Brussels & Bruges, Belgium

The French summer holidays have begun!  Max had Thursday and Friday off work this first week in June so we took off on our trip to Belgium which we've had planned for awhile.  Belgium was very cool, especially Brussels which felt like a mix of Paris and Amsterdam.  Above is the Town Hall in the Grand Place, were we started our trip. 


Grand Place is the main square in old town Brussels.  It has been the town's market square for 1000 years.  We were lucky enough to have stayed only a couple of blocks away.  This was one of those rare instances were we stayed down town, in the middle of things.  It was worth it.  

Between our hotel on the Grand Place was this great friterie (frie place).  Fries in Belgium are a treat and a tradition.  Their fries are cooked twice, which makes them extra crispy.  We enjoyed lots of them (as you can see), along with waffels, chocolate, and beer (for Max). 

Speaking of chocolate, there were chocolate shops everywhere.  It was awesome.  We'd go and pick out six or seven pieces and make our personal little create your-own assortment.  I'm staring at the box we bought for ourselves as I'm writing this blog.  It's hard not to dive into it while Max is at work.  We're trying to take turns picking out our pieces...

Our tour through Brussels took us past the city's famous Manneken-pis Statue.  He's a tiny little guy, mischevious too.   It's hard not to crack a smile when you see it. 

We decided to take a day trip over to Bruges to see what it was all about.  The city, on the western side of the coutry is only an hour away from Brussels.  Here, they speak more Flemish than French.  It was a cute city, with a lot more toursits than Brussels.  Here is the picturesque Bell Tower (above). 

We toured the Church of Our Lady, one of the few places to house a Michelangelo sculpture outside of Italy.  The chruch and the sculpture are a testament to the wealth Bruges had accumulated during it's peak. 

While in Bruges, we took a bike ride out of the city, through the country side, to the next town over.  It as a great way to get out of the crowds and to see more if the country.  How else are you supposed to see windmills?  Beligum was a fun, laid back place to visit.  I'm glad we had the opprotunity to experience it.