Thursday 17 January 2013

Christmas Cruise - Birthday in Bruges - Part 2

Sorry it has been nearly a week since my last post about my lovely Christmas cruise but things have been really busy and even switching on my Netbook has taken a back seat.
Our first full day was 23rd December which also happened to be my Birthday so I had the choice of what to do and I really wanted to visit Bruges.
We were taken by coach from the harbour and with a guide on board who is a local to Bruges and was very informative.  Lovely sense of humour and did not stride out so that you had a job keeping up.  We walked over the above bridge which is called Lovers bridge and it is said that if you throw a coin in true love will find you.  On the way back my hubby threw in a coin and the guide commented on this then he really laughed when hubby said that we was already married but you  never know!  Such a comedian!
It was so quiet and there was no one about.
We were told that Bruges is well known for its hand made lace which is very expensive.  There are many reproductions from China but after using my textiles and experience (plus crossing my fingers) I did buy a small piece which I shall show you in my holiday art journal another time.  The above picture is taken of the window display.
There are many chocolate shops and speciality Christmas shops which Sophie adored.  We spent ages in this one and bought a few items for our tree when we got home and for many Christmas' to come.
Lots to look at , many very unusual items.  Not cheap plastic either, instead wooden or metal.
In the centre was a large ice rink and gorgeous trees all decorated with lights and crystal looking covering/painted?
Sophie took this picture through the fencing.
We moved on through and reached a section of Bruges called Burg.
There are some lovely building here such as the one shown above.
 This is the Town Hall.  This is only a small section of what is a large building.
We walked through the archway that you can see.
We had a lovely walk round despite the drizzly weather.
This area is near the lace shop that I bought my small sample.
First road sign that I saw.
We turned a corner to see loads of people taking pictures of a wall.  On closer inspection it was a wall of......
.....wine and beer bottles.  it reminded me of the shop windows of sewing machines.
We sampled the Bruges chips which are suppose to be special, but I am afraid that my local chippy was much better, but still a welcome snack on a very cold day.
We then visited another fabulous Christmas shop, this one had a cellar which was fantastic and this picture does not really do it justice.
Seeing as it was my birthday and we were getting a little tired from our walking around I decided that a warm sit down and pudding to our chips could a waffle with a hot chocolate.
Oh....it was so lovely.  Much better than the waffles that we buy in the Uk.
We then walked back to the coach meeting place and on the way we bought some chocolates as gifts.  So many chocolate shops and so many to choose from.
We then had the chance to really dress up for dinner and I had a lovely restaurant meal and to top it all hubby had organised a cake to be made and then the waiters all came and sang happy birthday.  there were balloons above the table and I could see that there were at least two other people in the restaurant also celebrating a birthday.  We then went off for the evening to listen to music and to the singer Jimmy James.
I was very lucky in that I was given a Kindle, which I have used a lot, and a new watch which you can add charm beads to.
 It was a brilliant day and definitely one of the very best birthdays that I have had.  This has been rather a long post but we intended to make the most of it and believe it or not I have left quite a bit out.
What did we do next?  Another time.
Take care and keep warm.
xx

4 comments:

Ali said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful birthday. Those Christmas shops look amazing. My children have been to Belgium with school and I made sure they brought back some of that lovely chocolate. Hope you have a relaxing weekend.
Ali x

Gillian Roe said...

Hello there, thanks for stopping by my blog. What a wonderful sounding birthday, and such a great trip. I have never been to Bruges but it looks beautiful, and I could really eat one of those waffles right now.

Gillian x

Tatkis said...

Oh I love Bruges so much! I was there 2 times and would love to visit more!

And waffles are so yummy :)
Happy Birthday - it was a great way to celebrate!

Hugs,
Tatyana

Tatkis said...

Oh I love Bruges so much! I was there 2 times and would love to visit more!

And waffles are so yummy :)
Happy Birthday - it was a great way to celebrate!

Hugs,
Tatyana

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