Brugge, Belgium - Wet, windy but oh so beautiful!

My first moment of falling in love with Brugge was when I was standing on a bridge, overlooking a small river reflecting the deep autumn colours that dripped off the trees, like a misty water-colour painting. My initial thought was that it reminded me of the bridge in Anne of Green Gables, and I was almost expecting to see handsome Gilbert appear (Sarah Weir, I know you would understand this). Even though it was raining, the city still held a romance and history that intrigued me and kept me warm, despite what my cold, purple fingers were arguing.

 

It was a little wet. Actually that’s quite an understatement, it was bucketing down. Despite the cold and the wet taunts Mark was extremely keen to take a boat road down the canal. We were all playing along, saying that if the weather cleared up we would suss out the boat ride. There were sightings of lip pouts from Mark and frequent queries into a possible boat ride, when all of the sudden we were perfectly positioned to watch a gliding boat pass underneath the bridge we were standing on. It was in this moment, without any words passed between us, the decision was finalised that we were not getting on a boat. The passing passengers could not be seen underneath their roofs of umbrellas, except for one guy sitting exactly in the middle of the boat; we managed to catch eye contact with the man as he glanced up slowly before going under the bridge, silently pleading to be anywhere but there. The misery on the man’s face was so evident, as was the fact that he forgot his umbrella and was forced to endure the saturating boat ride. We burst out laughing and looked at Mark, whose bottom lip was nowhere to be seen.

 

The main square was adorned with a line of green awnings, each holding above their hidden entrances brick buildings with welcoming windowsills of flowers or lampshades. Peaking out from amongst the square buildings, in the distance a beautifully tall church and its steeple was visible. I love stone churches! And this one was quite vast in its size. However the walk around it was a brisk one as we were desperate to find somewhere indoors. We managed to stumble across several chocolate shops and this did the job just fine. The smell was seductive and so tasteful! We promised ourselves a hot chocolate at the end of the day, once we visited the chocolate museum!!

 

It wasn’t what I first envisioned… endless chocolate tasting, with maybe a little show bag of chocolate souvenirs.  No, not quite. However, it was still really impressive – the history of chocolate as well as enormous chocolate sculptures and the viewing of chocolate making. We managed to walk out with a delicious taster, only further feeding our desire for that hot chocolate.

 

So we ventured around a little more until we were forced into the doors of a gorgeous tearoom café, by the gushing cold wind. Wallpapered with flowers and butterflies, the warmth of the room and the smell of the baking ushered us to our seats where we ordered our steaming hot drinks. The boys weren’t even bothered by the choice of the overly feminine café, however they must have foreseen what was to come for dinner… A pub serving the tastiest stews along with the finest beer they had come across. Tim was sold that it was the best beer in the world, which I think was helped by the novelty of the glass he was drinking out of. Both glass and Tim’s joy can be spotted in the photos!

 

With the warmth of a good feed and a train to catch, we walked back to the station feeling a little more acquainted with Brugge, but perhaps a desire to come back and reintroduce ourselves when the weather was a bit nicer. It felt like I had glimpse inside a treasure chest and was able to see its stunning beauty, but did not uncover all the treasures that it was holding.

Brussels, Belgium - BELGIUM BABY!!!

As I sit watching the computer screen I am a little confused as to how I should greet you all… I am a little late for Easter; we are currently in Spring but it’s lightly snowing with a not-so-light Russian wind; and it actually took me a while to work out what season Australia is currently in! Gee whizz, it feels like my mind is twirling around several different places at once. I have to say, the fact that my nose tip is stained an unbecoming pink from the frosty weather, I wouldn’t mind twirling around in the Aussie weather right now. Apparently London just experienced the coldest March in 50 years… Shivers!!! Literally.

So, we hold on to the hope that summer will appear, although winter is threatening to linger and is viciously gripping tightly onto our windowsills, unwilling to hide it’s presence. Whilst it is easy to give this weather the “cold-shoulder” the moment the sun ever so slightly peaks its shy head through a gap in the clouds, it really does make it all ok. It seems to give London an instant makeover, along with all the grumpy faced commuters. Everyone is suddenly best friends.

I have finally decided that the best possible way to greet you all in my current state of slippers and reminiscing of home would be with the biggest hug and a welcoming smile to join me for a cuppa and a chat. So, I virtually send all my love and with a cuppa in hand, hoping for you to join me.

Going back to last October, we boarded to Eurostar for another dashing European adventure. We made tracks to Brussels, Belgium in the finest of company – Mark and Terri! I still treasure the fact that we have met people to create life-long memories and implant our footsteps all over the world with such stunning friends. So, as you can tell, this trip was set-up for yet another cracking good time.

The city itself is a mix between traditional, ostentatious European buildings, which enclose the main square, with its outskirts and beyond boasting of modern, arty and eclectic scenery. We had a pretty low-key trip, with not much travelling beyond the main square, however I must point out that this is the city of Belgian chocolate, Belgian beer and Belgian waffles…. What would you do with your time in such a city!?

The square was really quite grand and breath taking, so our initial visit here compelled us to stop and act the tourist with several photos being taken. However, once we did venture out into the side streets, the quirkiness of the city began to enchant us. I didn’t realise, but Brussels is the city of the popular and cute comic character, Tin Tin, along with many other comics. It then became our mission to scout out the comic displays that were painted on random buildings around the place. With this inspiring our interest in the comic world, we strolled up to the Comic Museum where it displayed an excellent exhibition of world famous comics.

Speaking of world famous, I would get in a bit of trouble if I didn’t highlight the world famous beer that was enjoyed in Brussels… Tim and Mark were ruined for Belgium beer and had no trouble enjoying the world famous commodity daily to ensure that it really was the best. This was usually enjoyed with a warming meal of Chicken Waterzooi (yummmmm!!!), muscles (really yummmm!) or a Flemish beef stew (Tim’s favourite) and of course with a side of frites. It was heart-warming and stomach filling. Yet, Tim’s philosophy “there’s always room for dessert” was tried and tested and the waffles were happily eaten after such satisfying meals.

We frequented a small corner pub where we met the happiest Cambodian waiter who quickly became our closest friend and our entertainment with his witty sense of humour and flirtatious smile and wink. I love stumbling across such encounters, meeting generous-hearted people whilst traveling.

Brussels was definitely a win and another memory to catalogue and revisited often. It also gave us the opportunity for a day trip to the quaint and stunning Brugge – soon to come on our next blog.

So much love to friends and family. Big hugs, T&S xo