Brugge, Belgium

Our Easter Weekend trip started in the town of Petit-Rechain in Belgium on Thursday night as we drove half way to Bruges to the Hotel Midi.  It was a nice little stop with an indoor tennis facility attached where we tried our first Belgian beers of the weekend.  Leffe Blonde was the name and already a new favourite.  Friday morning we drove another 2 hours or so to Bruges and conveniently parked near the train station (only  EUR 3,50 for 1/2 a day) right outside of the old medieval city which was just a quick scenic quick walk away.  We didn't really have a plan, just wander around the town take in the sights, get some beer and chocolate.... 

One of the MANY Chocolatiers in town...mmmmm....

We walked though the Memling Museum and St. Johns Hospital which was a former Monastery/hospital that had some lovely old buildings on the grounds.  We entered the Market Square with all of the really cool looking old gabled buildings as well as the Bell Tower or Belfry. 

The Belfry

This tower stands 290' high and was built around 1300.  We wanted to climb it for (what was probably) an awesome view but super long line made us think otherwise.  Instead we settled for lunch at a place on the square, in the sun to enjoy some Belgian beers and people watch.  We walked around to the Burg Square that houses the gray and black Basilica of the Holy Blood, the white sandstone City Hall, the Old Recorders House, and  the Provosts House.  The Basilica (circa 1300) was originally called the Chapel of St. Basil and is famous for its relic of the blood of Christ, which according to tradition was brought to Brugge in 1150 after the Second Crusade.  

In Burg Square the Basilica of the Holy Blood

We walked into the Church Of Our Lady, but only to the door because we didn't want to pay but wanted to catch a glimpse of Michelangelo's Madonna and Child from 1504 which is said to be the only Michelangelo statue to leave Italy in his lifetime bought in Tuscany by a wealthy businessman who is buried beneath it.   I wasn't able to get a pic but luckily there is copy/paste online.

We were in the land of chocolate so why not head to the Choco-Story at the Chocolate Museum?  We were led through 2,600 years of chocolate making by the Chocolate Fairy with all English explanations and a few tastings.  It was definitely the kind of museum we can handle.

 
Instead of buying any choco samples there we stumbled upon a cute little shop that must have been good because people were taking pictures of it! I went in, picked out some pralines and hand picked a few more for an instant treat. The woman at the counter was so friendly and said to me, "Do you know Rick Steve's?" and I answered, "yes (of course!), but not personally, I just have many of his travel books EXCEPT for the Belgium book!   She showed me his family Christmas card that they received and said how she just sent him an Easter basket full of goodies. The shop was called Dumon, and little did I know that it IS one of Rick's faves and the woman was the owner, Mrs. Dumon herself! I even spoke with her daughter, Natale, in the downstairs of the family run shop. What a fun experience. There were TONS of chocolate shops and Chocolatiers as you'll see in the pictures and the town just smelled wonderful but I'm glad I chose to go into Dumon.  Plus the shelf life of their chocolate is only 6 weeks so needless to say what we bought is surely gone!

The daffodil gardens in the Begijnhof

On the way out of town we walked through a beautiful tulip garden in the Begijnhof, which was a place built to house women of the lay order, called Beguines who spent their lives in piety and service without having to take the same vows a nun would.  It was very beautiful and peaceful and single religious women still live there today. 

Through there we entered the Minnewater, another peaceful, lake filled park with canals and swans.  Brugge was a nice little city full of beautiful canals and charming streets. It's historic city center is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO and it is actually called the Venice of the North and we could certainly see why!  Now we're on our way to Gent, which we must say is probably one in our top five favourite cities in Europe to date and therefore requires a completely separate blog post!
LINK TO BRUGES PICTURES: