August 10 and 11, 2011
Our two day stay in Bruges has been just the pick-me-up we needed at this point in our holiday. After a 6.5 hour trip from Rothenburg, our GPS led us right to our hotel (well almost) just around a corner from the Markt, the main city square. We didn't know what to expect, having just quickly picked this one through expedia without reading any reviews. It is beautiful! Our room is huge, has a sitting area with wing-backed chairs separated from the bedroom by French doors, looks out onto a common patio, and has wifi that works. The hotel also has a pool and sauna and a beautiful breakfast room complete with a grand piano. Enough about the room. This city is one to fall in love with.
Yesterday we just wandered and explored and tried out different bars in the afternoon and evening. We found a great little place called The Hobbit for dinner. While I had fully planned to resist the chocolate that is so plentiful here, Denis was a very bad influence. We tried seven flavours, voted, and coconut won by a landslide. Today we got serious about seeing this city properly. We let Rick Steves guide us around from the Kindle travel guide we bought for our iPad and saw all the sights.
Wednesday is market day in Bruges and the Markt was full of flowers, fruit, vegetables, cheese, cooked and fresh meats, and pastries early this morning. It seems to be serious business for local women as they select their supplies for the week, and either pack them in their reusable bags or in the baskets on their bikes. It amazes me how they navigate these cobblestone cities in their high heels. Even those riding bikes wear fancy footwear.
We toured the bell tower, Burg Square with all the different styles of architecture, the Basilica of the Holy Blood (now that's quite the story!) http://www.holyblood.com/EN/B.asp City Hall, the Church of Our Lady (with Michelangelo's peaceful statue of Mary with a young Jesus), took a canal ride, and went on a tour of a local brewery. Since there was a tiny hint of fall in the air at times today, I decided it was time to buy a few items of clothing. Who can resist these great fall fashions?
Speaking of resisting, we didn't deprive ourselves in the food department today either. We tried the local gaufres (waffles), frites (fries), and waterzooi (creamy chicken stew), and Denis has been a real trouper handling the tough job of sampling local beers.
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