[Jared]: We finished our beers and headed back out into the mist. After a short walk along some of the beautiful canals, we made our way to the church of our lady. The highlight here was a Michelangelo sculpture which is said to be the only one to have left Italy during Mich's lifetime.
We continued our stroll through Bruges and took some time to step inside a few reputable chocolatiers. Their selection was vast and the quality and flavor surpassed my high expectations. Notable creations we discovered here include a Havana chocolate - a truffle made with an infusion of Cuban tobacco - and a bacon truffle! I could have eaten an entire box of the bacon chocolate. Good lord, so tasty.
After our chocolates, we were ready to be even more adventurous. I was anxious to tour a few of the many historic windmills in Bruges. To do so, however, required renting a pair of bicycles and biking a few miles to the outskirts of downtown. Although it was a chilly ride, Beth and I had lots of fun. We love biking through European cities (ok, well, Bruges and Paris anyway) as it is the best way to see and experience parts of the city that you might not otherwise visit. We passed historic buildings, rolled through beautiful courtyards, and followed the canals. Finally we made it to the windmills! [Side note: I once (along with two high school friends) built a pretty rockin working replica of a windmill for the Illinois state history fair.] These windmills were amazingly well preserved and offered terrific views of the city. I am so glad we were able to see them.
The ride back to Markt Square was even more canalicious (which is to say, we saw even more of the canals). We also crossed a few cute little bridges. By the time we made it back to the square, all the lights were beginning to turn on and the city center had a beautiful glow about it.
With just a few hours left before catching our train back to Brussels, we decided some libations and sustenance were in order. To satisfy our cravings we stopped by a beer hall recommended by some friends and then picked up some famous Belgian fries from a little shack on the square. These turned out to be the best fries of the trip by far. They were warm and golden and just flat out good. We liked them so much we posed in a few pictures with them.
Finally, we made our way back to the train station. As you can imagine we were utterly exhausted - but the best kind of exhausted. We made it back to Brussels and headed to bed to prepare for an early trip to Paris in the morning.
We continued our stroll through Bruges and took some time to step inside a few reputable chocolatiers. Their selection was vast and the quality and flavor surpassed my high expectations. Notable creations we discovered here include a Havana chocolate - a truffle made with an infusion of Cuban tobacco - and a bacon truffle! I could have eaten an entire box of the bacon chocolate. Good lord, so tasty.
After our chocolates, we were ready to be even more adventurous. I was anxious to tour a few of the many historic windmills in Bruges. To do so, however, required renting a pair of bicycles and biking a few miles to the outskirts of downtown. Although it was a chilly ride, Beth and I had lots of fun. We love biking through European cities (ok, well, Bruges and Paris anyway) as it is the best way to see and experience parts of the city that you might not otherwise visit. We passed historic buildings, rolled through beautiful courtyards, and followed the canals. Finally we made it to the windmills! [Side note: I once (along with two high school friends) built a pretty rockin working replica of a windmill for the Illinois state history fair.] These windmills were amazingly well preserved and offered terrific views of the city. I am so glad we were able to see them.
The ride back to Markt Square was even more canalicious (which is to say, we saw even more of the canals). We also crossed a few cute little bridges. By the time we made it back to the square, all the lights were beginning to turn on and the city center had a beautiful glow about it.
With just a few hours left before catching our train back to Brussels, we decided some libations and sustenance were in order. To satisfy our cravings we stopped by a beer hall recommended by some friends and then picked up some famous Belgian fries from a little shack on the square. These turned out to be the best fries of the trip by far. They were warm and golden and just flat out good. We liked them so much we posed in a few pictures with them.
Finally, we made our way back to the train station. As you can imagine we were utterly exhausted - but the best kind of exhausted. We made it back to Brussels and headed to bed to prepare for an early trip to Paris in the morning.
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