Belgium choccies in Bruges
Wow, finishing this leg as we started it! 3 countries in 3 days and well over 1000km travelled! It’s been a busy end but we couldn’t miss out on a trip to a very special place, Bruges!
Bruges is often described as the ‘picture perfect’ European destination and as we’d never been… we wanted to make our own minds up!! But the rain just wasn’t playing ball!!!! Teeming rain and high winds prevented any morning excursions… so more work on diaries, maths and spelling was completed!! But at 12 noon, we made a dash for the centre of the city… the aire was brilliantly located near to the marina and only a 10-15mins walk into the centre.
We headed immediately for Historium, a relatively new and innovative museum near to the central Markt. It tells the story of a young man, Jakob who meets the love of his life whilst working as an apprentice for the master painter Van Eyck… it is brilliantly told and very theatrical… will great sets, fantastic audio guide and some interesting exhibitions at the end… not to mention a jaw droppingly good view from the panoramic terrace… its well worth visit for adults and children alike and only lasts 1-2hrs… so plenty of time to explore elsewhere…
This city had us under it’s spell very early on… perhaps it was the blend of canals (like Amsterdam), cobbled streets (like Cambridge) or the array of medieval buildings with fairytale turrets and spires aplenty (much like Angers)!
We sped across the rain splattered cobbles towards Choco Story… but decided against this as both girls had visited similar places elsewhere in Europe (story of chocolate from bean to bar, Mexican currency etc etc)… we paused briefly at the Groeningemuseum too before following the line of the canal back to the centre of Bruges with the incomparable Burg, Belfort and Markt… had we had time we would also have gone outwards towards the Begijnhof too…
But like certain other places, we’ve left things to come back…. just to keep us from forgetting about places… so whilst the girls gorged themselves on Julies Chocolate House, Catherine admired the lace shops that bedeck the charming back streets around the main squares… A blissful few hours!!!
But as the end of this journey grows closer, we packed up, walked back to the motorhome and headed south west towards Lille/Ypres…. a date with history ‘lest we forget’ awaits tomorrow… WW1 graves/memorials… to remind us of the price of our freedom that we enjoy so freely!
Bruges
so where did we park the bus for the night?
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