Marken, pretty village, watch demonstrations of clog making and cheese making. Ferry to Volendam. Time for fish and chips lunch and shopping. Then Zaanse Schans for windmills, great photo opportunities. Good guide, plenty of time. Highly recommend for that quintessential Dutch experience.

Having been picked up from my hotel in the city, we started out on the bus trip to Ghent. The commentary is a mix of live commentary by the guide - in English, Spanish and French, and prerecorded commentary on headphones - in 8 languages. The guide was knowledgeable and approachable. The trip to Ghent takes about an hour. Ghent is a quaint little town with a number of churches and a square. The main church has the famous Ghent altar piece of the Lamb, worth seeing. Unfortunately there is only an hour to see the town, but better things await the visitor in Bruges. Bruges is delightful. Green grass, swans, canals, bridges, beautiful craft shops, waffles, pralines, marzipan, chocolates, beer, churches, The street scenes are as though from a painting, this town is probably my favourite in Europe. After the boat trip (well worth it!), we returned to the bus for the long trip back to Brussels. An excellent day out, better than staying in Brussels city itself!