Bruges

 

Although we have visited Bruges several times before, I had forgotten quite how beautiful this quaint little town is.  Incredibly we managed to park our car just a few yards from the main square - initially we didn't realise that we were so central as  Bruges seemed incredibly quiet.  Where had all the tourists gone?

Having done a canal trip on all of our other visits, we decided to do the touristy horse and cart tour of the city today.  It was fun and our horse driver - a young woman with a very Irish accent who had been doing this job since 1997 kept up a running commentary of facts and stories about this little medieval city.  The horse and carriage tour lasts around 30 mins with a short break in the middle for the horse.  Although pricey at 42 euros, the canal boats wouldn't have been much cheaper for the 5 of us and little Phoebe enjoyed sitting at the front with our guide.

The views along the canal in the area they call Little Venice were stunning.  Masses of ducks and huge white swans swam alongside the canal boats and a  flea market at the side was buzzing with people - yes this is where at least some of the tourists are.

We were also struck by the noise of the bells that almost constantly seem to ring out from the Belfry with its 366 steps that both John and Ashley decided to climb on what was a very hot and humid day.  I managed to find a little art exhibition to look at as well as a hidden room consisting of building blocks to build a city of the future.  Little Phoebe loved having a go at building but more worryingly was eyeing up some of the other intricate buildings to demolish.  We decided to make a hasty retreat at this point.

Walking along the little cobbled streets through Bruges city it feels like stepping back in time.  It is an easy city to navigate as it is compact and there are so many interesting architectural pleasures to see en route like the unusual multi coloured glass door structure we fell across -  as opposed to into!

However,one of the key pleasures in Bruges is eating and drinking.  It would be foolish to come to Bruges without sampling the delicious and famous Belgium chocolates, Belgium waffles and Belgium Beer.  John couldn’t resist the other national dish of Belgium - Moules et Frites. 
 

 

 

 

Then it was finally time to make our way back to De Haan, just half an hour away through still amazingly quiet streets.  We never did work out why Bruges was so quiet today but we were pleased it was as it made for a relaxing and enjoyable day.  Special thanks to Ashley, Kirsty and Phoebe for helping make this a fun weekend.