Destination - Bruges, Belgium

"If you set out to design a fairy-tale medieval town it would be hard to improve on central Bruges. Picturesque cobbled lanes and dreamy canals link exceptionally photogenic market squares lined with soaring towers, historic churches and old whitewashed almshouses."

 

Bruges, Belgium

 

Bruges is a charming city of medieval architecture and cobbled streets.  Since 2000, the Historic Center of Bruges has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its "outstanding example of a medieval historic settlement, which has maintained its historic fabric as this has evolved over the centuries."  Canals, cobblestone paths, and medieval and gothic buildings give the city an old world feel.

I have not yet been to Bruges, although it is one of the stops we plan to make in 2014 when we meet up with our friends from Scotland.  My plan is to fly to Amsterdam, then take the train to Bruges, and then on to Lisbon, where we will meet them.  We'll have 6 days on our own and then 2 weeks with them in Portugal, which should gives us some time to explore.  So now I am looking at what there is to do in those cities.

The area of Bruges that most tourists spend all their time in, is the Historic Center of Bruges which is contained within a canal, or moat.  Nearly everything of interest and importance is within this convenient cobbled stone area between the train station and Market Square.

Market Square and the Bell Tower

Market Square (Markt) - This is the heart of the city. It is ringed by banks, the post office, restaurants and dominated by the 290 foot high bell tower.  Most of the buildings are gabled and quite majestic. Horse-drawn carriages clip-clop through the square.  Geldmuntstraat, just off the square, is a delightful street with many fun shops and eateries. 

Bell Tower (Belfort) - This bell tower has presided over the square since 1300.  It is 366 steps to the top, and the view is worth the climb and the small charge.  It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Just before you reach the top you should peek into the room with the 47 bells which are played on the quarter hour. 


 

Burg Square

Burg Square - This is Bruges civic center, historically the birthplace of Bruges and the site of the 9th century castle of the first Count of Flanders.  Today it is the scene of outdoor concerts and a place for people to gather.  It is surrounded by six-centuries of architecture.

Flemish art and the Gruuthuse Museum which is a 15th century mansion of a wealthy merchant and displays period furniture, tapestries, coins and musical instruments. Those are probably the most well known of the museums in the city.  There is also a lace museum - The Face of Lace.  Belgium is famous for its lace.


Madonna & Child

There are churches with wonderful architecture to see.  The two most frequented by tourists would be the Basilica of the Holy Blood (which supposedly has some of Christ's blood), and Church of Our Lady which stands as a memorial to the power and wealth of Bruges in its heyday.  It has on display a sculpture by Michelangelo - Madonna and child.  This exquisite sculpture was the master's only work to leave Italy in his lifetime.  One oddity, high up in the church wall, is the personal observation room of the Gruuthuse family who lived in the adjoining palace, now the Gruuthuse museum.

You could also visit the City Hall's Gothic Room which is full of maps and paintings,  The Gothic Hall which dates back to the 1400's features painted and carved wooden ceilings and hanging arches.  And the Renaissance Hall has a chimney carved from oak.  If you are into heraldry this is a good place to stop and look around.



Chocolate Line Shop

But there is so much more too Bruges then just the history and the architecture.  For foodies you have to stop and try the  famous Belgium chocolates.  Some of the best places to buy chocolate are Dumon and The Chocolate Line.  In fact, there is a chocolate museum, The Choco-Story where you learn all about chocolate.  Don't forget that fries (or chips) were invented in Belgium, not France, and you will find stalls that sell these, and there is even a museum to visit about them, the Frietmuseum.  Bruges is also famous for their beer.  The local brewery, De Halve Maan, is open for daily tours, you will get one free sample of beer and there is a good café where you can get a good meal with of course, a beer.



boats on the canal

There are lots of tours available.  There are boat tours of Bruges' canals which are a great way to take in the medieval architecture of the city.  And a tour that I thought looked interesting was the Quasimodo Tours which specializes in full (and half) day tours of the historic castles, chateaus and landmarks of Flanders.  It even takes you to visit the WWI landmarks of Flanders Fields.  This tour would get you out of the city to show you some of the surrounding areas.

Just a 10 minute walk from the historic center of town you can visit the city's northeast area, where you will find authentic, lived in Bruges with its quiet cobbled streets of step-fronted houses in brick.  The houses quite often have hand-made glass windows and doors that are painted burgundy and dark green.  If you walk a little further you can get to the windmills next to the canal at Kruisvest.  You can also visit the Lace Centre, where you can learn all about Belgium's lace, which includes demonstrations.

Street Food in Bruges includes waffles

You'll find some good places to eat in Bruges.  The specialty of the city is mussels, cooked a variety of ways.  You can eat outside in the squares or along the canals.  These places are great for people watching and are popular with tourists.  Some of the better places are the bistros on the back streets where the locals eat.  There are also many bars or pubs where you can get a light meal or a drink.  And when visiting any new place, I love to try the street foods.  In Bruges that would be the fries and the Belgium waffles which are not eaten for breakfast but as a snack.



Belgium Chocolate

Bruges is a city for walking around in, for taking in the sights and the architecture and soaking up the atmosphere.  For enjoying the canals and taking a boat ride.  And certainly for enjoying the chocolate and the beer, both of which I love.  I'm looking forward to exploring this city.

 

Detours on the Road to Where Ever

"Establishing goals is all right if you don't let them deprive you of interesting detours".

Doug Larson

"So many roads. So many detours. So many choices. So many mistakes."

Sarah Jessica Parker

When you are taking a road trip, you usually have a destination in mind. Quite often you have time limitations and schedules, so you need to just hit the road and get to where you are going.  We seldom seem to have all the time in the world to just meander and see all the sights along the way. But even when you are on a schedule you can take a few little detours and still get to your destination, and you will be rewarded for doing so.  You will have had an experience, or learned something new, or just seen something entertaining that you will remember long after the trip is over

My husband and I take a road trip to Washington every year.  Now that we are retired, we do have the time to do a little wandering off the beaten track.  But the trip this year was going to be shorter than the past years, and when we left home we did have a schedule, as I had made reservations at a cottage on the Washington coast, which was our first destination.  It is a 2 day trip from San Diego to the Washington coast.  We made it to Redding the first day, and that was pushing it.  We got stuck in terrible traffic through Los Angeles, which really slowed us down by several hours.  Also, we have the 2 dogs with us, so we do have to stop every few hours for them to stretch their legs and take a potty break, and for that matter, us too. 

Rogue River Creamery

So the second day we are headed for our destination, and I see a sign along the side of the road which advertises The Rogue River Creamery.  They are located in Central Point, Oregon and we were approaching that area.  They said they had samples.  Now I have to say that I LOVE cheese and have actually read about this place.  I had seen an article that talked about how good their cheeses are.  So when I saw the sign I said to my husband, "we have to stop."  The good thing about traveling with George is that he is pretty easy going and willing to stop most of the time.

Since we had the dogs with us and it was a hot day, George said he'd stay in the car and I could go check it out.  I went in and had a few of their samples, and fell in love with several of the cheeses.  Their blue cheese was so creamy, and probably the best blue I had ever had.  A couple of the cheeses in their display case caught my eye, especially one that had the word raspberry attached to it.  I found out that you could ask to taste anything, and they would gladly oblige.  The raspberry cheese had been soaked in a raspberry ale, and it was my favorite cheese of the day.  I ended up purchasing 3 packages of cheese, the raspberry, the Rogue River Blue and the Mt. Mazama cheddar.  I told them I would be putting them in the cooler of my car and not actually eating them for about 5 days, when we would be at our cabin, so they wrapped them special for me, so that they would stay fresh. 

Then I noticed that there was a chocolate factory next door.  Convenient, since besides cheese my favorite thing is chocolate.  So I just had to go check it out and get a few samples there.  They had a chocolate that was very spicy, which I quite enjoyed.  The stop took just over an hour, including the driving time to the shop and back to the freeway, and I thought it was definitely worth the detour.

On the way home we also made a detour.  We had heard about VooDoo Doughnuts from several people in the area.  They are quite popular in Portland, so much so that they always have a line around the block waiting to get in.  I guess the draw is that they are different from the usual doughnut shop, in that they have unusual toppings and also, I was told, unusual shapes.  We decided to skip the one in Portland and instead stop at their shop in Eugene, which would be a quick hop off the freeway on our way south.  Their signature doughnut seems to be their maple bar which is topped with bacon.  I thought, what the heck, might as well try it.  I do require my bacon to be cooked well done and crispy and this seemed like it was.  Sometimes you just have to try the unusual.  However, I have to say that I don't really see the draw.  The doughnuts were good, but you can get good doughnuts lots of places.  The shop was a little unusual, you have the weird name going for it, and some of the doughnuts were different, but I wouldn't necessarily go back.  But still, I was glad we made the detour and checked them out, or I would have always wondered what they were like.

VooDoo Doughnuts

The maple bar with bacon

I will tell you that if you are anywhere near the Portland area, and you are at all into literature and books, then one detour you should definitely make is a stop at Powell's Book Store.  It is different from the ordinary book store.  Powell's City of Books is a book lover's paradise, the largest used and new bookstore in the world. Located in downtown Portland, Oregon, and occupying an entire city block, the store stocks more than a million new and used books. Nine color coded rooms house over 3,500 different sections, offering something for every interest, including an incredible selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.



The Travel Section at Powell's

 A few facts about Powell's:   
• It has 68,000 square feet packed with books.
• They buy 3,000 used books over the counter every day.
• Approximately 3,000 people walk in and buy something every day.
• Another 3,000 people just browse and drink coffee.
• They stock 122 major subject areas and more than 3,500 subsections.
• You'll find more than 1,000,000 volumes on their shelves.
• Approximately 80,000 book lovers browse the City's shelves every day in Portland and via the Internet

It is one of my favorite places in Portland, and I make a point of stopping there whenever we are in the area.  They have a great travel section, and I bought several new travel books there this year.

A fun little detour we did on this trip actually took us by complete surprise.  We had left Lassen National Park and were heading south on the 395.  I was dozing, I admit it. So I didn't see it.  My husband said he had just seen a shoe tree.  I was a little puzzled.  He found a place to turn around and we went back, and sure enough, there was a tree beside the road, covered in shoes.  It was worth going back for, just for the amusement factor. 

The Shoe Tree on Hwy 395

So whenever you are driving down the highways on your way to wherever, make sure you take time to occasionally take a detour and check out what is around you.  You may discover a cute little town, or a new kind of cheese, or just see something amusing.  Or you may find dinosaur tracks in the dessert, which we did when we made a detour in Arizona last year.  Those detours can be fun, and certainly a lot more exciting than spending more time in the car.

Dinosaur Tracks in the dessert in Arizona



Sweets - Around the World

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."  
 Charles Schulz

I admit it, I'm a chocoholic. I don't even try to hide it. So wherever I go I tend to pop into chocolate places and buy a few to sample. Usually more then a few. I haven't been to Belgium yet, and I know they are most famous for their chocolate. But I have been to Switzerland, and so far they top my list of having the best chocolates in the world. And Oprah agrees with me. She had these chocolates on her My Favorite Things show. The chocolates are – Teuscher champagne truffles. (http://www.teuscher.com/)//

Teuschers New York at Christmas

I have to admit that the first time I tried these I was not traveling. I had a client who had gone to New York and had gone into the Teuscher store there and had purchased a box of nine truffles for me as a thank you gift. He was a regular client who I had helped many times, a very nice man. The funny thing is, I had watched Oprah's show the week before and had actually gone to Teuscher's website and looked them up. They were a bit expensive, so I did not order them, but thought that if I ever got to Switzerland where they are actually made, I would definitely go to their shop and buy some there. Then my client brought me the box. They were to die for. I savored every single one of those truffles, one a night for 9 nights. A few years later I found myself in Zurich, Switzerland. We were walking down Storchengasse Street, and there was the Teuscher store. I went in and bought quite a bit of chocolate. They even gave samples. There are stores in major cities throughout the U.S., and they sell their chocolates online. 

My friend having a Frozen Hot Chocolate

If you are into chocolate, then a stop at Serendipity's in New York city is worthwhile. They are famous for their drink – frozen hot chocolate. It is quite tasty. They have quite a few other desserts that looked quite good also. But it's not just a dessert place, their meals are quite good also.  I had their lemon chicken with asparagus for dinner, and loved it.  But leave room for dessert.   http://www.serendipity3.com/)

Chocolate is not my only weakness. I love to sample pastries, and while in Paris I have to say that we had the best croissants. And they were memorable for more then one reason. My daughter and I were in Paris for the first time, back in 1989. We had breakfast at our hotel. We were on a limited budget, and I knew we would be sampling food later, so I suggested that we just have a cup of hot chocolate, and head out. We ordered, and then the waiter placed a basket of croissants on our table and walked away. I thought, how nice. So we enjoyed the croissants with our hot chocolate. Then our bill came, and we found out that we were charged per croissant that we had eaten. Our breakfast was over $20 each. That put a limit on the rest of the days spending. But they were melt in the mouth delicious, and probably worth every cent.

Tip: Never assume something is free, just because it is set on the table. In the USA if a basket of bread is put on the table, it is usually free, but in many countries, it is put there as an option, and if you eat any of it, you will be charged per piece.

In Jerez, Spain we spent a wonderful afternoon touring the Gonzalez Bypass where they produce some wonderful sherry. We fell in love with their 1847 Solera, and brought a couple of bottles home with us. Since then we have ordered cases to be shipped to us. I know we have good sherries that we can get here in the states, but sometimes something is so good, and it reminds you of a wonderful experience, so it is worth the extra trouble and expense to relive that experience.

Teuschers Chocolates

So when traveling, I say sample the things from that region, especially the sweets. When in Italy you must eat gelato. Even if you've had gelato elsewhere, nothing beats the gelato in Italy. And Shaved ice in Hawaii is to die for. If you ever find yourself in the town of Kanlica, Turkey make sure you stop at the cart in the main plaza and try their homemade yogurt with the powdered sugar toping, I've never had anything quite that good. Whenever you travel, stop and try the local sweets, the Turkish delight, marzipan, chocolates wherever you are, sherry in Spain, gingerbread in Germany, and even the tofu cookies in Japan. You won't know until you try them, they may become a new favorite.