An Afternoon in Bruges

So we leave Paris behind for the safety of Bruges, one of the cutest cities/towns I have ever been in. Everything is adorable and manicured and terribly touristy. But the touristy-ness doesn't bother me much cause I'm only there for a day. Our hostel was just a short walk from the train station, which is small enough to be easily navigated. The only criticism I have is that the sidewalks are very, very narrow. Barely enough for one person to fit down, let alone two with ginormous backpacks. We were constantly checking behind us for the teeny cars that liked to whip around street corners.

Our hostel was really great - the staff was so incredibly friendly, even when I asked the stupidest questions. We head into town for some lunch and I can't help all the oo's and ahhh's that constantly escape - the town is just that cute! We get lunch at one of the restaurants in the central square, which doesn't have fries, but it was good enough anyways. At least, the raspberry beer was a pleasant surprise. After that, we chill out in the room for a bit because our train left stupidly early from Paris and we're completely wiped. At least I manage to do all the laundry at the same time.

We walk around some more and go to the french fry museum, where I learn more about potatoes than I ever thought I would need to know. In the basement is one of the famous fry places where we get Belgian fries....that taste just like regular fries. This is not a fluke - we get fries later at dinner as well, and they're just fries. Kind of a disappointment, but better food is still yet to come. For dinner we go to this tiny restaurant where we grab a seat right next to a roaring fireplace - gas, but cute enough to seem almost wood-burning. Both Skip and I get the price fixed menu because it's cheaper than the regular menu, and end up ordering Flemish stew. Now I'm usually not one for stew, but this was pretty darn good. It's pork and beef cooked in a Belgian beer sauce and it was amazing. I also order some cherry beer - amazing stuff and why can't they import more to the states I say. We also get fries, but they are, again, just fries. Nothing really special about them. They might be a bit bigger than normal fries, but that just makes them a bastardization of normal fries and steak fries.

Walking around Bruges at night is absolutely adorable - everything is lit up and all the day tourists are gone, so it's utterly quiet. A great end to the day, and such a great change from Paris. Everyone is so nice and happy and friendly - unlike the dour, surly French we left behind. And thankfully, EVERYONE speaks English. Sometimes we even hear the native dutch speakers speaking in English to each other.

The next morning we have time to get some breakfast before our train, so, of course, we head for some Belgian waffles. Nothing like what we get in the states - they're crispy and fluffy and flaky and drizzled with strawberries and chocolate sauce, which is absolutely heavenly. Bruges is quickly becoming my favorite food city. I grab some chocolate on the way out (AMAZING) and our day is complete. We end up in Amsterdam for dinner, which presented its own set of complications.