After a fantastic night's sleep, Kirsten and I woke up bright and early at 8am. We started the day with a fantastic hotel breakfast (think scones, pastries, yoghurt, fresh fruit, eggs, granola, coffee, juice, HOT CHOCOLATE!) and packed up our belongings to check out of our room. Then it was time to meet our "professional" tour guide for the day. She was this older women who spoke 3 languages...Dutch, French, and English. She took us around the city to all the famous spots and gave us a lot of interesting facts.
We started off at the Art School in Bruges. The tour guide poointed out these statues of Mary that seemed to be popping up everywhere. She said there were more than 270 of them situated throughout the city! How crazy is that! Then, we navigated the narrow streets and cobblestone sidewalks toward the Lake of Love. It was beautiful and when I got my picture taken by this lake, I prayed real hard for some luck with love in my near future :) Then we wove around another little corner, past canals, cute, tiny houses, a kitty!, and entered into this big field/town square area. She told us this was where women's emancipation things took place and all the housing was for single? women. I cannot remember the exact story as I was busy taking pictures and there was a lot of information to remember...nonetheless, it was really cool to see these houses where single mothers lived many many years ago.
1 of the 270 statues of "Ave Maria"
These houses were built for the lower class of Bruges...I'm pretty sure our guide said they were free to live in
The Lake of Love
View on the tour...notice the swan filled canal :)
Horsey!
My besties :)
These were the houses where the single women lived
Praying for luck at the Lake of Love
Then we passed through some tiny alleyways and came to this area she called the "stoves." This was known as the bathhouses back in time. It was kind of a scandelous story because grown men would come to the stoves to get washed by the young women workers. Their wives would be left at home (they obviously knew where there beloved husbands were going and what they were doing) while they were off galavanting in the baths with these young, beautiful washwomen. The guide told us there were about 40 of these stoves situated throughout the city! Jeez guys, show some class!
After that, we headed over to the old St. John's hospital and toured the old apothocary (pharmacy). This was super cool to see because back then they didn't have any of the technology our hospitals have today. It was cool to see all the urns full of herbs that were supposed to heal the patients. We also learned they didn't use/have anesthesia so they made the patients chew on poppy flowers (opium) when the pain was really bad or if they needed a surgical procedure completed. So interesting!
I just loved the old lamps that lined all the streets
The cabinet where the opium was stored for the patients
Then we toured the old hospital and looked at all sorts of art and artifacts from the actual hospital. It was pretty neat! Then it was time to break off from the tour guide and enjoy about 2 hours of free time to grab some lunch and do a little more shopping. Kirsten, Amy, Monica and I went and found ourselves a nice little cafe to enjoy some fresh Belgian waffles. Let me tell you, they were delish! I just got the waffles and creme and it was so delectable. Pretty much melted in my mouth. YUM!
Little cafe where we ate waffles :)
View from the cafe
Loving on my waffle
The waffle, as you can see, was pretty small though and did not fill me up at all. So us girls decided to go and get some fresh frites (fries) after our breakfast was over. We settled on this little stand ourside the restaurant that had a huge queue (line). I ordered a small fry with ketchup and gave the man the exact change which he threw back in my face and told me "What is this, I do not take change" and grabbed my 5 euro bill out of my hand...JERK! But, the fries were...incredible :)
Frites...the ketchup tasted much different than American ketchup...much sweeter
After the fries were consumed, we still had about an hour so we hit up a few more chocolate shops-I bought a box of 14 for myself this time!-and walked around the city to waste time. We also stopped in a beer shop and purchased one of the fruity belgian beers we had the night before. I chose an apple flavor that was mighty delicious as you can imagine. Finally, at 2PM, we met up with the rest of the group and followed Tony to the beginning of our canal boat tour. The tour lasted about 30 minutes and took us through the maze of canals that run through Bruges. It was so fun to see the city from a different viewpoint and learn more about the history associated with this gothic city.
Adorable houses lining the canal
View from the boat
Just hanging out on a canal in Belgium!
You can see the year 1675 on this building...I forgot it's significance but I think it was the year it was built?
Another great view from the boat
After the tour, we were able to climb the Belfry...all 366 steps! The steps were a spiral staircase and were incredibly narrow and steep...I was even a little scared of falling down! But once we reached the top it was totally worth the climb. You could pretty much see the entire city of Bruges...what a view! Then, the bells started going off...I think Tony said there were about 40 bells. It was super loud and I got a little scared that the tower would fall over...I'm such a worrier sometimes :) But we were fine and I'm still alive. The way down the tower was almost worse than the way up because of how narrow and steep the stairwell was...I even got a little dizzy from the circularness of the staircase. I was glad to be back on the ground after the descent.
View from the top of the Belfry!!
Some of the 40+ bells
We had about an hour and a half left until we had to board the coach to head "home" to London so after climbing the tower, our appetities were pretty hungry and begging for some more chocolate. We decided on this little cafe called Caramel and got some fresh belgium hot chocolate...it seriously tasted like I was drinking a melted bar of chocolate. It was so rich and creamy and the best hot chocolate I have ever consumed (seems like this is a recurring trend from this trip?). The glass of hot chocolate was really tiny though and we think it's because of how rich it actually it.
Caramel=best hot chocolate a girl could ask for!
I didn't want to leave :(
By the time we finished our drinks and went in a few more shops (yes, we did in fact visit about 3 more chocolate shops), it was time to board the bus and leave this city that offered so many delicious foods and experiences. On the bus I had a few pieces of chocolate and by the time we arrived back in London (after a very bumpy ferry and bus ride) all us girls were not feeling the best. I had a tummy ache and felt really bloated and yucky...I guess that's the consequence I get for consuming waffles, french fries, chocolate, and hot chocolate for all my meals in one 12 hour period...but it was totally worth it :) My mom also warned me that since the Belgian chocolate is so rich, I should be careful only to eat about 1 piece a day otherwise I may have some explosions erupting out of my bottom...thanks mom for always watching out for me!!
I would definitly classify this as the best foodie experience I have ever been on. It was so much fun and I am glad I got to explore such a lovely city with 3 of my best friends! Now with less than 2 weeks to go, everything is starting to set in and I am so excited to see my family and friends whom I miss so incredibly much!!! It will for sure be super hard to leave the girls I have formed close bonds with and this great city, but I am also very proud I have chosen to go on this adventure and have really grown up and learned a lot about myself...
Can't wait to see you all very soon!
Cheers!
Little Londoner
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