Skip to main content

Bruges: Canals, Cobbles & Beer

The kids are on break this week for February half term (basically a one week break in the middle of each trimester) so we headed out on our next family adventure to Bruges, Belgium. This time we decided to take the Eurostar which made for a comfortable, quick journey. By quick, I mean the Eurostar bit. From home to St. Pancras to Brussels to Bruges took 6 hours all in, but there was minimal complaining from the kids so I'll count that as a win.

Per usual, Beth had pretty much everything planned out. We tend to plan too many activities so this time Beth let the kids vote on what they wanted to do and she built the itinerary around that. They got to do what they enjoyed and Beth and I got to do some things on our own without them.

TUESDAY

When we arrived in Bruges, I made everyone walk to the Airbnb so that we could see the city a bit and get our bearings. Along the way we got a good feel for what the city was known for: canals and beautiful cobbled streets.




After struggling a bit to find our apartment, we noticed that it was actually located above the Torture Museum, one of Europe's oldest prisons.


Weird, ok, but look at this view from our place!


As we were in Belgium, naturally our first stop had to be the Bruges Beer Experience. Essentially this was a history of beer making and a bit about the culture of beer in Belgium. Two favorites for me here:

Learning about beer bellies

The great selection of postcards in the gift shop

Of course we had some beer tasting too. Michael and Elizabeth decided to have a beer with us (it's legal to drink with your parents at 15). We ate a nice Italian restaurant, sent the kids home, then Beth and I headed out for a drink at De Garre, a bar hidden way back in a tiny alley with a really good selection of beers.


Provincial Court

WEDNESDAY

We started our second day with a tour of the Belfort of Bruges (Belfry), which all of the kids wanted to tour because of the 366 step climb to the top of the 272' tall tower. The tower is a world heritage site famous for 47 bells housed inside the top tower.


I preferred it for the spectacular view of the city.



It was cold so we took the kids for a hot chocolate before dropping them back off at the apartment so that Beth and I could go on a walking tour. Whenever I travel to a new city, I try to do a walking tour; they're absolutely the best way to see a new city in a short amount of time. This tour was no different.

Looking back at our Airbnb (the set of windows on the far right building)

One of the oldest hospitals in the World

My love for beer never ends!

The Bridge of Love

After the tour, we headed for lunch with the kids for waffles! We were in Belgium, we HAD TO have waffles. On the way, we showed the kids the bridge of love.


Then had a delicious (and cheap) late lunch of waffles, frites (don't dare call them French fries) and a beer.


Our last stop Wednesday with the kids was at Choco-Story, which it turns out is EXACTLY the same as the one in Paris that Oscar and I went to a year ago on the same half term break.

Beth and I then celebrated Valentine's Day at Brugs Pittahuis, where I had a fantastic (and massive) pita with falafels and hummus. I had an 11 mile run scheduled for the morning, so back to the apartment we went and I crashed early (some things never change).

THURSDAY

My day started with some marathon training. Beth suggested heading out of the city along the canal to Damme, the town we would have gone to if we had done the bike tour. It was a long, straight, boring stretch, but good marathon prep.



Family time started with a visit to the old hospital, which houses works by Picasso and an Andy Warhol exhibit. After another lunch at the same waffle shop, we headed for Brouwerij De Halve Maan, a brewery owned by the Maes family for centuries that offered a great brewery tour. Our guide was a local woman who clearly loved here beer. We even got to go on the rooftop for a view of the city.


Again, Beth and I ditched the kids for dinner and stumbled upon another great local restaurant, Bistro Den Huzaar. We both wanted to stay out for a few drinks, so we went in search of Le Trappiste, which had been recommended to Beth and for which we had a free beer coupon from the walking tour.


I loved this place! Lots of beer options and I could order a flight of tasters.


Or maybe 2...I was trying to get to 500 unique beers after all.


Another really fun family adventure in a city I never thought I'd visit. I'd highly recommend Bruges as a stop for anyone, particularly those that love their beer.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

No more trips to Vietnam

Well, last week was a big week for me. I decided to leave FCG and return to work for Coca-Cola Enterprises. I had been talking with the people I know at CCE since late last year about working with them and they finally had a position open up a couple of weeks ago. I'm excited to go back there and work on the business side of the company versus the IT side. I start on Apri l16. I will be working in the Revenue Management Department as the Forecasting & Planning Manager. Essentially I will be the business process owner, facilitator, and coordinator of all forecasting and planning activities within the company. That involves working with all of the regional and corporate business units to ensure that the tools and related processes are thoroughly integrated across finance, revenue management, supply chain, logistics and sales. I will also be responsible for managing all of the support tools and solutions, so I still get to be a Project Manager. This is a big job with lo
6 comments
Read more

Saigon Walking Tour

I was going to put the picture of me with the two Thai twins here, but I thought that'd probably not be the best idea. David, Jeff, Scott & I went on a walking tour of Saigon Saturday. Our goal was to hit as many of the historical places as possible. This will probably come as no shock to most of you, but I was the tour organizer. The pictures from our tour can be see here . - Hotel Continental: Built in the French colonial days, this was a common meeting place for journals and diplomats during the Vietnam War. - Nha Hat Thanh Pho (Municipal Theatre): Built in 1899 as Saigon's Opera House, it later served as the National Assembly (Congress) of South Vietnam until 1975 when it became a theatre again. - Nha Tho Duc Ba (Notre Dame Cathedral): Built in 1880 by the French on the site of an old fort, this is still an active Catholic church. - The Virgin Mary: This is the statue of that was reportedly seen crying. - Buu Dien Trung Tam (Central Post Office): Built by the F
4 comments
Read more

Double Chocolate Chip Dream Cookies

If you love chocolate, these are the cookies for you. The name says it all...Double Chocolate Chip Dream Cookies. Indeed, they are a dream! It takes about 10 minutes to make the batter, then eight minutes to cook. You can be eating these in less time than it takes to watch an episode of The Office. To make them vegan:  Use 1/4 cup of applesauce (from Whole Foods in the UK) for each egg Replace the butter with margarine (make sure it's stick margarine) Use dark chocolate chips (you can get a 2KG bag of chocolate chips at Costco).  Unlike last time, when I used tub margarine and melted it too much, use stick margarine and let it come to room temperature to soften. This made a HUGE difference.  They're super delicious! Enjoy!
Post a Comment
Read more