If I told you I woke up before the alarm at 6:50 am, would you even believe me ?!?

It’s true!  We were showered and ready for breakfast early today.  Enjoyed a hearty breakfast and then headed out for a walk.  Today we headed in the other direction, away from the main square towards the Burg Square.

Tucked away in the corner is ‘The Basilica of the Holy Blood’.  It is a Roman Catholic basilica and a major landmark in the city. The building dates back to the 12th century and is said to have a relic of Jesus – two drops of his blood.

Next to the basilica was the city hall.  Very interesting architecture and carvings on the facade.

Next to the city hall is the court of justice.  We loved the city mascot – a bear that we named Charlie – because we could.

Exiting the Burg Square, we started walking along the canal. The scenery was gorgeous!  Houses and gardens basking in the sunshine with the canal flowing peacefully.  Cutting back through the town, we saw a guy maneuvering the cool red car out of a garage.  Eventually we found one of the original gates, which just so happened to lead back to our hotel.

After our walk, we freshened up a bit for our afternoon High Tea. It was a beautiful day to sit on the patio and just enjoy ourselves. We started off with a glass of champagne followed by our tea.  We chose a nice green tea rather than going with Earl Gray.  Next came the rack of goodies.  The bottom layer held the finger sandwiches – king crab, egg salad and cucumber sandwiches.  The second layer was homemade scones with clotted cream and jam.  The top tier was various sweets – macaroons, cake, mousse and berries.  It was a fun “snack” fit for a queen.

Feeling full and a little warm, we retreated to our room to relax for a little while.  Some reading, some music and some creative writing took us to dinner time.

Tonight dinner is at a restaurant called – ‘Quatre Mains’.  It’s a tapas restaurant that was recommended by one of the staff at the hotel.  When we asked her to make reservations for us, she guided us away from another place as being “not so good for us”.

The restaurant was cute, busy and filled with all locals.  We started with our kir royals, and then at our server’s suggestion, we went with four plates to share and a bottle of  Sancerre rose.

Our four plates were: Cheese croquettes, Iberian ham with tomato bread, Cod with tomatoes, tarragon and green onions and then roasted pork cheeks prepared similar to a Shepherd’s Pie with mashed potatoes.  Our fifth plate was a shared Creme brûlée.  Everything was delicious and prices were very reasonable.

We took a nice walk back to the hotel and digested our meals before heading to bed.