Third time's the charm

Last Friday morning, I took a train to Bruges for the third time., for a good cause. My friend Katy was looking for a friend to join her on her first time and I graciously volunteered to leave my children for the day and be her guide. Not an easy task but I felt up for the challenge. Thus, on Friday morning we met at Gare du Nord for our adventure to Belgium.

And the third time was in deed the charm. Although I've been to Bruges before, the city had an entirely different feel sans enfants. I slowly strolled the streets without worrying about horse drawn carriages running over my ladies. We dined and actually chewed the delicious flemish stew and french fries. And, here's the most special treat of all, we went to a BAR and drank beer! I got to go into an adult area, sit, and slowly enjoy the most delicious Belgium Beers. I even found a new favorite! It was grand!

The Belgian take their beer seriously. Every one has its own glass in order to bring out its true flavor. They come in all different sizes and shapes. It's pretty incredible and so much fun to watch the bartenders!

Katy and I did a great job of seeing the entire city. It's not huge so it wasn't hard and it was great fun to enjoy the sites and take it all in. There is beautiful architecture throughout the entire city and with it's wonderful canals it really is the "Venice of the North". We had a beautiful sun filled afternoon on Friday and climbed to the top of The Belfry. Although our panoramic view was cut in half, it was fun to climb all 366 steps to the top and see Bruges for the FIRST time from the top!

Saturday was a great day of wondering. Despite having a very unhelpful map, we managed to spill upon an awesome restaurant for a soup break, found a really weird thrift store, and topped off the day with moules frites for lunch. You just can't beat it! Then we grabbed some fabulous cookie treats and beers before heading to the train station.

Katy in front of the City Hall in the Burg square

So I can now proudly claim that I have been to Bruges three times in 11 months! It's a proud statistic that I will brag about for years to come and probably obtain jealous admirers from all over the world. And you want to know one of the best parts of number 3? I slept the whole way home on the train! What a treat!!! (Okay, so maybe going into a Belgium Bar was pretty awesome too!)