Well, I would like to start this off with a minor panic. I got on to post and the blog website had turned to Dutch and I could not figure out how to start a new post. But, I got it translated back and we are okay for now. Turns out Dutch, French, German, and tiny amount of English are spoken here. Most things are provided in 4 languages, and many people seem to know at least Dutch, French, and English.
Nonetheless, we started today by finding a tram, that would take us to a train, that would take us to Brugge. We then wandered around blindly until it started to rain and we hid in a hotel where we also bought a map for 0,50 euro (essentially, 0.72 cents). The town was beautiful, doors on the houses are painted bright colors, almost every window has a flower box, and everything is green.
After viewing so many shops we have realized that chocolate, fries, waffles, and lace are the big things here. There are shops and museums dedicated to each of those. Some of the chocolates were really neat, and some were terribly inappropriate. We really wanted to bring a cow, pig, or lamb home to everyone but they were hollow and would have melted/crushed, so you will have to settle for the pictures. We must have gone in at least a half-dozen chocolate shops alone. There was also a deli with tons of cheese, and a really interesting ham display.
Chocolate livestock:
This is a picture of the boat dock covered in flowers where our canal tour started and ended. It is just a really pretty place.
We accidentally came across something called "The Beer Wall," apparently all 780 Belgian beers are represented here. There are also three beer related quotes posted above the wall.
Most impressive is the fact that they managed to create an entire museum for french fries, which we tried today....it was just a fry in my opinion. However, Dr. Harris said she saw better fries yesterday so we may try again. We also realized we got ripped-off on our waffle experience and will have to try that again as well. The showcase of what we got was based on the ice cream, not the waffle.
We also went to the Church of Our Lady and saw the 'Madonna and Child' sculpture by Michelangelo. It was sculpted from marble in the early 1500's. The detail was amazing, and the church it was housed in was equally as amazing. To think we were standing there looking at something from Michelangelo is really difficult to wrap your head around. Here is an image of the sculpture if you are not familiar, I took this from the internet since pictures were not allowed in the church. This picture does the sculpture no justice.
Lindsey made an observation that no one is ever on their cell phone, they are all actually talking to each other, something we aren't used to. Also, the world doesn't open for business around here until 9 or 10 am, and they close at 6pm, breakfast and lunch are late, dinner seems to be beer for most people. Around 6pm and after all you see are people sitting outside of all the restaurants drinking beer. When we caught the tram this morning though, there were people boozing it up at a cafe, so maybe you don't have to wait until the evening. The restaurant set-ups are really cool, you just walk in (to their outdoor seating) seat yourself, and they set your place for you. It is a really pleasant experience. This picture is of market square in Brugge and you can see three restaurant entrances...it is fun to walk past them all, attempt to read the menus, and see what people are eating.
Well, I think that sums it up, the only other thing to mention would be the weather, we have been in jackets all day, with the wind and the rain it had to have been in the 50's. Not to rub it in :) Talk to ya'll soon, I will be at the convention all day tomorrow, but will think of something to say. Bye!
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