Part 15: Lace or Chocolate? Both!

With several weekends free before having guests and no big trips planned, we decided to take a day trip to Belgium. We’ve heard from many that Bruge is the best town to visit in Belgium, so we headed there. It’s only a 3 hour drive from Voorburg, so we left in the morning and arrived in Bruge just before lunch. This daytrip didn't come along with much planning so we parked in the first parking garage we found, and started walking.

The first thing that struck me is how quaint the town seems – cobblestone streets, canals, horse carriages. When you walk around a little town like this, it sometimes feels like you jumped back 500 years.

As it turned out, within 5 minutes we came up on the church our tour book noted as having a sculpture by Michelangelo. So, we stopped in for a visit. The sculpture was cool, but not overly breathtaking.



After seeing the church, we kept on walking towards the main square. On the way, it seemed like every shop was either selling handmade lace or chocolate. The people of Belgium have definitely preserved an incredible trade that could have been replaced by machines years ago. But, honestly, the handmade lace really looks more impressive.

I don't know how they came up with the chocolate recipe, but they did it right. Amanda couldn’t decide what she wanted to get for a souvenir, so we ended up with a variety of chocolates and a magnet. We think it’s true what you hear – Belgium chocolates are better!

We made it to the main square. It’s very similar to most of the other European towns we’ve seen. Lots of cafes and shops line the square. There’s an impressive main building that houses something to do with the government.

We walked through some more shops and then headed back to The Netherlands. It was a wonderful relaxed day. Bruge was a town we would definitely go back to visit.