La Costa Artabra

Surfers doing their warming up at the Artabran Coast.

Coffee in the Calle Magdalena.

Spanish people love their cup of coffee. Café solo and café con leche are most common. Or try a café Bombón with condensed milk, the one with Crema de Orujo is even better. And a   café Carajillo with brandy or rum, and lemon, is ideal after a long walk on a rainy day.
The Calle Magdalena in Ferrol houses a few enterprises that may be of some interest to the coffee lover. Tea room Valencia & Stollen is famous for its sweets and the building is a creation of the famous Art Nouveau architect Rodolfo Ucha.
It seems that Táboas sells coffee since the dawn of history. This curious shop belongs to a past era and is certainly worth a visit. The friendly shopkeeper will kindly permit you to take a few photos, as long as he is not in the picture himself ( "I'm too ugly" he said!).
Don't forget to buy some of his delicious coffee. A great souvenir!

Semana Santa Ferrolana

The " Vette Vischpoort".

Almshouse the "Vette Vischpoort" (Fat Fishgate) is one of the oldest in Bruges. Founded in 1434 in the Klaverstraat (Cloverstreet) by the families Fierens and van Leeuwerghem, it moved to the Moerstraat in 1618 (moer= wetland).
It lays in the shadow of the beautiful St-jameschurch and is discreetly hidden behind a massive wooden entrance gate. One of the houses desperatly needs some restauration but this small cobbled street with its little white houses kept its seventeenth century aspect very well. Seldom visited by tourists, this is a tiny oasis of silence.








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" In den Cleynen Thems ", a pharmacy throughout history.

This lovely house, just beside the Saint-Salvador cathedral, named "In den Cleynen Thems", was mentioned for the first time in 1484. It became a pharmacy in the late 17th century and is still the best place in town for pills and powders. The crow-stepped gable facade dates back to 1700 and the combination of red-painted brick and limestone is typical for Bruges. The statue on the corner is a recent work (1987) by the sculptor De Vlieghere, it represents a Madonna with child.
The present pharmacy is a modern one but the officina still contains a lot of 19th century elements, giving it a lot of character.
The staff is very friendly and professional. They are used to a cosmopolitan clientele and speak several languages themselves. If you have a headache in French, English or German... they supply you with the proper medication.

Ladies in Ghent II.

Ladies in Ghent I.