In Bruges.

My Friday in Paris was spent mostly out of Paris. I wanted another day trip so I could explore more of France. While I was researching day trips from Paris, I came across a bus trip to Bruges. Why not add another country to the list of ones that I have visited? Also, I remember Bruges mostly from the movie In Bruges, which I remember being rather amusing.

The bus left Paris at 7:15 am which meant that I had to be up quite early. Luckily, the place where I caught the bus was on the same Metro line as Becca's place so it wasn't a long trip.

I was surprised about how many other people went on the tour with me. There were English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French people, so the information was given in four languages. The drive to Bruges was about four hours. We had a rest stop at a service station on the way. Foreign service stations are always fun.

When we got to Bruges, we had about an hour walking tour, and then the rest of the time was free.

I enjoyed the walking tour. Thankfully, we broke up into language groups so it didn't take as long. Buses aren't allowed in the city centre of Bruges, so it was a short walk from the the coach park to the centre.

Here is the first picture I took as we walked into the city centre.


We walked through a beautiful park called Minnewaterpark. Then we entered a square of land with trees and daffodils surrounded by a convent called Le Beguinage. It was beautiful... I wish I could have really taken a picture that showed its beauty. It's one of the places in which I've felt the most peace.

The heart on this house made me smile.

Here's the belfry of Bruges. I learned that belfries were built in Northern France and Belgium as ways for cities to show off their wealth. Guess Bruges was doing OK.


We kept walking. Bruges is referred to as the Venice of the North, and has many canals. (Interestingly, I read the same of St. Petersburg in the novel on Catherine the Great that I just finished. Guess I'll have to go to the real Venice, and then St. Petersburg to make my own judgement.)

I took lots of canal pictures.

Here's a picture of the tower of the Eglise de Notre Dame. Hey - that's the third Notre Dame of the trip! Well done me.


Here's the square in the centre of the city.

This is where the walking tour ended, and I was keen for lunch. Bruges is seriously the most delicious-smelling city I've ever smelled. I was really hungry by this time, so I picked a modern looking cafe for mussels, frites, and beer.

This is probably the most delicious beer I've ever had in my life.

I enjoy mussels, and I've had some good ones in my day. I had some good ones when I traveled to the Maritimes. Let me tell you, those have NOTHING on Belgian mussels. These mussels were HUGE, and served in a delicious white wine sauce with celery and onions. SO YUMMY. There were seriously one of the best things I've ever eaten, and I couldn't finish them even though I tried my best.

Not pictured: delicious frites with mayonnaise.


I walked around a bit more, and even though I was stuffed, I really wanted to eat a waffle in Belgium. Oh, it was good.


I considered doing a canal tour, but they didn't really have a set time when the boats left, and I kept just missing them. I did some shopping instead. I bought some chocolates for some friends and my 'rents, and also a lace bookmark for my aunt. (Bruges is known for its lace, and we all know about Belgian chocolate.)

When I was done shopping, it was sunny out, so I took more pictures.


What a beautiful city. The swan is Bruges' symbol, and there were many of them there. Made a Stratford-born girl like myself feel quite at home. In the movie, Colin Farrell plays a hitman who made a mistake, so his boss (Ralph Fiennes) has to have him killed. The boss feels badly, so he decides to send the doomed hitman to the place where he would want to spend his last days: Bruges. Colin Farrell's character hates Bruges and keeps complaining about.

After my day trip to Bruges, I completely agree with the boss. Bruges is a great city.

Next vacay post: last day in Paris.