I apologize for my lax blogging to the 1 or 2 people who actually read this on a regular basis. Jim and I just returned from Tuscany, but before I tell you about that trip I need to go back to late May when my mom and sister were here for 2 weeks. Thankfully my sister, Stacy, has some notes from her journal. So once again I have a ghost writer for the blog and my laziness continues.
In Amsterdam, we awoke to another nice day. Alison and I walked in Vogel Park again while mom did some yoga. Since we would be spending 4 hours on the train we decided to stock up on some snacks for the ride. We stopped at a market near the park for some fruit, hummus, crackers and veggies. Around 11 we headed downtown to the train station to catch our train to Bruges. After changing trains in Brussels, we got to Bruges around 4. The bus to get to our B&B was crowded so we were given the evil eye from a number of the locals when our luggage blocked the isle and we pretended not to notice. Alison's mad navigational skills got us the rest of the way.
The B&B was very conveniently located to the center of town and our hostess Annemarie was very accommodating. Our room however was on the third floor up two flights of precarious steps difficult to navigate with our heavy bags.
The sun was shining so we headed out to explore the city and check out our dinner options. The city is small compared to Amsterdam and a welcome respite from the masses. We walked along the lovely canals and decided to try a place for dinner that Alison had not been to before--Rock Fort. It was pricy but good, the bartender made Alison the most amazing non alcoholic drink while mom and I had Spanish champagne. After dinner we stopped into a cozy bar to try some of the Belgium beer Bruges offers-Yum! I think there might be more pictures of us drinking beer on this trip than any other activity. 
We headed out to the main square to do a walking tour of the city. I climbed the bell tower alone since Alison had done it and Mom was too cheap for the 8 euro price tag. The climb was tough but the views were fantastic.
This Thursday was a Holiday (Ascension Day) so there were bleachers set up in the main square to watch the religious parades that were going to be weaving through the city.
Since, we were in Belgium we had to get some frites. We opted for one of the stands in the main square which had a line every time we passed it.
We next made our way to the Groeninge Museum which Alison had already visited, however, instead of their usual Flemish art collection; they had a special exhibit on Charles the Bold. After seeing mom read every little placard in the museum, we named her Mom the Slow. If you’ve ever witnessed my mother’s 2 hour morning routine to get out the door, you’ll understand how perfect that title is.
After wandering around the rest of Bruges for the morning, we decided to take a lunch break and ate at a great little restaurant called the Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant.
After refueling, we decided to rent bikes and ride to Damme. It was nice to get out into the country a little bit and was so peaceful riding along a tree lined canal with the wind in our hair. We passed a number of old fashioned wind mills along the way.
The town of Damme wasn’t much more than a few cafes, restaurants and a church. We wandered around a bit and then got back on the bikes for the trip back through a gorgeous section of woods on a dirt trail. We all agreed that our little bike adventure was our favorite experience in Bruges.
After returning our bikes, we passed the pita restaurant pictured below. I'm pretty sure that I don't want to eat somewhere that can't even say they are the best. Are they really worried that the pita police will come by and say, "I'm sorry this isn't the best pita in town you are going to have to change your sign." 
We decided to reward our biking efforts with some beverages as we were all a little parched. We stopped for a few beers in a small square just behind the row of touristy restaurants in the main square. The sun was out and it was a great spot to enjoy some good Belgian beer and some crappy non alcoholic beer. 
For dinner that night we decided to go cheap and it was. We ate at a local restaurant that served up some basic Italian food. It was cheap and how can you go wrong with lasagna? You put enough cheese on anything and it tastes good.
We were leaving the next day but not until 2:00. We were a little worried that with the holiday everything would be closed and we’d have nothing to do. Although the museums were closed, we needn’t have worried; the chance to make a few Euros off of the throngs of tourists in Bruges kept a lot of the shops open. So we took the opportunity to buy some chocolates at one of the many chocolate shops in Bruges and a few other treasures we found at a little jewelry/ accessories shop.
Due to the parades, the buses were not running through the city so we had to walk to the train station. It was a bit of a hike but it was a beautiful day so we didn’t mind getting a little exercise before sitting on a train for 4 hours.
In Amsterdam, we awoke to another nice day. Alison and I walked in Vogel Park again while mom did some yoga. Since we would be spending 4 hours on the train we decided to stock up on some snacks for the ride. We stopped at a market near the park for some fruit, hummus, crackers and veggies. Around 11 we headed downtown to the train station to catch our train to Bruges. After changing trains in Brussels, we got to Bruges around 4. The bus to get to our B&B was crowded so we were given the evil eye from a number of the locals when our luggage blocked the isle and we pretended not to notice. Alison's mad navigational skills got us the rest of the way.
The B&B was very conveniently located to the center of town and our hostess Annemarie was very accommodating. Our room however was on the third floor up two flights of precarious steps difficult to navigate with our heavy bags.
The sun was shining so we headed out to explore the city and check out our dinner options. The city is small compared to Amsterdam and a welcome respite from the masses. We walked along the lovely canals and decided to try a place for dinner that Alison had not been to before--Rock Fort. It was pricy but good, the bartender made Alison the most amazing non alcoholic drink while mom and I had Spanish champagne. After dinner we stopped into a cozy bar to try some of the Belgium beer Bruges offers-Yum! I think there might be more pictures of us drinking beer on this trip than any other activity.
Breakfast the next morning was offered in a nice dining room with the other guests. There were two American couples and an English one. Everyone was really friendly and of course had found the B&B through trusty Mr. Rick Steve.
We headed out to the main square to do a walking tour of the city. I climbed the bell tower alone since Alison had done it and Mom was too cheap for the 8 euro price tag. The climb was tough but the views were fantastic.
This Thursday was a Holiday (Ascension Day) so there were bleachers set up in the main square to watch the religious parades that were going to be weaving through the city.
Since, we were in Belgium we had to get some frites. We opted for one of the stands in the main square which had a line every time we passed it.
We next made our way to the Groeninge Museum which Alison had already visited, however, instead of their usual Flemish art collection; they had a special exhibit on Charles the Bold. After seeing mom read every little placard in the museum, we named her Mom the Slow. If you’ve ever witnessed my mother’s 2 hour morning routine to get out the door, you’ll understand how perfect that title is.
After wandering around the rest of Bruges for the morning, we decided to take a lunch break and ate at a great little restaurant called the Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant.
After refueling, we decided to rent bikes and ride to Damme. It was nice to get out into the country a little bit and was so peaceful riding along a tree lined canal with the wind in our hair. We passed a number of old fashioned wind mills along the way.
The town of Damme wasn’t much more than a few cafes, restaurants and a church. We wandered around a bit and then got back on the bikes for the trip back through a gorgeous section of woods on a dirt trail. We all agreed that our little bike adventure was our favorite experience in Bruges.
After returning our bikes, we passed the pita restaurant pictured below. I'm pretty sure that I don't want to eat somewhere that can't even say they are the best. Are they really worried that the pita police will come by and say, "I'm sorry this isn't the best pita in town you are going to have to change your sign." We decided to reward our biking efforts with some beverages as we were all a little parched. We stopped for a few beers in a small square just behind the row of touristy restaurants in the main square. The sun was out and it was a great spot to enjoy some good Belgian beer and some crappy non alcoholic beer. For dinner that night we decided to go cheap and it was. We ate at a local restaurant that served up some basic Italian food. It was cheap and how can you go wrong with lasagna? You put enough cheese on anything and it tastes good.
We were leaving the next day but not until 2:00. We were a little worried that with the holiday everything would be closed and we’d have nothing to do. Although the museums were closed, we needn’t have worried; the chance to make a few Euros off of the throngs of tourists in Bruges kept a lot of the shops open. So we took the opportunity to buy some chocolates at one of the many chocolate shops in Bruges and a few other treasures we found at a little jewelry/ accessories shop.
Due to the parades, the buses were not running through the city so we had to walk to the train station. It was a bit of a hike but it was a beautiful day so we didn’t mind getting a little exercise before sitting on a train for 4 hours.
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