This is the first day I’ve woken up this late in a loooong time! I woke up at 9:30am, and that was only because I had an alarm on. Today was a pretty leisurely day, with the weather alternating between threatening to rain and a breezy sunny day. For some reason, after my croissant dinner with marzipan and jam last night, I woke up starving! I stumbled onto Proxy, a large supermarket and bought Praline chocolate by Cote D’or. My favorite! I do bow down to how creamy and perfectly balanced Belgian chocolate is.
Along my walk today, some of the chocolates I’ve seen in Belgian shop:
Check out their pate d’amandes! They are like slabs of fudge!!!
Alice in Wonderland, anyone?
Although many of the boutique shops are closed, I’m not exactly sure if it’s because it’s Monday (all the museums were supposed to be closed on Mondays as listed by tour guides, but I found all of them open!) or because the Shanghai expo:
I bought a praline orange chocolate from Dumon, as they are listed as one of the best in Belgium for their dark chocolate ganache consistency and flavor. I know, I know, I should have bought a ganache chocolate, but I couldn’t resist the combination of praline and orange!
The outer shell of dark chocolate is perfect flavor and meltability, but reminds me very much of Cote D’or’s dark chocolate. But the praline didn’t work with the orange, as the orange tasted more candied ginger to me. I felt they were competing with each other for limelight.
The Zand Square and the Concert Hall in the background:
Bruges is known as the Venice of Belgium. Although the city doesn’t depend on its rivers, it does have quite a few:
The city thrived in medieval ages because it was situated near several rivers. But when the rivers silted up, trade dried up as well and the citizens left the city in droves, which is why the city is so well-preserved as a medieval city today. It escaped German bombing during WWII because it was a ‘forgotten’ city… although the French did bomb the city in the 1700s… their target was the Hotel du Ville. Ironically, it was the only building in the square that wasn’t destroyed when bombed! Talk about bad aim on the French part!
The Belgian are known for their Trappist monk beer. 2be is a gigantic store specializing in Belgian beer… they sell all 700+ Belgian beer:
The other thing Bruges is known for is lace:
A loomer weaving a scarf:
The Church of Our Lady houses the only statue by Michelangelo that left Italy within his lifetime. It is carved from Carrara marble and was bought by a wealthy Bruges family to present to their flourishing city. The statue is really stunning, with how delicately carved Mary’s garments are, to her contemplative expression:
The Basilica of Holy Blood houses The Relic, which is a capsule with a couple drops of (supposedly) Jesus’ blood inside. The Relic is only displayed at a certain time on certain days, and it costs 1.5 euros to see it (unless, of course, you catch the Friday religious procession).
Crown Plaza off the Burg had plans to build in the 1990s when they discovered lots of ruins circa 14th century during excavation. So they built on top of the ruins, and now you can see some of what they discovered displayed downstairs. Many relics were removed and are now housed in The Church of Our Lady.
Coins they found:
Dice they found:
Minnewater is the Lake for Lovers. It is very romantic, and there is a haze, or glow, cast on the scenic river.
Dinner was cocktail shrimp and mayo with actual black truffle, bought at Proxy. The mayo was only 1.98 euros! Pretty delish. I find most supermarkets in Bruges sell a lot of mayo flavors, to pair with their famed fries (there’s even a French fry museum!)
There’s a beer company conference going on in the hotel… Jupiter and Stella Artois. SO many people are here… crowding the lobby and smoking outside the hotel! When I walk out, there’s a whole cloud of smoke! >__< yuck!
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