Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Taking on Bruges

Even after a bit of a catch up sleep yesterday, we still struggled to get our lazy butts out of bed. So after a cheap but basic breakfast, we set off from the hostel just after 11:30am. Still morning, so not as bad as it seemed. We always say, that even if you have sleep in, you can easily still go around and do stuff for 10 hours straight! So why rush if you're not feeling it?

Part of our distraction was chatting with a group of Kiwis about each other's travels, so that was good anyway. During that time, we found out about the renovations that were going on at the hostel and all the plans for it. These owners have only had it for a short time and it has been a bit of a nightmare for them. Apparently the last owners ran it into the ground and they have done their best to make some small temporary fixes, until the proper renos take place on each floor.

Setting off on our explorations, we headed for the outer river / moat area that surrounds the Old Town of Bruges. The first area called the Traitor's Skull was a gate used as a defensive structure in the Middle Ages to check those coming and going. This gate was hard to penetrate in its heyday, unless a traitor from inside the walled area opened it. A bronze copy of the traitor's skull still resides there today.

It was important for us to do a reconnaissance mission of the train station and its distance for our trip to Brussels. On the way there, we wistfully frolicked (hope you are all loving our descriptions) through the garden area adjacent to the moat. Anyway, we collected our train tickets and headed back towards the main town areas.

Rich: There was no frolicking by me!

Along the way we saw some people setting up for a music festival in the Minnewaterpark. We were devo that this water park wasn't more like Wet n' Wild. Given our massive walk with the loaded backpacks yesterday, it was actually nice to wander around without the stress of lugging the massive weight around. We would love some scales right now to weigh the bags.

Continuing on back through the busy squares, there was an absolute hive of tourists milling about looking out for photo ops. For lunch today, we both tried some local waffles...no not healthy, but so damn good! Thanks Belgium! We enjoyed stopping in a park area and were quite besotted with some old locals battling it out in a team game of pétanque. Just next to the game, there may have been a kiss of a frog at the statue, which is a new thing to the city for tourists. Locals are hoping a new tradition will start. We indulged!

After lunch we decided to have a bit of a look around the shops and ended up buying a few new things. Wandering around the shopping areas was good, but we held back in sheer anticipation of the shopping Mecca that awaits us in Hong Kong. Bring it on! We aren't buying any new suitcases as we have lots, so it is seriously looking like an Asian red, white and blue hessian bag filled with glamourous dresses and sensational shoes - and that's just for Richie Boy!! Hahahaha. We definitely share the blog writing, but he could never bring on the passion about shopping like lil' ol' me!

Once the shopping capers were over, it was timely to sit down for a much needed local beer. This was also a great chance to catch up some interneting (doesn't seem to be a recognised verb yet) and a check on bills, finances and the usual stuff that can't simply be just ignored when you go away. Of course Facebook got the biggest go! Hahahaha.

We'd considered heading over to the edge of town with the windmills, but the skies were super grey and rain was looming. The decision was made for us - back to the hostel it was. It was just a bit early for dinner, so we chilled back there for a bit and chatted with our American buds. Happy 4th July dudes.

Thankfully the really torrential rain had stopped and it was only spitting. Our four pound umbrellas from Bath can't seem to handle anything heavier. They got a go and we were happy, dry holiday makers! Yay!

We ended our fantastic time in Bruges with a delicious dinner and really lashed out, so we could spend the last of our euros remaining on our cash passport. Ok so the scallop entree was small and a perfect dish for this course, but the calamari was quite large, yet so friggen good. With drinks, bread and entrees already down, we freaked when we saw the ginormousness of our mains! We didn't eat a lot of it in the end, although they were nice. Initially the waiter thought we were unimpressed, but soon understood our predicament. "We Belgians eat big meals" proclaimed the waiter.

An early night for us tonight, as we are still tired from our recent partying and tomorrow is another day in two more cities - Brussels and London!

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