Bruges is absolutely charming and the perfect stop-over city. For a bonus, it also smells like chocolate.
After a quick lunch of mussels and frites (yum!)
we followed the Rick Steves' walking tour of Bruges.
One of the stops is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. You have to climb up at least 2 flights of stone circular stairs to get to the Basilica. This church is famous for supposedly having some of Christ's blood brought back to Bruges by a knight of the Crusades. Here I am viewing the relic. Butch had to hide behind a large stone pillar out of view of this scary church lady in order to take the picture.
The highlight of any visit to Bruges is the Michelangelo statue in the Church of Our Lady. This is the only Michelangelo statue known to have left Italy during his lifetime. My readers might remember this statue from "The Monuments Men."
After a stop for waffles, when in Rome and all,
we ended our afternoon walk with a tour of the De Halve Maan Brewery. This brewery was recently in the news for building the first ever beer pipeline. It was the most enjoyable brewery and/or wine tour that I've ever been on. In addition to the details about making beer, the guide detailed the importance of beer to Belgium.
We are currently relaxing in the hotel lobby before wandering back out to explore the city in the evening.
After a quick lunch of mussels and frites (yum!)
we followed the Rick Steves' walking tour of Bruges.
One of the stops is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. You have to climb up at least 2 flights of stone circular stairs to get to the Basilica. This church is famous for supposedly having some of Christ's blood brought back to Bruges by a knight of the Crusades. Here I am viewing the relic. Butch had to hide behind a large stone pillar out of view of this scary church lady in order to take the picture.
The highlight of any visit to Bruges is the Michelangelo statue in the Church of Our Lady. This is the only Michelangelo statue known to have left Italy during his lifetime. My readers might remember this statue from "The Monuments Men."
After a stop for waffles, when in Rome and all,
we ended our afternoon walk with a tour of the De Halve Maan Brewery. This brewery was recently in the news for building the first ever beer pipeline. It was the most enjoyable brewery and/or wine tour that I've ever been on. In addition to the details about making beer, the guide detailed the importance of beer to Belgium.
We are currently relaxing in the hotel lobby before wandering back out to explore the city in the evening.
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