WOW has life been crazy these past 2 weeks - I can't believe I fell SO far behind on my new favorite activity, but I am back! :) Back with my post about the last part of our Valentine's Day trip - Bruges, just two weeks before we leave on another excursion to Venice, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Enschede, and then flying out of Amsterdam, of course!
I will now admit (sorry Luxembourg City & Amsterdam) that Bruges was the place I was MOST excited to see this time around. It was listed as the most romantic place to spend Valentine's Day in Europe on some online travel blog I found, besides Paris, so we decided that since it's relatively close to where Mark lives, why not! It was honestly one of the most picturesque little cities you could ever imagine, and I loved that it wasn't overcrowded wherever you went. It kind of made you feel like you lived there, and it was at least an hour outside of Brussels, which meant Americans were far and few in between... meaning everyone kept staring at us like we were some kind of exotic species every time we spoke - which I like, because I like being the stand-out one!!
After our mini day trip in Brussels, we took a commuter train to the western edge of Belgium. On a map, Bruges looks like it's only about 20 minutes away from the ocean - which I would believe, because it's incredibly windy there.
I told Mark I was going to sabotage him with this picture at some point, so here you go.. sorry Mark :D but it's just testament to how tiring traveling around really is! By the end of the trip, we were getting exhausted to easily. Can't even stay awake for an hour on the train to Bruges.
When we arrived in Bruges, it was dark and rainy already, so we dropped our things at the hotel and jetted off to dinner! However, even in the dark, you could already tell Bruges was SO beautiful. For Valentine's Day they decorate their whole city, and the front of the buildings have little heart decorations all over them. It was the perfect setting for February 14th!
We spent our 2 1/2 days there wandering around the city, popping into antique shops and stopping for LOTS of cappuccinos to keep us going on the end of our busy trip. And of course, when you're in Belgium, you can't forget stopping for beer or french fries with mayo! Not very Weight Watchers friendly.. oops. Umm, and check out this BEER CHANDELIER. How cool is that?!
On Valentine's Day itself, we were eating Belgian waffles with chocolate, strawberries, and whipped cream, plus the amazing little chocolate mini cake below with the cappuccinos. AMAZING. Then, of course, you have to get a box of Belgian chocolates when you are in Belgium :) Do not know how I did not get sick to my stomach that day!
Love this picture below of Bruges, because even though we weren't obviously in the Netherlands, just goes to show how much cities in this region of Europe look SO much alike. This could easily be a picture of Amsterdam with the canals, if the buildings were just tweaked a little bit!
Below is a picture of the most famous spot in Bruges, that I took on Valentine's Day night after dinner! Valentine's Day was also my last night in Europe, so it was a perfect last picture :)
And of course, one of my best guy friends since kindergarten turned my Valentine :) This picture is just the cutest!!!
And then, the worst part of all comes the day I have to leave Mark in Europe every time and return back to my side of the world!!
But hey, it's ok, because EXACTLY two weeks from today (which is also the day after my birthday wooohooo!!), I leave on a plane for Amsterdam with a connection to Venice, which is our mutual favorite city in the world!!! CANNOT wait to see it again after almost 10 years! I've been searching pictures of Venice on my phone daily... cannot WAIT!!
No comments:
Post a Comment