Back to our bolt hole

Here we are again. It is our first visit of 2015. The weather is fabulous - hovering around 24C, just right for me. The house was still standing and all was mostly fine in side. Roland rat has been chewing the waste pipe again which is a complete pain as we installed expensive valves to keep him out. So he has either found a way past them, or he chewed them prior to the installation or he has been trapped between valve and loo all winter.
The cats have all reappeared including Bruiser who has not fared well this winter. We whisked him off to the vets for TLC and will pick him up on Friday. He didn't seem happy when we assisted him into the basket but it is in his best interests. Beyaz is fat and fluffy so she has found someone to care for her or perhaps she has become an expert mouser. There are a few new ones including a very handsome young Tom cat who goes by the name of  Mr. Fifty Shades. He has lovely grey markings.

Hil and Matt undertaking a spot of topiary.

Maybe we will have oranges this year.

Matt and Hil have been busy tending the garden. Our gardener takes good care of it but is not as severe at cutting back as we are. The spring flowers are fabulous and there are some lovely ones in the garden.
We were not expecting it to be warm enough for lounging on the beach but it is and Matt has braved the cool temperatures of the Med.
We've met up with some old friends which is nice and had a good evening in the Sunrise bar with Metin and Linda. Looking forward to our cake night on Friday!

Everybody here hates the trumpet plant but I love it.

Bougainvillea is looking good.

Matt helped out with the high bits.

Our front path looking fab.

Hil doing a spot of topiary!

Our lovely view.

So many pretty flowers in our garden.

The Big Cycling Challenge

Jack decided to give his Dad a Christmas present to remember - entry to the Tour of Flanders bike ride, all 127km's of it during Easter 2015 weekend. The 16000 amateurs rode on the Saturday with the professional race the day after. Any way we all decided to go and support them. All being me, Tom, Charlie and Hil. I booked 2 nice apartments very near the main square in Bruges.
 http://apartments-house-of-elements.hotelsbruges.net/en/
The younger ones had one and us oldies had the other. The position was great and also meant we didn't need to spend loads of money on dining out every night. Charlie and Tom cooked one night, Hil and I did another and Nadine joined us. Then we sampled some Bruges fine dining on the other two nights.
Those of us who were not cycling made the most of all Bruges had to offer including the boat trip and general plodding around. Hil and I hopped on a train to Blankenberge to see our old pal Nadine while the men were cycling. Now I met her on an internet forum several years ago and met her in person at a wedding in Turkey, since then we have met up whenever I visited Jack in Belgium or she has come to England. I love having international friends and have quite a few now.
As for weather we had a couple of lovely sunny days. The cyclists however were unlucky and it was quite challenging for them cycling up steep cobbled roads in the rain! They seemed to enjoy it though and both came back looking happy with their T shirts and medals.
Here are some photos of our lovely Easter weekend.

A great deal of beer sampling happened - after all there are several hundred to try.

My lovely boys

Out in the sunshine

I love having my brood together

Fido the famous doggie in the window

The lovely lunch at Nadine's house

Nadine's special Belgian lunch was delicious

Nadine's Easter decorations assembled by her special friend

Street sculpture

Blankenberge

Hil and I went to the seaside to see Nadine

Easter eggs everywhere

The main square

We loved the boat trip in the sunshine

The professional bike race

Two happy cyclists after their long, hard ride

Dinner out was delicious. The waiter said his tip was going towards his botox treatment.

The kids kept us entertained with card games

Helicopters filming the race

So many beers to taste and so little time

We enjoyed welcoming Nadine to an evening in our apartment

I don't drink but do have other vices