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Brugge

Sun, 2011-04-10 05:56 — darrenanna

A wonderful day. In the end it took 10 minutes to ride into the centre of Brugge, our camp ground seems so peaceful it's hard to believe that it's so close. We have become very European so an early start for us turned out to be 10:30. The centre of Brugge is roughly circular with canals running around it, so our first order of busness was to ride the circle. Due to roadworks we got a bit disoriented but never-the-less rode down some beautiful cobbled streets and paths beside the canals.
	Then it was time for an early lunch at a traditional Belgian restaurant which seemed to be full of locals, where Anna had the dish of the day which was rabbit with prune gravy and Darren had steak with very traditional Belgian Fries. The "French Fries" actually originated in Belgium but the allies called them French probably because the chef was speaking French. We saw the Jerusalem church which is a copy of the now destroyed orignal, with interesting decorations of sculls as the centre piece of the alter. It also housed the lace museum and we now have a new appreciation for the hours it takes to make lace. We took the concert hall elevator to the seventh floor (Belgium is very flat) and found ourselves alone looking over the marketplace and a great view of the city. One of the reasons it was a lovely day was because although some streets were the busiest we've encountered anywhere in Europe, we could go around a corner and be almost deserted. There were also places where silence was prized, the hospital museum garden in particular which was almost spooky quiet although there were plenty of people around. The next stop was a couple more churches, but in the church of Our Lady (with free entry) was the original Madonna with child sculpture by Michelangelo, one of the few Michelangelo pieces outside of Italy.
While walking we encountered MANY chocolate shops, all with exquisite looking treats inside. Finally when I couldn't hold Anna back any more she bought a Belgian hot chocolate. We also had to keep our wits about us and dodge cyclists and horse drawn carriages, with the occasional Mercedes. We found a beguinage nunnery which has only one living nun left. It was an enclosed square of houses with beautiful trees and daffodils in the centre.
	We went back to our favourite chocolate shop and bought yummy Belgian waffles and ate them at the Hospital Museum garden. We made our way back to the bikes stopping on the way home to doze on the banks of the canal with a view of the original Dutch styled windmills. Today was a feast for the eyes and the stomach!

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