Bruges, Belgium!

Apparently we were on a canal kick this Spring Break! After visiting Venice the week before, we packed the suitcases back up and headed off to see Bruges, the beautiful canal-based city in Belgium. Often called the "Venice of the North", Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is full of medieval architecture, yummy food and is entirely walkable. Highly recommend!

One of the most exciting parts of our trip to Belgium was that this was also our first time using the Eurotunnel as a way to get to mainland Europe. We have flown to various cities in Europe before and had taken the Eurostar train to Paris last year but were excited to try a new mode of transport that allowed us to bring our car along! We booked the Eurotunnel crossing and crossed our fingers and were amazed at the ease of it all! The system was incredibly organized and you literally drive your car onto a train for the 40 minute crossing and drive right off. Much easier (and quicker!) than the ferry, inexpensive and oh so convenient! Why didn't we try this sooner?

Riley inside a car, inside a train, inside a tunnel, under the English Channel. 

After a three hour drive to Folkestone (where we caught to Eurotunnel train) and the 40 minute train ride under the English Channel, we arrived in Calais and continued on about 90 minutes to Bruges. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the self catering apartment we had booked was spacious, modern and in a good location! Definitely recommend! We got right to work exploring the city! We spent most of the next five days walking around the city, exploring the sites, sampling the delicious beers and enjoying the sunshine!

Lyla and Wayne posing near a canal

The girls with the Belfry Tower in the background

We took a horse and carriage ride to get to know the city

The girls and many swans in the background

Photo courtesy of Riley

Cutie #1

Cutie #2

The girls and our horse

Daddy's Girl

If you go to Bruges, go to Dumon Chocolatier and try their hot chocolate (aka chocodip)! It is served on a spoon that you dip in hot milk. Yum! Their Bruges flavour has a bit of hazelnut and was Mommy and Daddy's favorite but the girls preferred their milk chocolate versions. 

Moules-frites 

Happy sisters posing by a canal

And on a boat

Girls reading at the Church of Our Lady

All set up for Holy Thursday

Michelangelo's Madonna and Child sculpture

Inside our favorite bar in Bruges, Le Trappiste. Isn't it beautiful?

Wayne trying a few Belgian beers

Riley and Wayne enjoying olives and salami

Lyla gives it a thumbs up!

The view of the Market Square from atop the Historium, a museum in Bruges that tells about life in Bruges in the Middle Ages through a pretty captivating story that you experience as you walk from room to room.

We visited the Basilica of the Holy Blood and were able to view a vial of Jesus' (dried) blood

We were lucky and a small fair was set up in the Market Square during our trip. There were rides, food stalls and the girls favorite, Bumper Cars!

Our other favorite part of the fair was the oliebollen, which were fried dough balls that were remarkably close to zeppolis!

We visited the Market, which was held on Wednesday morning in Burg Square.

We really enjoyed Bruges and highly recommend it to everyone we can, especially considering it was so easy to get to! We found the food and drink amazing and thought the city was the perfect size to keep us busy while still maintaining a relaxing vibe. It was a great base for day trips to Ypres and WWI sites and a wonderful stopover on the way to the Netherlands! We will definitely be back!