We’re resuming our orginal trip plan. Post hike we were supposed to make our way to Bruges to relaxe a little before heading to Paris, then home. In any case, it was a travel day. It took us most of the day to get to Bruges, Belgium. Our first observation is that Italians aren't strong on the concept of boarding priority. When boarding for our flight to Brussels was announced, everyone ended up in a cluster in front of the door, even though only the first group (first class and those with priority boarding) had been called. We saw several people get set aside or sent back because their group hadn't been called yet.
Once we arrived at Brussels airport, we were confronted with the most difficult train system for new users we've seen so far. Indeed, the system asks for the departure and arrival stations, then asks you to pay. So that gives a valid ticket, but it does not describe the route to take. In our case, we had a transfer to make at Brussels-Midi. Fortunately, I had installed the SNCB/NMBS app (the Belgian train app... we'll pass on the name). We therefore found our transfer and the boarding platforms. I pity tourists who don't have a mobile phone and a data plan.
Finally arrived in Bruges late evening (10 pm). I have to say that it closes early in Bruges. There was no one in the streets, and all the business lights were off, including hotels. We would have had difficulty feeding ourselves in town if we had decided to stay; fortunately, we had energy bars (leftovers from the Corsica hike).