A Stroll Through Bruges

We only got a brief taste of Bruges yesterday afternoon, so we went back for another look.  I'm so glad Tom added this city to our itinerary, it's fabulous!

Not as much as Paris, but there are street musicians here, too.

We strolled around the Market Square, the center of the city and marveled at the architecture.

Even though it was noon, we really hadn't thought too much about lunch until it started to pour down rain.  We ducked into what we thought was a restaurant, turned out to be a bar, oh well.

We ordered a local beer,  Brugse Zot.

There was a fish market right across the way and the waitress told us we could bring food in from there.  I held down the table and the beer and Tom went in search of lunch.  He returned with a half kilo (1.1 pounds) of boiled shrimp and bread, perfect lunch!  It's said that the shrimp is caught in the North Sea and cooked on the boat, so you know it's very fresh.

I thought if we were in Belgium, we had to have a Belgium waffle, so we did.  Yum!

This is a town of beer and chocolate and we've sampled both.
We walked along the street of chocolate.

Then we saw the "Wall of Beer".

We returned to the apartment to put our feet up for a bit before heading back out.
In the 16th century, there were more than thirty windmills.  Today only four are left, they are along the canal that used to be a moat around the city.

We also passed the  Kruispoort/Cross Gate, an entrance into the city.

There are a lot of bicycle riders, many more than cars.

We are also amazed at how clean the city is, quite refreshing.

Even our alley, which is how we get in and out the backdoor of our apartment is spotless.

Beautiful Bruges, Belgium

Tom did a fantastic job of driving out of Paris, and it was morning rush hour.  Our four hour trip to Bruges was pleasant and uneventful.  The GPS got us right to the front door of our apartment.  This GPS we call Ed or Eddie because ED are the first two letters on the license plate.
We were greeted by our charming landlady, Louise, who gave us a tour, instructions and several suggestions.  Her husband is a landscape architect, check out the gardens.

This place is amazing.  They have taken an 18th century tower house and turned it into a modern apartment without losing it's 18th century charm.

It is a protected monument of the city of Bruges.  It's like a castle and museum in one.

The kitchen, in a cupboard, the living room and small dining alcove are on the first floor.

The bedroom and bath are on the second floor

and the third floor, the top of the tower, is a small reading, viewing or just sitting room.

You must be careful on the stairway up and down as it is very steep and narrow, after all it was built in the 18th century.

It's been remodeled several times, but the old charm is still intact.

After unpacking, it's off to find something to eat and explore the city.  Bruges is a canal based city and is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North, even though Tom and I think it looks more like Amsterdam.

The population of 117,073 speak both French and Flemish.  The historical city center is a prominent World  Heritage Site of UNESCO.
The Market Square is overflowing with people, for good reason, it is awesome!

Bruges is known for its beer and chocolate, hence the many shops for both.

The architecture is amazing.

 

The horse and buggies are calling to us,

but maybe for another day.