Brews in BRUGGES

Tori and I began our weekend excursion through Belgium EARLY Friday morning (actually more like Thursday night since we had to sleep in the airport...ugh). Our flight got us into Brussels-Charleroi around 9:30 am. From there, we took a couple trains to Brugges and arrived by noon. After an amazingly long night/morning, Tori and I were just about ready to go to sleep, rather than see a new city. But Brugges smashed that grogginess the minute we stepped off the train. The scenery was BEAUTIFUL. It was a cool, fall day with changing leaves and adorable cobblestone roads. Also, the canals for which Brugges is known (they call it "Venice of the North") were so cool to see. While walking to our hostel, we stopped by the only one of Michelangelo's works to ever leave Italy during his lifetime- the Madonna and Child. This statue is kept in a Bruges church that was pretty magnificent itself. Just our walk to our hostel from the train station made the trip worth it.

Anyway, after checking into our hostel, we decided to see what Brugges had to offer. We then checked out the town's Belfry (or Bell tower). The walk to the top was brutal, but was definitely worth it. Once at the top, however, Tori and I were damn near pushed over by the wind. It was unbelievable; I can't believe that thing isn't leaning like the Tower of Pisa. Anyway, after our successful ascent of the Belfry (may as well been K2, though), we rewarded ourselves with a steaming hot batch of the local cuisine- french fries doused in mayonnaise! "'Local?', you ask. 'Why, of course!', I respond" Didn't you know french fries were invented in Brugges? That is indeed fact-- they were called "FRENCH fries" because French was the official language spoken by the Belgian Army. Stick that in your hat!

After our snack, we headed to the Church of the Holy Blood. Strange name, but makes sense considering it houses ornate vial containing what claims to be Christ's blood. NUTS! Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed, but look it up online-- it was really gross looking. Legend has it that the vial was brought to Brugges sometime after the 2nd Crusade, but I don't know if I buy it. From there, we took a tour of a chocolate museum, ChocoStory, to learn about Belgium's most famous food. The museum was a little disappoint because we thought we were going to a factory, BUT the sculptures and demonstration at the end were really cool. We watched a woman make pralines from scratch, and then we got to enjoy the final product. However, I learned I am not a huge praline fan.

To end our amazing day in Brugges, Tori and I decided to try another one of Belgium's famous staples- the BEER. Instead of wasting our money at an overpriced bar, Tori and I drank the economical way by buying various local beers from the supermarket- that was our excuse at least for not being cool enough to do the bar scene (the Guinness is of course not local, but Belgium is one of very few countries to get the "Foreign Extra Stout"). We quickly learned that the Belgians brew some heavy beer-- I could barely finish off 3 before I couldn't take anymore. The beer, itself, was definitely unique and flavorful. Not our favorites, but that wasn't gonna stop us from finding the perfect beer in GHENT!