A City of Canals that is not Venice!

A scene of the Markt in Bruges at dusk.
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Well, Val and I took the train from Paris to Bruges with a stop in Brussels to change trains.  The whole travelling part went very well, and we caught the train in Brussels with two minutes to go!  Upon arrival into the cute town of Bruges though, I was a bit grumpy trapesing through the mostly pedestrian and biker town to find a hotel.  It started to drizzle, and I did not know where we were going, but Val stuck it out, and found us the cutest place.  It was a family run hotel with an antique lobby accesorized with the family dog named Chloe.  We got a very nice room with a bathroom and shower to ourselves, yeah!  Once I was able to put down my bag, I was able to shake off my funk to go out and enjoy Bruges.

A night scene at the Markt in Bruges. It was All Souls Day this day, so how appropriate.
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We wandered around the very walkable town to see beautiful churches, the Markt, balanced delicately on the cobblestone streets, and looked over the canals that run throughout the town.  We stopped into a local deli like place for a snack, and to avoid a short rain storm.  I dined on frites (fries) and mayo, and Val had a pancake with powdered sugar.  The local favorites were just enough to rejuvenate us, and we then headed out to look at all the chocolate shops.  The smell eminating from the store fronts alone were enough to draw us in to several different shops just to look.  When it looked like rain again, we timely ducked into a bar that advertised 400 different beers, and had an appetizer tray of cheese and sausage.  We luckily sat and chatted for awhile while it hailed outside.  After our enjoyable pub time, we walked again for awhile, and later dined at a recommended pub.  The dark mahogany bar was decorated with bright orange jack-o-lanterns, and the acclecticly decorated walls and dimly lit room was a great environment.  I had a delicious fish stew with the local mussels, and Val discovered spaghetti bolognase, which she ate several times in Belgium!

Under the bridge we go! It was pouring rain during this tour, but pretty just the same.
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The following day we woke  to a rainy, dreary day, but we did not let it deter our plans.  We got tickets for a canal tour on a boat, and just huddled under umbrellas and laughed about the absurdity of how we looked!  We got some decent pictures, and my favorite part was ducking super low in the boat to make it under a very low bridge.  I thought for sure we were going to all break our umbrellas.  After the wet but satisfying tour, we puddle jumped it over to the Chocolate Museum.  Now, we were enticed by ads of tastings and demonstrations, and it was raining; but it was a bit cheesy.  I felt that the owner must have loved going to Mexico and Central America and collecting artifacts to put on display, and calling them links to the history of chocolate.  Oh well, at least we got to see them make the famous chocolate shells and taste them afterward.  It also was drier than outside.

Val on a pretty bridge.
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We braved the rain again, and tried to head to the windmills.  I got us lost, and we ended up at a cute, totally local pub where the exhuberant bartender (probably the owner) waited on us a bit absent mindedly.  It was fun to watch the people interact at the bar and banter back and forth in Dutch.  I had some nice warm soup, and Val had spaghetti bolognese again!  We left the pub with directions to the church that has a Michelangelo statue of Madonna and Child.

The cathedrals in Bruges take on a more religious feeling than those in Paris.  They are smaller, yet equally beautiful, and they play choral music in the background.  It must be the soft Latin phrases that add to the ambiance.  Anyway, Val loves all the churches.  We concluded the day later at a local place called the Hobbit.  We had the house special of ribs which were delicious.

A cobblestone street scene.
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The following morning, our last day in Bruges, it was sunny!  We walked to the windmills, which were remarkably unremarkable.  While near the structures, we came across a film crew for a travel show exploring Bruges.  Everyone tune into the Travel Channel, maybe youll see it soon!  After we took in the last of the quaintness, we trekked to the train station to head to Brussels.