This past weekend, I died and went to Bruges.
After just a few minutes in the city, I was already beginning to melt like chocolate fondue from the cuteness. I have never seen anywhere so adorable - so charming - so full of delicious things to eat.
I decided to dress to honor the city. I put on my Brogues of course, and opted not for a sundress, but rather my lace shorts. For the first time in my life I wished I was a brunett so my hair could match the chocolate. But you can't have it all....
I was starving when I arrived. I had not eaten breakfast when I woke up because I wanted to save myself for a waffle. But at 9am as I walked through town there were not any open yet, so I joined up with Quasimido Bike tours on an empty stomach.
Bike tours are, in my opinion, the best way to see a city. We biked the entire area of Bruges in two and half hours. All around the Burg Square and Grand Place, out to the border of the city to see the beautiful Dutch windmills, along the canals, on beautiful bike paths, through a residential area that caused my jaw to nearly detach because it was so beautiful, and eventually stopped at the oldest beer house in Bruges for a drink.
I still hadn't eaten yet. Beer for breakfast? Pourquoi pas?
I got a Kriek, which is a girly beer that is cherry flavored and so delicious. Bonding over beers, I got to know my fellow bikers.
A family of 5 from California who currently lives in Stuttgart, Germany. A girl from Canada who currently lives in the Netherlands for her work, a couple from New Zealand who in the middle of a 6 week tour of Europe, and fearless guide - a local Belgian who never wants to leave - and I don't blame him.
It's really fun to sit around with others and compare travel notes. I've found bike tours are rather social and full of interesting people, and by the end of the tour you feel like a bunch of friends rather than strangers. Back on our bikes, and slightly tipsy, we did a final loop before parting ways.
I could not wait any longer for a waffle, so I left my friends (who were now all headed to the chocolate museum together) and went to find the perfect place to get a gauffre.
A Belgian waffle in Belgium is nothing like a Belgium waffle in America.
In Belgium, there are actually two kinds of waffles you can get. One is the Brussels waffle - which is more similiar to texture and taste to what you might find in America - but is it better, fluffier, more cake-like.
Then, there is a Liege waffle. This is where things get crazy....
Rather than being made from batter, the liege waffle is actually made from waffle dough. And we all know dough = delicious. The waffle dough is speckled with pearl-sugar, and when the dough is pressed into the hot iron, the pearl sugar melts and carmelizes. The result: a chewy, gooey, doughy waffle with a carmelized exterior that is so sweet I would not be surprised if the eating of one results in a instant cavity.
There are a variety of delicious toppings, but I like it plain and simple - waffle and whip.
Not only is Bruges quite possibly my favorite place but I've been - but a liege waffle is quite possibly my favorite baked good I've ever eaten. They are AHHHH-mazing. I straddled the side of the canal and savored every bite until it was gone, then thought very seriously about getting another.
But decided against it - I hadn't even gotten around to chocolates yet.
The streets of Bruges are streets of dreams.
Chocolate shop, waffle shop, cute cafe, frite stand, chocolate chop, lace store, chocolate shop, frite stand, waffle shop. As a result, the streets literally smell of cooking waffles and chocolate. It's impossible to not be hungry.
After just a few minutes in the city, I was already beginning to melt like chocolate fondue from the cuteness. I have never seen anywhere so adorable - so charming - so full of delicious things to eat.
I decided to dress to honor the city. I put on my Brogues of course, and opted not for a sundress, but rather my lace shorts. For the first time in my life I wished I was a brunett so my hair could match the chocolate. But you can't have it all....
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| Brogues in Bruges! |
I was starving when I arrived. I had not eaten breakfast when I woke up because I wanted to save myself for a waffle. But at 9am as I walked through town there were not any open yet, so I joined up with Quasimido Bike tours on an empty stomach.
Bike tours are, in my opinion, the best way to see a city. We biked the entire area of Bruges in two and half hours. All around the Burg Square and Grand Place, out to the border of the city to see the beautiful Dutch windmills, along the canals, on beautiful bike paths, through a residential area that caused my jaw to nearly detach because it was so beautiful, and eventually stopped at the oldest beer house in Bruges for a drink.
I still hadn't eaten yet. Beer for breakfast? Pourquoi pas?
I got a Kriek, which is a girly beer that is cherry flavored and so delicious. Bonding over beers, I got to know my fellow bikers.
It's really fun to sit around with others and compare travel notes. I've found bike tours are rather social and full of interesting people, and by the end of the tour you feel like a bunch of friends rather than strangers. Back on our bikes, and slightly tipsy, we did a final loop before parting ways.
I could not wait any longer for a waffle, so I left my friends (who were now all headed to the chocolate museum together) and went to find the perfect place to get a gauffre.
A Belgian waffle in Belgium is nothing like a Belgium waffle in America.
In Belgium, there are actually two kinds of waffles you can get. One is the Brussels waffle - which is more similiar to texture and taste to what you might find in America - but is it better, fluffier, more cake-like.
Then, there is a Liege waffle. This is where things get crazy....
Rather than being made from batter, the liege waffle is actually made from waffle dough. And we all know dough = delicious. The waffle dough is speckled with pearl-sugar, and when the dough is pressed into the hot iron, the pearl sugar melts and carmelizes. The result: a chewy, gooey, doughy waffle with a carmelized exterior that is so sweet I would not be surprised if the eating of one results in a instant cavity.
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| Liege Waffle Dough |
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| Perfection |
Not only is Bruges quite possibly my favorite place but I've been - but a liege waffle is quite possibly my favorite baked good I've ever eaten. They are AHHHH-mazing. I straddled the side of the canal and savored every bite until it was gone, then thought very seriously about getting another.
But decided against it - I hadn't even gotten around to chocolates yet.
Chocolate shop, waffle shop, cute cafe, frite stand, chocolate chop, lace store, chocolate shop, frite stand, waffle shop. As a result, the streets literally smell of cooking waffles and chocolate. It's impossible to not be hungry.
There are also a fair-share of bisquiteries: which are shops that make and sell cookies.
Mainly the Dutch speciality Speculoos, which is a spice/carmelized/ginger cookie that is crunchy and strangely delicious. Speculoos are also used in chocolates, as waffle toppings, and mixed into ice cream.... could I love this city more?
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| Chocolate Speculoos Truffels |
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| Pralines - a Belgian speciality! |
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| Decisions, decisions... |
It was the perfect afternoon! I strolled the streets full of waffle-eating, chocolate-buying, French-speaking people in utter bliss. and I didn't speak a word of English! When I finished my canal tour - I realized it was time for a drink. I got a canal-view table at the cutest cafe in town and drank a Leffe Blonde followed by a Leffe Ruby while I read a few chapters of Keith Richard's autobiograhy, "Life."
I've gotten really into the Rolling Stone lately, and can often be found singing along and dancing to "Start Me Up" in my downtime. I think my new interest in The Stones is an appropriate compliment for other new interest: excessive drinking.
Kidding! Though I did throw back more beers this weekend than in the rest of my lifetime combined.
When in Belgium, right?
As dinner hour approached I headed to the Grand Place for the perfect setting to get some moules frites, another Belgian speciality.
I love moules frites, so I was unimaginably excited to have a big bowl full of fresh mussels and crispy fries. I noticed the cute, old, French couple next to me drinking Julipers, and I decided to copy them since I hadn't tried that beer yet.
It wasn't long before this couple had practically joined my table and we were talking about France and cheers-ing! Raoul and his wife, Vivienne, are from Lille. They pop down every summer because it's so close. They were very interested in my lonesome travels - and complimented my french accent - which made my day even that much better. They also taught me the correct way to eat mussels. Rather than using a fork to pop the mussel out of it's shell, you use an empty shell as a short of miniature chopstick, and pull the mussel out by pinching it with the other shell! Genius!
It was nice to have friends to have dinner with after spending the afternoon conversing mainly with chocolate-shop workers and waffle makers.
As I began my walk back to the train station to go back to Brussels, I just couldn't stop smiling. It was one of the best days I've had on my own since I lived in Paris. I felt like I was walking on air with happiness radiating out of me the entire day. Bruges blew me away!
The architecture in the city is simply stunning. Every building has this pointed roof, and nothing that looks even remotely modern or American. You don't see a McDonalds, or a Starbucks, or even an ATM machine around. Everything is old, charming, authentic, all the streets are cobblestone and you hear a continuous trotting of horse's hooves as the horse and buggy ride tours navigate through the streets. It simply does not seem real.
I continued smiling like a loon the whole train ride home and the entire next day wandering around Brussels. I felt drunk not on beer, but on euphoria. Belgium was everything I dreamed and more. A chocolate covered fantasy land of waffles, fries, and beers, packaged up and tied with bow. It's a little French, it's a little Dutch, it's a lot dreamy - and I adored it.
As if the weekend could have been any better - I came home to meet my new flatmate....
I went mental. Talk about love at first sight. It was only a matter of time before we were cuddling together on the couch, his furry little head nuzzled on my shoulder.
My flatmate Suze is his mom, but I am going to be his girlfriend.
I love dogs more than I love sugar. There was no a minute that I was home growing up that I did not have my yorkie, Lucie, by my side. Since I can't afford a dog of my own, and am currently traveling far too often to have one , it has long been my dream to live in an apartment with someone else's dog!
Then I get all of the fun and none of the responsibility.
So two dreams came true this past weekend - I finally saw Bruges and I finally got a puppy.
Next weekend has a lot to live up to. But I will be in South of France, so my chances of dream fulfillment are already looking pretty good...
I've gotten really into the Rolling Stone lately, and can often be found singing along and dancing to "Start Me Up" in my downtime. I think my new interest in The Stones is an appropriate compliment for other new interest: excessive drinking.
Kidding! Though I did throw back more beers this weekend than in the rest of my lifetime combined.
When in Belgium, right?
As dinner hour approached I headed to the Grand Place for the perfect setting to get some moules frites, another Belgian speciality.
I love moules frites, so I was unimaginably excited to have a big bowl full of fresh mussels and crispy fries. I noticed the cute, old, French couple next to me drinking Julipers, and I decided to copy them since I hadn't tried that beer yet.
It wasn't long before this couple had practically joined my table and we were talking about France and cheers-ing! Raoul and his wife, Vivienne, are from Lille. They pop down every summer because it's so close. They were very interested in my lonesome travels - and complimented my french accent - which made my day even that much better. They also taught me the correct way to eat mussels. Rather than using a fork to pop the mussel out of it's shell, you use an empty shell as a short of miniature chopstick, and pull the mussel out by pinching it with the other shell! Genius!
It was nice to have friends to have dinner with after spending the afternoon conversing mainly with chocolate-shop workers and waffle makers.
As I began my walk back to the train station to go back to Brussels, I just couldn't stop smiling. It was one of the best days I've had on my own since I lived in Paris. I felt like I was walking on air with happiness radiating out of me the entire day. Bruges blew me away!
The architecture in the city is simply stunning. Every building has this pointed roof, and nothing that looks even remotely modern or American. You don't see a McDonalds, or a Starbucks, or even an ATM machine around. Everything is old, charming, authentic, all the streets are cobblestone and you hear a continuous trotting of horse's hooves as the horse and buggy ride tours navigate through the streets. It simply does not seem real.
I continued smiling like a loon the whole train ride home and the entire next day wandering around Brussels. I felt drunk not on beer, but on euphoria. Belgium was everything I dreamed and more. A chocolate covered fantasy land of waffles, fries, and beers, packaged up and tied with bow. It's a little French, it's a little Dutch, it's a lot dreamy - and I adored it.
As if the weekend could have been any better - I came home to meet my new flatmate....
 |
| Drummer, the Parson Russell Terrier |
I went mental. Talk about love at first sight. It was only a matter of time before we were cuddling together on the couch, his furry little head nuzzled on my shoulder.
My flatmate Suze is his mom, but I am going to be his girlfriend.
I love dogs more than I love sugar. There was no a minute that I was home growing up that I did not have my yorkie, Lucie, by my side. Since I can't afford a dog of my own, and am currently traveling far too often to have one , it has long been my dream to live in an apartment with someone else's dog!
Then I get all of the fun and none of the responsibility.
So two dreams came true this past weekend - I finally saw Bruges and I finally got a puppy.
Next weekend has a lot to live up to. But I will be in South of France, so my chances of dream fulfillment are already looking pretty good...
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