In Brugge

Today, we left behind the busy, hectic land of Merry Olde Englande for the just as busy and hectic land of the Continent.  In our rush to get here, we ran through King's Cross Station, and did not get an opportunity to visit platform 9 and 3/4.  Our train was leaving at 7:30 am, and we had to refund our oyster cards, as well as go through security and customs, so we were rushing around madly all morning.

Today began as a day of not eating well.  In our mad dash to get places (which should subside shortly), we were unable to eat such important meals as breakfast and lunch.(Darcy: "I got to eat a free cookie that came with my coffee because Daniel who was not hungry refused to pick me up a pastry. Then lunch was a wrap filled with SURPRISE uncooked fish. My hunger problems were all Dan's fault!")  Anyways, it was pretty wild.  

The Eurostar train takes us directly from London to Brussels, Belgium, hitting a top speed of 300 km/h.  That is FAST.  The  train was swaying back and forth something fierce.  But it was pretty awesome.

Once we arrived in Brussels, we attempted to buy reservations for the last stage of our trip in a week and a half.  Unfortunately, unknown to us, the day we chose to go across France happens to be a Catholic holiday -- the Feast of the Assumption.  So, there was no way for us to get where we needed without spending ridiculous sums of money, and traveling all day for two days.  

So, we have modified our itinerary a bunch, but it took us about an hour in the train station, working with a very patient and helpful Dutch man, who really just wanted to have a smoke break.  I definitely would recommend him for any Brussels travel needs.  He only lost his cool once, when dad thanked him in French, and he curtly informed us that he was from the part of Belgium that is Dutch.  Currently, Belgium actually has no government at the moment, because some people want to break the country in half, and others do not, in a rather Quebec sort  of way.  I suspect that there is probably some contention over that particular issue,  Also, he looked a LOT like Ryan Stiles, so that was pretty cool.

Once we had to cancel our trip to St Malo & Mont St Michel, we took the train to Bruges, which we went to because my brother Chris is quite fond of the film In Bruges.  Once we arrived, I discovered that they decided to speak Dutch in Bruges, instead of French, so we really had no idea what was going on most of the time.  This is fairly normal for me.  But we did accidentally break into a church and take pictures, because we didn't really know what the signs were saying.

Darcy and Chris have been quoting the movie In Bruges all day long, and it's getting rather annoying.  In particular, they have been commenting that "It's like a f@%ing fairy tale!" but to be perfectly honest Bruges is a lot like a f@%ing fairy tale.

If you've seen the film, you've got a pretty good idea of what the town is like, but the movie didn't quite capture how incredibly amazing the place is (Darcy: "Like a f@%ing fairy tale. Seriously though when you come into town you see these towers peaking over the trees like a castle")  Everything in the town is old fashioned, except for their artwork. Their old town is basically like a less fake version of Banff, in the sense that everything is super cutesy, but instead of looking sort of made up, the whole place looks like a medieval village that didn't ever grow up.

There are towers and enormous cathedrals everywhere, and the streets are all paved with cobblestone, the shops are all extremely quaint...  I took a bunch of pictures so you can take a look, but the place is utterly amazing, and I don't think the pictures can do it justice.  You can climb up the belfry and it was a spectacular view.  Again, I took pictures, but they're not quite as amazing as actually being there.  I'm going to have to recommend that each and every person does their best to do come to Bruges.

While in Bruges (Brugge in Dutch), we bought some Belgian Chocolate (delicious) and ate at a Belgian Restaurant (fabulous).  Tragically, we are not the only ones who knew that Brugges is a nice place.  There were people every-friggin-where.  On a Monday!

After Bruges, we went back to Brussels, and here we are at our lovely Hotel.  Compared to the....cozy condition of our last hotel, this one is a palace.  We can walk around the room, Darcy and I have a double bed to share, and there is enough room for a sink in the bathroom.

Once we arrived, we took a walk over to the Grand Place, thinking it might be nice to look at some old stuff (other than my parents. OH SNAP!).  It turned out it was one of the most majestic sights I have ever seen.  We were there as it got dark, and seeing the spire light up was one of the most beautiful things I have seen on the trip, or maybe ever.  

We had to walk through a restaurant district to get there, or rather through a bunch of alleys with restaurants in them, which was cool.  Once we got closer, roughly every second shop was a chocolate shop.  Mom and Chris got some chocolate covered Belgian Waffles, which they claimed were delicious, but I choose not to believe them because I didn't get to have them.  Also Darcy and Mom bought a beer, which they enjoyed.  They also discovered that you are allowed to wander around Brussels with open beer.

The WiFi in this hotel is pretty sketchy, so I don't think I am going to get the pictures up, but I will post them tomorrow, and I highly recommend looking at them when I do, since I think they'll be some of the prettiest from the trip.