. I decided to go by bus. Finding the right bus took 40 minutes. Got off the bus to spend another half hour walking round trying to find an address that no one seemed to be able to identify so resorted to the old trick, ring up and in two minute down the road was a bloke in the street waving a hand. At least that worked. Spent that day re-acquainting myself with the bike and a whole lot of "stuff" I had left and forgotten. The usual problem with things missing and a good riding suit swapped with an old worn out one but when you leave stuff it gets checked out no matter where you are. Dinner of the Belgium special dish, a stew, was just OK. Early night then back to the garage loaded up and off about midday. Then the ole GPS kicked in again. Instead of going round Brussels, right through the middle. Traffic, people congestion and a glimpse of what is a pretty significant city. Found on the outside of town a BMW bike dealership. Nice guys that took the bike for a run, I was worried about a new rattling sound, which the mechanic determined was "normal" for these bikes ! So back on the road through what I believe to be a very pretty rural farming countryside. I was scrambling to get the Chunnel train and took a "shortcut" that was like most of my shortcuts, it was the wrong way but it ended well as I found a wayside Hotel that turned out to be rather pleasant. Stayed the night. Belgium special menu so I had Mushroom and Snail (escargot) pie....followed by a roast or casseroled pigeon, very nice too and would you believe they had a creme brulee so I again had the proprietor select a glass of wine, and again perfect, so I had a pretty good night. The next day was actually on to the Chunnel train. That was Wednesday. In to town. Parked the bike at a pub and then off to organise the bag I left at St Pancras. Took it to store near the Elephant and Castle. Back for the bike. Leave the bags in store and I am out of here. Through the 6 o'clock traffic but this time the GPS got me out nearly cleanly ( the second or third exit is something she or I have not co-ordinated yet) but out in the dark until I found a pub for the night. Pubs are expensive. I learned that 150quid plus is normal for London. Rural costs from 60 to 90 depending where you are and when. The Oxfordshire countryside is just splendid. I would be tempted to stay and ride here for longer however the weather is so much a consideration that Spain beckons.