Bruges

Bruges, or Brugge (if you err on the Dutch/Flamand language side of the Belgian language schism) is an amazingly gorgeous historical town about 3 hours by car from Paris (under 2 hours by train). I was lucky enough to stay there with some very good family friends who have a 4-story 15th-century house right in central Bruges. From there, I did lots of walking and bike trips around the town, dubbed the "Venice of the north" for all of its canals.

The city is home to great chocolate, and is also known for its lace (I stuck with chocolate). On the left is a picture of me, Duncan, and Marie at Dumon, a chocolate shop I visited more than once - I have a huge sack of chcolate from there sitting in my room, awaiting disbursement/ consumption. There's also amazing hot chocolate, chocolate fondue, or whatever else your heart desires around the city. The Belgians make most of their chocolate with filling, so it's normally different shapes and types of exterior chocolate filled up with everything from hazelnuts to tiramisu cream. I'd reccomend anything dark chocolate, and stick away from the fruity stuff unless you're into that. I was there for the chocolate.


As you can see by this picture of me (yes, those are sunglass clips) and Duncan on our bikes, Bruges is a great city to get around on bikes as well. There's a lot to see around the small city, and if you have a weekend, it's worth it to rent or steal one. The law in Bruges is that bikes have the right-of-way, so in theory there's care stopping left and right for you. Which is normally the case. Be careful.

I'll try and post more pictures as I get them from Aygline and as I have the time (have to catch up on schoolwork).

Here's some links re: Bruges and one last photo from at the house...

Wikipedia: Bruges (has some good scenery pics/information on Bruges)

Bruges Info