Today was our last day in lovely Bruges. We ate waffles for breakfast at Laurent, Steenstraat 79. I'm sure they were rolling their eyes at the silly Americans ordering waffles for breakfast, because waffles are more of a snack in Belgium, but we didn't care. Delicious.
I ordered a waffle with strawberries to get some vitamins. It came with a lot of sugar.
2 waffles, one with strawberries + 2 coffees = 22 Euros. These waffles were great. But we discovered later that all the waffles at the stands are just as good, and much cheaper. If you're paying more the 2 Euros for a waffle, you're paying too much.
And then we just wandered around. At the outskirts of the town there are three large windmills. The canals are beautiful, and if you leave the town center, there are hardly any tourists. I think I liked Bruges so much because it reminded me of Siena in Italy. You can find the hidden, empty corners, you just have to look for them.
We walked back toward the town square and ate at Jan Van Eyck, Jan Van Eychplein 12. I'd been reading all about the specialty Flemish asparagus, so I thought I'd try it.
It was served with soft cooked eggs and butter sauce. It was good, but nothing to rave about. Hubs got the pre fix of steak with frites and salad and soup.
1 pre fix lunch + Flemish asparagus + 2 beers = 32 Euros.
Afterwards we tiptoed into Hof Bladelin, and tiny, enclosed square inhabited by nuns. Romantic and quiet. We went back to the town center and bought chocolates at Dumon, a beautiful, family run shop.
More sweets. We had ice cream at Da Vinci, a couple chocolates from The Chocolate Line. I liked Dumon better. The chocolate designs were more creative and the shop felt warmer.
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| Our little box of Dumon chocolates |
Along one of the canals, all the swans gathered for feeding time. There's a reason you always see swans swimming. When they walk, they look like zombies, awkwardly lurching forward, like mechanical robots in need of servicing.
Minnewater park was beautiful on a warm spring day, the tulips in full bloom. We walked up Rozenhoedkaai along one of the beautiful canals. Lots of people, but really pretty.
If you want a cute bar with an enclosed, quiet patio that no one knows about, got to Cafe Rose Red. Only two other people were there. It's so quiet, you would never know you're only a couple minutes away from the obnoxious carnival rides in front of the Belfry. We had a couple beers. Hubs tried Gueze.
If you like your beer sparkly, this is for you. Not for me. Or Hubs, but he drank it like a trooper. 2 beers = 8.60 Euros.
We went to Cambrinus for dinner. We knew we couldn't repeat the magic of the previous evening, but Cambrinus seemed like the same kind of place as 't Brugs Beertje: enormous beer menu and packed during peak hours. And we weren't disappointed, more fabulous beer and good food.
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| Huge Beer Menu |
Tagliatelle with three cheeses. We couldn't even finish it, so large and rich.
We both had the Cambrinus house beer with was dark and on draft. I had another Oerbier because it's my new favorite. Haven't found it in the States yet, but I'll keep looking. 4 beers + snack plate + tagliatelle = 34 Euros.
It's been happy eating and drinking in Bruges.
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