October Travels

October 15-17 we traveled by train to Bruges, Belgium which is just an hour further than Brussels and has a famed historical centre that is listed as a World Heritage site. The medieval city streets are filled with cobblestones and lined with landmarks, monuments, and basilicas dating from the 12th century.

This was such an easy trip to plan…for the first time we used a company that combines rail travel and hotel accommodations into one inclusive package. We were able to book online and have all of our travel documents delivered to our flat. We had a choice of hotels and were advised to choose a boutique hotel with only 20 beautiful rooms and a warm and friendly staff. There was a cozy lounge where we had coffee each evening, a beautiful and snug bar, and the fabulous Restaurant Le Mystique where we had quite probably the best dinner we have ever eaten!!!

Our hotel was just a short walk from the city centre so we went there immediately after checking in to our room. While it rained softly, we sat under a canopy at one of the many cafés surrounding the market square and shared a late dinner of Moules & Frites (mussels and fries), looked across the square at the famous belfry, and sipped our wine.

Saturday, following breakfast in our hotel we returned to the Grote Markt to see all the sights, enjoy a canal ride, and explore all of the churches, basilicas, and the famous cathedral all the while sampling Belgium chocolates. After lunch we had a great walk to the outskirts of the historic center to The Minnewater, a lake surrounded by parkland which was once the city harbor and is the source of the canals which run through the city. There are breathtaking views and a refuge for the city’s numerous swans. Sunday we walked to the edge of the historic centre to get a close-up view of the windmills lining the canal. We explored all the remaining streets and enjoyed the architecture of this quaint city. We returned to our favorite café, this time to sit in the sun and enjoy a lunch of traditional Flemish stew. Too soon, we were back at our hotel having coffee and chocolates in front of the fire for one last time before heading to the train station and back to London.

http://picasaweb.google.com/alysehirsekorn/Brugges?authkey=Gv1sRgCKHkpeWQiqy_YA&feat=directlink