Things that Start with "B"...

Belgium, Brussels, Bruges, beer, beautiful scenery and the best chocolate and waffles ever!  :)

Colin and I enjoyed a long weekend in Belgium.  We toured Brussels primarily at night by walking to the charming "Grand Place" square, and checking out the Cathedral and other sites as we passed them.  It was neat to see the city all lit up, and then settle down for some Belgian beer tasting.  The next day we checked out the Flemish art at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts.  Then, since we knew we'd love Bruges, we hopped in Trusty and headed an hour west.

 Brussels Cathedral

Grand Place with Flemish Renaissance-baroque guild houses from the 17th century

 Doors of  the Notre-Dame-du-Sablon Church (15th Century Gothic)

 First Sampling of Beers at Mort Subite

And then, Bruges!

Sure enough, our trip to Bruges was awesome and it is now our fav nearby spot.  A small, walkable midieval town with romantic canals, swans, horse-drawn carriages and delicious food... it is almost too good to be true.  Colin was particularly interested in trying an ambitious array of Belgian beers, so we made a first stop at Beertje, where they served about 300 types of beers, many of of which had their own specific beer glass.  He tried Trappist beers (brewed by monks) and Abbey beers and I tried out sips of various "fruity" Lambic ales- peach, raspberry and cherry.    After a few days of tasting, Colin found a favorite, the Westmalle Tripel.  It is a Trappist beer that has a whopping 9.5% alcohol content.  Hm.  Good thing it was generally accompanied with some traditional meals - Flemish Stew and Mussels.  We were very content in Bruges. 

Our last night there, we found a cool little bar with live music, and had a great time listening to the Belgian version of the Counting Crows, U2 and Tom Petty.  We highly recommend Bruges to our future visitors- its only 2.5 hours away and has just enough sites that you stay busy while still relaxing, enjoying the scenery, and eating some chocolates.  A few highlights as far as "things to see" (yes, we did do some sight-seeing) were the "Madonna of Bruges", a marble sculpture by Michelangelo in the Church of Our Lady (and the only sculpture of Michelangelo's to leave Italy during his lifetime), a Basilica where there was a vial of blood that was supposedly from Christ (? we were not sure what to think on this one), the Bell Tower, Market Square and the Burg.

Belgian Lace

The Market Square

 

 

 

 

In front of the Burg

We enjoyed a tour of the canals in this boat with a tour guide that called himself James Bond

 Michelangelo's Madonna and Child

Bell Tower

mmmmm Chocolates!

And finally... the beer tasting series ...

Brewery De Halve Maan

washed down with these meals...

 SO FUN!!