Nighttime in Brugge

from top: on our way to dinner; my small and REALLY small glass of beer; my new favorite restaurant--De Beurze.

My Kind of Place

Where else can you just walk out of a restaurant and into a parade with the REAL Santa Claus?!?!?! I hope the movie will post here. If not, I'll try again later.

Church of our Lady

from top: Michelangelo's Madonna & Child--one of his few works outside of Italy; could this be Mary Magdalene?; interesting painting; scary relics; carved tree of nativity scene.

Walking around Brugge

from top: one handsome fellow greets another; we see Jasper again; apron with my new label; yet another chocolate shop; view of canal.

Brouwery--some goodies are better than others

from top: Ray thought this was cool since it began like his name; views from the roof; window shopping yields some yummy views.

from top: 3 scenes from the canal; smallest window; pelican houses.

From the Canal

from top: the smallest restaurant; bridges on the canal; other scenes from the canal boat.

Horses, Houses, & Lace

from top: near the beguinale; horse sculpture; house for sale; narrowest street; lacemaking.

Beguinale

from top: the beguinale; funny nun wearing sunglasses near entrance to beguinale; 2 pictures of the swans; Jasper.

BRRRRRRRRUGGE!!!!! November 21 & 22

Could there be a more perfect vacation day? We had scrambled eggs again in the hotel then went straight to the square to ride in a horse-drawn carriage through the streets of Brugge. Our horse was named Jasper and our driver Sophie. She pointed out buildings of interest as we passed by. Under woolen blankets, we rode over to the beguinale (convent for young nuns, but they didn’t take vows—now it is just a convent of Dominican nuns), where Jasper stopped for a snack while we walked over the bridge to see the convent. You know how you see pictures of two swans sometimes and they touch noses and make a perfect heart between them? Well, two swans came SKATING over the water really fast and did just that right in front of us. It was amazing. My camera didn’t snap pictures fast enough, but you can see what I’m talking about.

We climbed back into the carriage for the rest of our chilly tour. We rode past lace shops and chocolate shops galore. And the narrowest street—two people can’t walk down it side-by-side. Then we popped into De Beurze for hot chocolate, nice roaring fire and cozy seats. Then it was back out to do the canal boat tour. Our driver did the whole narration in Flemish, French, & English. We saw beautiful pelican houses—which is what he called the pointy roofed ones, the tiniest window in the world (a spy window), and gorgeous architecture. One for sale for over a million Euros was right on the canal and absolutely amazing. Crow-stepped gables of rows of old guild houses in cheerful colors lined the canals. We cruised under many of the city’s beautiful bridges, one I even felt the need to duck as we passed under it.

After our canal trip, we went on the brewery (brouwery) tour. Only problem here was the guide only spoke Flemish. Good thing we had been to beer school before—we understood most of it anyway. We climbed up to the roof of the brewery on very narrow, steep stairways to see beautiful views of the city rooftops. We received our samples of beer—Brugge Zot—but we had had SO much better beers by that time that it seemed a waste.

Lunch was back at Dell’Arte and this time we had delicious steaks and fries and salad and ice cream. And let’s not forget the most important part of the meal---the beers! I ordered the Tempelier beer, mainly just for the name, but it was actually my favorite the whole trip—and I tried a lot of them, I must admit. I know, you don’t think of me as a lush, but something happened to me in Brugge. It is the home to over 1200 beers, I think Colin said. I didn’t even make a dent in that number.

We walked out of the restaurant and right into a marching band! They were passing by to usher in the holiday season and St. Nicholas was riding a horse!!!! He had on a gorgeous red cape and I have to say, I think this is the REAL Santa Claus!!!

After lunch, we went window shopping—--lace, chocolates, and a cr tag that I wanted to get, but the store was always closed. Wanted to put it on front of our new truck—FBI: Famous Beer Inspector. I figured I earned it after this trip. We walked back through Market Square with the Town Hall and Belfort Belfry (Medieval belltower). They were still selling the French fries with mayonnaise there. In olden days, the canal came right up to this square. Since 1300, the belltower has serenaded the town with carillon music. It was 366 steps up to the top of the tower, so we decided to save that for another trip.

Then we found the Church of our Lady with the delicate Madonna and Child by Michelangelo near its apse. She was very beautiful and carved of Carrara marble. Also inside was a carving of Mary, Joseph, and the newborn Jesus, carved inside a 100 year old elm tree that had been considered useless. It was very pretty.

We went back to the hotel for some rest then got together for Beaujolais Nouveau and popping the Christmas crackers with their silly riddles. Then it was off to dinner at De Beurze with the funny waiters. Colin ordered Kirs for all of us and it was such a nice before dinner drink. Ray ordered the biggest mug of beer I had ever seen, Colin ordered a medium mug as did Margaret, and I asked for just a small one. Our waiter played a joke on me and brought me this tiny little cordial glass of my Leffe Brown beer. It was actually all I needed, but he later brought the full drink. Colin and Ray had the Flemish beef, Margaret had chicken, and I had the most delicious salmon I think I have ever eaten. Oh my—it was sumptuous and the sauce was incredible.

And THEN we ordered dessert!! Waffles with warm cherries and whipped cream. I can’t believe I ate all this.

I also can’t believe that I was able to move after eating all this. All the beer and the food—that’s why the blog didn’t get written last night. I was out once we got back to the room. No late-night beers in the bar this night.

This morning we had to pack up to leave. It was a wonderful weekend we will always remember. We are so thankful that Margaret & Colin could come over from England to be our guides through this city we have wanted to visit with them for so long.

Today was nothing but driving and dozing—Ray driving, me dozing. Seems I simply cannot get in a warm car with it cold outside and ride along without falling fast asleep sitting straight up. So the day for me seemed fairly short even though Ray drove over 760 kilometers to get to Clermont-Ferrand. We were about 15 minutes out from the hotel when we stopped for a restroom break and as we stepped out of the car---IT BEGAN TO SNOW!!!! A mixture of sleet and snow followed us to the hotel.

We are now in Clermont-Ferrand. Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade here in 1095 along with Peter the Hermit. It is known for its volcanic plugs (we saw several on our way in) and is also the home of the Michelin man, Bibendum. I didn't even know he had a name.

The Puy-de-Dome volcano served as an assembly place for spiritual ceremonies in pre-Christian Europe. Temples were built at the summit, including a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to the God Mercury, the ruins of which were discovered in 1873. It has also served as an occasional stage finish in the Tour de France and is a well-known center for paragliding.

Pictures from top: Ray in front of sign being cold--he didn't have to pretend; square near our hotel; St. Maries all over town to protect the streets from the plague; 2 pictures of the canal.