Bruges does not disappoint.

In the morning, Steve and Julia climbed the bell tower while I chilled at my hostel and chatted with people at breakfast. We then met up at De Halve Maan Brewery for a tour. I had tried (and failed) to get into this tour on my first visit to Bruges, so I was beyond excited to be able to do it this time around. (Phil and Melissa have raved about it.) The lady giving the tour was incredibly funny (well at least Julia and I thought so, as you could tell by our obnoxious laughs).

There was also an incredible view from the top of the brewery. A plus, for sure. 

I would recount everything that we learned, but frankly, I don't think that you care. We then had an AMAZING lunch of Belgian fries with dipping sauce and bitterballen... which, honestly, I don't know how to explain. We sat in the square, once again, for lunch, which just has amazing people-watching.

We then went on a canal tour of Bruges, which I would highly recommend.

Now, I was sure that I had heard that Bruges is the "Venice of the North." Julia was sure that she had heard that about Amsterdam... or maybe another city? After this tour though, I think we all agreed that it has to be Bruges. The peeling paint and cobblestone streets give it the "preserved from the past" feel that we all adore. 

Biking was next on the itinerary. Amazing how much of Bruges you can see in an hour and a half on a bike! As long as you don't get run over, that is. Or crash. Those things may have almost happened to Julia several times. And she was our leader. 

I don't think we ever quite figured out the bike rules of Bruges. Right when we thought that we understood what the signs were saying, someone would yell out at us, "wrong side!" or something else to that effect. BUT all in all, it was a wonderful experience and the perfect way to explore Bruges.

Julia had a walking tour she wanted to go on (one that she found in her guidebook). So we walked around to different sites while Julia read to us all about them. There really is lots of cool history in Bruges. (I mean I was paying attention, but you can get more details on the history from her.) One of the stops was this really cool park which is actually the courtyard of a convent (I think). Anyway, Julia and I thought it was really relaxing (you weren't really allowed to talk). So we wandered through it, enjoying the peace. Stephen also found it quite... serene.

For dinner, we went to the Flemish Pot, which served traditional Flemish stew. There is also a "Frites Angel" who comes around and continuously offers you more fries. So cool.

After dinner, Julia and I headed for the pub tour. We weren't entirely sure what to expect, but were very pleasantly surprised. There were some really cool places to drink the wonderful beer of Bruges. Also, some very interesting people to drink the beer with. From "Creepy Tom" (who I think may be the local drunk) to the Canadian in the British marines. To Creepy Tom's credit, he introduced us to some great beer (I think it may have helped that he works at the beer museum: drunk, but knowledgable). We also met a guy from New Jersey, who had grown up about 15 minutes away from us. Funny how you have to go abroad to meet people that grew up down the street!

Our guide was terrible. Funny, but terrible. He would bring us into places and then disappear. One time he disappeared for so long that one of the British guys started leading the tour. He had a British accent, so naturally I followed. 

After a great night of hanging out with some awesome Brits and Americans, (whilst running from the locals) we hit the hay much later than planned, which may or may not have affected our plans for the next day. See next post for details.